The Go Green Guy’s Guide to a Green Holiday!

T’is the Season of Joy and Good Cheer! T’is also the season of indulgence and waste!

During the Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, what ever Holiday Season that you celebrate during this holiday Season, there are many ways to cut back on waste during and make Greener choices.

Gift giving is such a joyous tradition, sending Holiday greeting cards, hanging Holiday lights and decorations, enjoying traditional family get-togethers with large spreads of food and treats.

Here are a few Green choices that will not curb your joy but will put a little less stress on Mother Earth.

1. The Greeting Cards – Choose to send e-cards or make a phone call. If you do send a card, make your own from recycled materials, it can be a fun Holiday craft project to do with the kids. If you buy cards, look for cards that use soy-based inks, are made of recycled material, and are recyclable .  As always you can find a number of clever ways to re-use or recycle your cards; as gift tags, tree ornaments or wrapping paper.

2. The Gift Wrap – think of all of that paper that gets thrown away every year! The amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by about one million tons of trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, according to the EPA, and much of that is Christmas gift packaging. Get creative with your gift wrap! think outside the box you’re wrapping: Try recycling bags, paper, newspaper, fabric, old maps, comics, magazines, wallpaper, Christmas cards, posters, sheet music, even towels, old curtains and napkins to wrap a gift., etc..  If you’re mailing gifts, use recycled packing materials like newspaper and cardboard.

3. The Meal – When planning Holiday Meals, know who’s coming and cook according, or better yet, invite your guest to bring their favorite Holiday dish. It’s a great way to try something new and take some of the stress off of your party prep. If you do cook, consider buying organic and locally grown foods, including turkeys, hams, cheeses, fruits, yams, ciders, wines and liquors. If you do end up with too much, there are food banks everywhere that would be happy to take your overstock.

4. The Lights – If you are purchasing Holiday lighting, go with LED, much more eco-friendly and will last a lifetime as well as save a lot of electricity, they use just 10 percent of the energy of older incandescent bulbs, and because they run cooler they’re also a bit safer. LED lights can be used both indoors and out. If you are not buying now, be sure to hit the stores for clearance after Christmas and get your LED lights for next year!

5. The Tree – It use to be real or artificial was the question, some people opt for artificial thinking that they are saving a tree! Believe me, there’s nothing green about buying a new, artificial Christmas tree that was shipped in from China. They’re made of petroleum-based chemicals — some even contain lead — and they can’t be recycled. The lead content alone is enough to turn your green holiday black.

Consider buying a living Christmas tree  or even better, buying a potted or balled Christmas tree (roots still attached) so you can replant it in the backyard or donate it to the parks department. Or you can even rent a living Christmas tree.  If you do opt for a cut Christmas tree, try to buy local and organically grown also remember that any cut tree can be “treecycled” into mulch or compost by your local Christmas tree recycling program.

Some Green Shopping ideas from The Go Green Guy

One Stop Green – offers every product needed for sustainable energy independence; enabling homeowners, businesses and commercial property owners to master their usage by reducing waste, producing renewable energy from within, and implementing efficient energy consumption methods.

Shop to Be Green -  is a small green products eboutique that was born out of my love of organic, natural and sustainable products that promotes a healthy lifestyle for you and the planet.

The Hemptress,inc. – Eco-friendly and fashion-focused,  Hemptress handbags and accessories are made mostly of hemp, reborn leather and even the zippers are from recycled sources!

Tina Dean Designs – Tote bags, purses and baskets are made with upcycled plastic bags, otherwise known as plarn. Tina Dean Designs’ plarn products are made with plastic bags that have a resin identification codes that are the non-biodegradeable bags that stay in our landfills just about forever. By upcycling these bags into useful, practical items, they become statement pieces on saving the environment.

Green 3 Apparel – green 3 is a company that designs, sources, produces and markets stylish, high quality sustainable fiber apparel, accessories and soft home goods. green 3 differentiates itself from other sustainable and conventional brands by supplying a product line that focuses on:

Future Oxygen – All FO2 products are 100% biodegradable, including the packaging and are available for gifts, personal use, awareness, school/club fundraisers and as promotional items. A portion of proceeds from a selected pendant is donated to a featured community organization.

Also see Our recent posts from Melinda in Go Green Fashion for some great gift ideas

It’s My Bag – “It’s My Bag” eliminates the need for conventional plastic wrapping. The company said that production improvements put in place specifically for the Econo-Bag will let dry cleaners, retail outlets, hotel cleaning services, etc., to more effectively distribute the product to their customers.

Jaydemia – Eco Style collection – Love:This is what the EcoStyle Collection is all about.  By working directly with small livelihood projects, you can be assured that everything you purchase from this collection from start to finish, are fair-traded, earth friendly and pure labor of love.

Bamboo Bottle Company – Amidst all the anxiety and confusion surrounding water bottles, we set out to make something different: a safe, durable bottle that works for both hot and cold beverages and—just maybe—makes our planet a little cooler, too.

Fashionable Notes – is the place for eco-friendly and stylish reusable bags for men. With so many grocery stores and farmers markets encouraging a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) policy; this bag is perfect for the eco-conscious man doing his part for the environment.

Nature Bag – The Nature Bag is unique in style, structure and shape. Homemade in Laos from wild-growing JungleVine™ cord

INSTANT-OFF  -  not only the world’s most effective water saving device, it is also the most cost effective solution to reduce cross-contamination and stop the spread of germs & pathogens. Great green gift for under $10

 

The Go Green Guy  wishes one and all a safe and Happy Holiday Season leading to a Healthy, Happy, Green and Prosperous New Year!

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Category: Go Green Living Tips