Holiday (Green) Wish List

Did you know that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Americans throw away an extra one million tons of trash–including leftover holiday meals, broken toy parts, and holiday wrapping and packing! We’re no Scrooge, but a statistic like that has us screaming, “Bah humbug!” All that trash ends up in landfills, contributing to higher levels of hazardous odors, smoke, noise, and water contamination. As we head into the holiday season, our gift to you is some tips and tricks that will help you spread holiday cheer–in a sustainable way! Check out our suggestions below and find some unique ways to stay merry, bright and green!

Practice Sustainable Shopping

This holiday season, become a sustainable shopper by shopping local. When you shop locally, you not only invest in the community around you, but you will help the environment by reducing the amount of fuel consumption and emissions required to ship your gift around the world!

You can also consider giving fair trade, locally-sourced or recycled gifts. Sure, a new iPad sounds like a great gift. But does it beat a locally made sweater designed using only recycled fabric? We don’t think so!

When gift-giving, make sure batteries are NOT included! The EPA reports that about 40% of battery sales occur during the holiday season. When batteries die, they often end up in landfills, eroding and releasing their chemicals into the soil and water. Forgo the batteries this year and give gifts that last wayyyyy beyond just the life of a single AA battery!

Don’t forget to bring your own bag when you’re out and about shopping. Bringing a cool and reusable shopping tote isn't just for grocery shopping anymore. Help reduce the amount of plastic waste by bringing your reusable shopping bag with you. It'll be the coolest accessory at the mall this year, we promise.

Use Eco-Friendly Decor

For many of us, decorating the house is one of the best parts of the holiday season. Fun fact: our decorations can harm the environment. Our call to action for you this holiday season is to encourage your family to use LED lighting. LED lights consume 80% less energy than traditional holiday lights and still give off the same warm, glowy vibes. And bonus–they last 25 times longer!

If you’re burning candles during your holiday celebrations, use soy, coconut or beeswax candles. Unlike paraffin candles, these candles leave no smoke, which can contain toxic carcinogens.

The final way to make your decor eco-friendly is to create it yourself! Things like tinsel or store-bought garland take years to decompose, meaning more waste sitting in our landfills. Embrace your inner DIY expert and create your own garland out of popcorn and dried fruit. Or, design your own gingerbread ornaments. Now you’ll be able to say your decorations are festive, tasty AND eco-friendly.

Get Creative With How You Say “Happy Holidays”

Each year, 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold in the U.S., an amount that could fill a football field 10 stories high! No time like the present to get creative with how you say “Happy Holidays" and consider sending an e-card to help offset paper waste. If you can’t turn away from that paper card just yet, consider making homemade holiday cards from recycled paper. And when it comes to wrapping your gifts, why don’t you forgo the traditional wrapping paper. Most holiday wrapping paper can’t be recycled because it’s textured, contains glitter, or is metallic. Opt for recyclable wrapping paper, or switch it up and use fun household items like newspapers, magazines, or posters! Nothing spreads holiday cheer quite like the latest cover of Teen Vogue!

Get a Real Tree (And Then Recycle It)

If your family celebrates with a Christmas tree, advocate to your parents or take the reins to snag a real one this year! Not only will it make your house smell like pine, but the environmental benefits are incredible. Fake trees are often made from plastic and take hundreds of years to break down. Real trees, and ones that are free of pesticides and chemical colorants, are the best option. And, if you reallllyy want to make a difference, encourage your family to visit a sustainable tree farm–they’ll plant more trees than they cut down each year!

And, when the holiday season comes to an end, be sure to recycle your tree. Most trees that aren’t recycled end up in landfills, but many cities (and most likely yours!), have programs to help recycle your tree. See what programs are available near you and help turn your tree into things like mulch or wood chips, all of which benefit your community.

TL;DR: This year, let’s be mindful of the environmental impact of our holiday traditions, and make the most of this merry season! The small changes we make today can lead to a greener future for all of us tomorrow.