Dreaming of a Green Holiday Season

November 23rd, 2009

If you’ve ever considered doing something good for the environment, there’s an abundance of opportunity this holiday season. And, while I could go on endlessly about all the choices from intangible eco-donations to handmade gifts, the bargain-hunter in me feels compelled to tell you about the green deals that I have found. Since environmentally conscious products are more popular than ever, you can use your holiday shopping to help save the planet. Here are a few suggestions to buy for yourself or as gifts.

Low Energy Lighting

Home Depot recently encouraged their customers to conserve electricity by offering them $3 coupon savings off lower energy LED Christmas lights if they would trade in their old lights. Now there’s another offer for up to a $10 rebate when you buy Philips halogen, compact fluorescents or LED bulbs. You can also stock up on handy items like a wind-up LED flashlight, a crank-powered Radio/alarm/flashlight/charger or an AM-FM-NOAA weather radio combo. Another great item for the campers on your list, or just in case of emergency for yourself, a solar powered backpack is a practical choice, since it can provide up to 8 hours of power for a variety of devices after being charged up with an A/C adapter or in the sun.

For the Kitchen

Just about everyone would appreciate a gift box of organic fruit or vegetables for any occasion. Another good choice is the eco-friendly Cuisinart cookware. The non-stick surface is petroleum-free, and the hard anodized construction provides superior heat conductivity, requiring less energy to achieve the desired cooking temperature. A bamboo cutting board is harder and more durable than maple; it’s a stain-free and food-safe product made from a renewable resource. An environmentally friendly picnic backpack makes a great gift, and includes a built-in wine cooler and all the reusable utensils you’d need for a wonderful outing. If you enjoy baking for the holidays and giving baked goods as gifts, you can also include some free recipes from here or here, or perhaps order the Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook for your favorite cook.

Remember your coffee lovers with a delicious gift of organic coffee, choosing an independent coffee roaster who buys green coffee beans directly from Fair Trade co-ops.

Clothing and Reusable Containers and Bags

I really like the comfortable all cotton and organic tees like the one from here . It’s such a treat to plant the garment tag with wildflower seeds attached and enjoy the spring blooms! Or here’s a nice long sleeve organic cotton tee. Since everyone seems constantly on the go in my family, I also plan to buy quite a few travel mugs, lunch bags, and tote bags this year, to reduce the waste generated by disposable alternatives. I’ll bet the runners or riders on your list would enjoy PBA-free aluminum Sigg water bottles and mugs, or stainless steel Klean Kanteens. It’s a great feeling to find a sale for an item I’m planning to buy anyway!

If you want to save some money, Subway is currently giving free reusable lunch bags with every kid’s meal, and those bags could serve as gift bags for other smaller items. Chi-Chi’s has a new free tote bag promotion by mail, although they may arrive early in the new year, too late for this holiday season. To be assured of getting some nice bags right away, you can order a set of 3 Green Bee bags with a convenient storage pouch (so you can carry them with you easily and won’t leave them in the car when you need them), or choose from several other eco friendly oversized bags online, all with guaranteed early shipping.

Personal Items

A recycled leather journal makes a wonderful gift when you don’t know a person’s size. Or another choice might be all-natural soy candles made by Glade or others. But if you know them well, you can select more personal items like fragrances, shower gels and soaps, lotions or lip balm.

For Children

You can buy a green toy made of 100% recycled materials and teach your youngsters about recycling at an early age with this adorable recycling truck. It’s a big and sturdy toy for ages 3 and up, and comes complete with side recycle chutes, removable recycling bed, and cardboard images of bottles, cans, and newspaper bundles to cut out and put inside the truck. A really low-cost eco-friendly idea is to make your own play dough from safe household ingredients.

For Me

I found the perfect reusable tote for myself that combines all these green efforts and my personal green philosophy. You see, Kermit the Frog was wrong when he told his Sesame Street pals that “It’s not that easy being green.” Now it’s easier than ever.

For a holiday treat, click on this link to hear an inspiring rendition of Kermit’s song by Ray Charles.

Entry Filed under: Shopping