The Holidays Are Here: It's Gift Guide Time!

Yeah! Christmas is almost here! The season of giving is upon us and what better way to show your friends and family you care then by giving health conscious, green gifts? Here are a few great green gift guides (say that ten times fast) for all of your shopping needs!

Treehugger.com: Just released their 2007 holiday gift guide for all things earth friendly. Their annual guide “Shades of Green” allows you to pick light, medium and dark “green” gifts based on the type of person your looking for. For the yoga fiend, gifts range from the light green bamboo yoga block, to the dark green organic Simple shoe line. For the epicurean, great choices range from the light green Oceana cookie cutters, to the dark green Ecopod recycling center. Treehugger’s guide is thorough and simply awesome!!

Gaiam.com: Has recently expanded their Fair Trade initiative offering more fabulous fair trade goods from around the world. Categories cover it all from jewelry, to fitness gear, to clothing, to bedding, to home decor. Why shop fair trade? Because fair trade shopping empowers artisans with livable wages, skills training and sustainable business development, while helping to break the cycle of poverty. Gaiam is a company, similar to Amazon in structure, which offers all sorts of products to support wellness and healthy living. So if you don’t find anything in the fair trade section, check out their other products, which are fantastic eco-conscious options.

Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year, but it’s also the most wasteful time of year. With all the boxes, wrapping, multiple trips to the mall, and unwanted gifts, we create a giant amount of waste and CO2. This season reduce your impact with these tips:

1. Shop Online: Reducing your trips to the mall or around town cuts CO2 emissions. Buying from one company, like Amazon, in one delivery, reduces how many trucks or planes are involved. You can also reuse the delivery boxes for your gift-wrapping needs instead of buying boxes. Plus buying online is easier, offers millions of options, and is a lot of times cheaper!

2. Go Without Gift Wrap: Wrap your gifts in things like scarves or cute reusable bags or totes. If you need gift-wrap, stay away from plastic bags/wraps and stick to paper that you can save and reuse or simple recycle.

3. Forget The Box: How many gifts have you given that really don’t need to be put in a box? Reduce your waste by either choosing to wrap a gift in only a box or only paper. You definitely don’t always need both.

4. Give Usable Gifts: So many times we find ourselves scrambling at the last minute and end up buying a bunch of useless crap that no one will ever use. Plan ahead this season and reduce waste by giving gifts that you know your loved ones will enjoy for years (and not throw away!).

So give the gift of wellness while helping to reduce your impact! Happy shopping!