Sustainable Gift Giving
Image Source: Kira auf der Heide via UnSplash
It was around this time last year that I started to rethink my routines, decisions, and actions, realizing the way I was living was not all that sustainable. I had composted when I lived in Minneapolis because the city made it easy, built some rain gardens and rain barrels, and have been recycling since college, but there were so many wasteful habits acting against my best intentions. One of the most wasteful of seasons for me that I intend to make more sustainable is Christmas. Through the month of December I will delve into various aspects of the holiday season and uncover ways to reduce waste and focus instead on the spirit of the season beginning with gift giving.
Some would argue that Christmas has become a commercialized holiday, focused solely on buying too many things that will seldom be used. Black Friday is a great example of how out of hand it has become. No one should have to leave their family on Thanksgiving to work just because big box stores decided an even better edge to opening at 4 am on Friday is to open the night of Thanksgiving. It has also become violent with shoppers fighting one another over the latest craze like Elmo. As a result of COVID-19 this year, stores remained closed on Thanksgiving and the fighting was avoided as a record $9 million in sales were online this year, the second most behind 2019 Cyber Monday.
Despite a sometimes commercialized feeling, the holidays are still a time to gather with family and friends, and exchanging gifts is a big part. It allows us to show how much we care about the people in our lives. But we can make gift giving a more sustainable endeavor and have a positive impact on the environment in the process. When shopping this year, consider the following alternatives:
Give gifts that will be useful and meaningful to the receiver, instead of buying something for the sake of having something to give.
Avoid the latest fad and look for durable and re-usable items.
Find sustainable versions of the items you want to give. For example, instead of looking for lotion or body spray at Bath and Body Works, consider a zero waste option. For ideas check out 13 Zero Waste Gift Ideas, 13 Etsy Gifts that are Eco Friendly and Sustainable, or 15 Sustainable and Eco Friendly Gifts
Give gifts that will help the receiver transition to more sustainable habits like a refillable water bottle or canvas tote bag.
Take a look at second hand stores. They offer a sustainable and cheaper way to give, albeit a little risky with return policies.
Give homemade items such as jams, breads or pickled food.
We live in a digital, subscription based world, so giving a year of Netflix or some other subscription service is a great zero waste idea.
Give the gift of experiences like tickets to a show, a round of golf, or a weekend getaway.
How we give gifts also matters. We literally throw away money on wrapping paper each year. A 2017 Sundale Research report showed the U.S. spent a total of $12.7 billion on gift wrap, including wrapping paper, tissue paper, and gift bags. We throw away an extra 25 million tons of garbage between Thanksgiving and New Years each year. That’s an insane amount of trash generate just to celebrate a few holidays. So instead of buying special paper and bags try the following:
Use colorful pages from magazines for small gifts
Use newspaper to wrap larger boxes
Use decorative tins, baskets, or boxes
Reuse bags and tissue paper from last year
Use canvas tote bags that the recipient can reuse for shopping
If you want the decorative wrapping paper, look for ones made of recycled paper
Replace plastic bows with cloth ribbons
Use cloth towels or napkins that can be reused by the recipient.
This holiday season I challenge you to try for a more sustainable approach, whether it is the type of gifts you give or how you give them. If we each alter how we give just one gift, it can make a big impact on the environment. We have the opportunity to reduce the amount of garbage we produce and waste we generate without a lot of extra work. We can even save ourselves some money too.
