Giving More Than a
Gift
The holiday season usually involves a great deal of
gift giving – businesses to clients, bosses to employees, Secret Santa,
employee gift swaps. What a
great time to capitalize on your businesses tremendous purchasing power.
This year why not try including environmental concerns into your
gift giving priorities. Below
are some ideas to try at your business.
Cards:
-
Purchase those made from 100% recycled paper (one
source is www.recycledpapergreetings.com)
-
Send postcards – less paper, no envelopes,
cheaper postage
-
Email holiday greeting cards (www.care2.com
donates money for conservation every time you send a card from their
web site)
Food Products:
-
Buy organic – eliminates pesticide pollution
(Organic, free-range turkeys are available!)
-
Buy fair trade – certifies fair working
conditions & a living wage pay (www.fairtradefederation.org)
-
Buy local – support local economy and help
reduce transportation pollution
-
Give homemade goods
Gifts:
-
Purchase gifts that are made with recycled
materials or that are environmentally preferred (lists of green gift
websites are below)
-
Shop in second hand stores, antique shops, or
yard sales
-
Give a donation to support an environmental cause
or organization in someone’s name
Gift Certificates:
-
Provide certificates for environmentally
preferred products, stores, and restaurants
-
Choose to give a certificate for a massage or a
ticket to a performance rather than material goods
For employee gift swaps or Secret Santa:
-
Set guidelines that the presents must be
handmade, from recycled materials, reused, or have a reduced impact on
the environment
Packaging:
-
Buy products that come with less packaging
-
Try to wrap or buy gifts with packaging that can
be recycled or reused
-
Wrap gifts in last years wrapping paper, scarves,
or the comics
For corporate gift/food baskets, try these options:
www.abundantearth.com
www.cascadebasket.com
www.ecoexpress.com
www.giftsorganic.com
www.sunshineorganic.com
Here are websites that have screened and posted a
listing of companies that sell environmentally preferred products:
www.ecomall.com
www.greenpages.org
www.redjellyfish.com
www.iona.edu/academic/hagan/pages/socialshop.htm
www.enviroshop.com
Here are some green gift websites:
www.gaiam.com
www.realgoods.com
www.ecocities.net/Gifts.htm
www.sunsoap.com/services/servgift.cfm
www.greatergood.com
www.globalexchange.org
www.fairtradefederation.com
www.treegivers.com
www.recycline.com
www.planetsave.com
www.goodhumans.com
www.chiceco.com
www.greenmarketplace.com
www.abundantearth.com
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