Green Christmas
Thought I'd share it with you (although we have already failed miserably by planning to drive and fly to visit the relatives over Christmas).
HAVE A BRIGHT GREEN CHRISTMAS
Celebrating Christmas need not cost the Earth. Here are some ideas for celebrating Christmas without damaging the environment.
* Make your own gifts.
* Give things that can be used up, like art and crafts supplies, or food.
* Ask for presents that are something to do rather than something that takes up space, like asking for tickets to a show or admission to the zoo or a museum, or to classes that you want to attend.
* Give gifts of your time, offering to do jobs to help people.
* Don't buy gifts that are over packaged and make a lot of rubbish just by being opened. Every square mile of the ocean currently contains around 46,000 pieces of plastic. About 50% of landfill consists of packaging, most of which is unnecessary.
* Every $100 spent on new clothing generates 70kg of greenhouse pollution. Everything you buy new uses resources (oil, coal, water etc) to be made, packaged and transported. Buy presents from op-shops instead. It is fun, and the goods are often high quality and you can find something individual. As a bonus, the money goes to charities that help people in need.
* Give donations to organisations that really help people in other countries. Charities such as TEAR Australiahttp://www.usefulgifts.org/viewall.php. World Vision Smileshttp://trans.worldvision.com.au/Smiles/GiftCatalogue/Default.aspx , Oxfam Unwrapped http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/ will send you a gift card for your donation that will pay for something that can actually save someone's life. You can buy mosquito nets, a cow or goat, a well or a garden, a bridge, and literacy and health programs. To help women survivors of war rebuild their lives seehttp://www.womenforwomen.org/ , or to help women in the Asian Pacific region see http://www.womenforwomen.org.au/ . A perfect gift for the person who already has everything.
* Buy gifts from organisations that help people and animals, like Oxfam, The Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, Landcare or Greenpeace. Better still, buy a gift membership to support these organisations.
* Buy a wormfarm or compost bin. About 37% of waste in landfill is food scraps, which, in landfill, creates methane, a greenhouse gas. Better to put your food scraps in a compost bin or wormfarm.
* Buy a tree to plant, or grow some herbs or vegetable plants and give them as gifts.
* Suggest some chickens for the backyard as a gift for your family, and have fresh eggs every day.
* Don't buy unnecessary electrical appliances, like electric photo frames or water features.
* Use rechargeable batteries. Buy a solar recharger.
* Check out these sites for funky, fairtrade, environmentally friendly gifts: www.biome.com.au, www.ecoshop.com.au,www.tribesandnations.com.au, www.todae.com.au,www.neco.com.au, www.globalconduct.com.au,http://www.thetradingcircle.com.au/ . You'll find solar and water powered gadgets, eco toiletries, Christmas hampers and very cute toys.
* If you don't have enough plates and cutlery for Christmas lunch, see if you can borrow some. Otherwise buy strong plastic ones you can wash and reuse.
* Don't buy wrapping paper. Wrap your gifts in artwork you have made, in fabric you can reuse, or don't wrap it at all. Just tie a bow around it, and reuse the ribbon. Or put it in a bag that can be reused.
* Have family holidays that are gentle on the earth. See if you can consider eco-holidays, like camping, and avoid flying in aeroplanes or driving long distances.
* If you have Christmas lights, make sure they are LED Christmas lights. Ask if your family uses a Green Energy Provider.
* Some families have set themselves the challenge of spending no more than $100 on Christmas. That would get the creativity flowing!
Have a bright green Christmas!
* Make your own gifts.
* Give things that can be used up, like art and crafts supplies, or food.
* Ask for presents that are something to do rather than something that takes up space, like asking for tickets to a show or admission to the zoo or a museum, or to classes that you want to attend.
* Give gifts of your time, offering to do jobs to help people.
* Don't buy gifts that are over packaged and make a lot of rubbish just by being opened. Every square mile of the ocean currently contains around 46,000 pieces of plastic. About 50% of landfill consists of packaging, most of which is unnecessary.
* Every $100 spent on new clothing generates 70kg of greenhouse pollution. Everything you buy new uses resources (oil, coal, water etc) to be made, packaged and transported. Buy presents from op-shops instead. It is fun, and the goods are often high quality and you can find something individual. As a bonus, the money goes to charities that help people in need.
* Give donations to organisations that really help people in other countries. Charities such as TEAR Australiahttp://www.usefulgifts.org/viewall.php. World Vision Smileshttp://trans.worldvision.com.au/Smiles/GiftCatalogue/Default.aspx , Oxfam Unwrapped http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/ will send you a gift card for your donation that will pay for something that can actually save someone's life. You can buy mosquito nets, a cow or goat, a well or a garden, a bridge, and literacy and health programs. To help women survivors of war rebuild their lives seehttp://www.womenforwomen.org/ , or to help women in the Asian Pacific region see http://www.womenforwomen.org.au/ . A perfect gift for the person who already has everything.
* Buy gifts from organisations that help people and animals, like Oxfam, The Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, Landcare or Greenpeace. Better still, buy a gift membership to support these organisations.
* Buy a wormfarm or compost bin. About 37% of waste in landfill is food scraps, which, in landfill, creates methane, a greenhouse gas. Better to put your food scraps in a compost bin or wormfarm.
* Buy a tree to plant, or grow some herbs or vegetable plants and give them as gifts.
* Suggest some chickens for the backyard as a gift for your family, and have fresh eggs every day.
* Don't buy unnecessary electrical appliances, like electric photo frames or water features.
* Use rechargeable batteries. Buy a solar recharger.
* Check out these sites for funky, fairtrade, environmentally friendly gifts: www.biome.com.au, www.ecoshop.com.au,www.tribesandnations.com.au, www.todae.com.au,www.neco.com.au, www.globalconduct.com.au,http://www.thetradingcircle.com.au/ . You'll find solar and water powered gadgets, eco toiletries, Christmas hampers and very cute toys.
* If you don't have enough plates and cutlery for Christmas lunch, see if you can borrow some. Otherwise buy strong plastic ones you can wash and reuse.
* Don't buy wrapping paper. Wrap your gifts in artwork you have made, in fabric you can reuse, or don't wrap it at all. Just tie a bow around it, and reuse the ribbon. Or put it in a bag that can be reused.
* Have family holidays that are gentle on the earth. See if you can consider eco-holidays, like camping, and avoid flying in aeroplanes or driving long distances.
* If you have Christmas lights, make sure they are LED Christmas lights. Ask if your family uses a Green Energy Provider.
* Some families have set themselves the challenge of spending no more than $100 on Christmas. That would get the creativity flowing!
Have a bright green Christmas!
Comments
Also the fact you can do it all online in about 10 minutes, and then send them an ecard wins on your ecopoint scale