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You can enjoy the festive season and care for the environment at the same time. This year, think about giving the planet a present. Check out our 12 green and festive tips below to find out how easy it is to have a green and peaceful holiday season.
1: Give a compact fluorescent light bulb or two or three as gifts. Save your friends and family money and save the planet too. Old-fashioned light bulbs waste 85 per cent of their energy in heat and don't last long. Compact fluorescent bulbs come in all shapes and sizes. A 100 per cent compact fluorescent household makes a great New Year's resolution and a good investment in energy (and money!) savings.
2: Less is more. If you decorate your home with lights, think about how much energy they use. Don't forget to turn off the lights before you go to bed or go out. Learn how to save energy around your home with our Switched On guide and be an energy smart consumer.
3: Pull the plug on dirty presents. Electronics are popular gifts so rather than just consider the cost, check out which companies are doing more than others to make cleaner products. This year's presents shouldn't be next year's toxic waste. (Okay, we know. Sometimes we can't resist that new iPod or MacBook either, despite the fact that Apple is bottom of the barrel when it comes to toxic content and recycling policies. If you really can't wait until Apple cleans up its act to buy one, make sure you do something for the Green my Apple campaign to tell Steve Jobs that we love Apple products but we want them to come in green. Make sure your gift recipient gets the message too!)
4: Pay for the present, not the packaging. Put some thought into the gifts you are purchasing. Avoid products that are overpackaged or made from toxic PVC plastic. Use our Good Wood Guide when purchasing timber products, like furniture.
5: Cook up a storm with a GE-free family feast. For your festive gathering, consult our True Food Guide to find food and ingredients that are free of genetic engineering.
6: Travel smart. When it's time to go shopping for the perfect gift or visit relatives, try to take public transport or carpool for trips. Every time you hop in your car or, even worse, a plane you're producing greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Even better? Shop online. You can get your loved ones gift memberships to environmental organisations like Greenpeace.
7: Cut down on paper. Why not have fun making your own wrapping paper out of recycled paper? With a potato stamp and some water paint you can make unique wrapping paper. Cut up last year's cards to make perfect recycled gift tags. Make sure your waste wrapping paper goes in the recycling. If you send holiday cards, look for a recycled content or, better yet, send an e-card.
8: Be tree friendly. If a tree is traditionally part of your celebrations, think about buying a live native tree that you can plant in the backyard later. By planting a tree, you'll be helping combat global warming. And by not using a cut tree, you won't be contributing to greenhouse emissions or deforestation.
9: Go au naturel. Replace plastic, overpriced holiday decorations with natural, reuseable decorations like whitewashed branches and pine cones. They can put you in the holiday spirit just as easily as a huge, inflatable snowman can.
10: Cut down on your shopping. As a general rule the more you buy and consume the more of the planet's limited resources you are using up. Try to buy local produce to cut the travel miles your holiday essentials have clocked up.
11: Break out the china. When it comes time to feast, use real dishes, not disposables. Ask your friends to BYO plates and glasses or rent them. If you must use disposable, look for recycled content.
12: Get started on those New Year's resolutions! If you've followed these 12 tips for the holiday season why not be good to the planet for the whole of 2007 by ordering our free Going Green Guide?
2: Less is more. If you decorate your home with lights, think about how much energy they use. Don't forget to turn off the lights before you go to bed or go out. Learn how to save energy around your home with our Switched On guide and be an energy smart consumer.
3: Pull the plug on dirty presents. Electronics are popular gifts so rather than just consider the cost, check out which companies are doing more than others to make cleaner products. This year's presents shouldn't be next year's toxic waste. (Okay, we know. Sometimes we can't resist that new iPod or MacBook either, despite the fact that Apple is bottom of the barrel when it comes to toxic content and recycling policies. If you really can't wait until Apple cleans up its act to buy one, make sure you do something for the Green my Apple campaign to tell Steve Jobs that we love Apple products but we want them to come in green. Make sure your gift recipient gets the message too!)
4: Pay for the present, not the packaging. Put some thought into the gifts you are purchasing. Avoid products that are overpackaged or made from toxic PVC plastic. Use our Good Wood Guide when purchasing timber products, like furniture.
5: Cook up a storm with a GE-free family feast. For your festive gathering, consult our True Food Guide to find food and ingredients that are free of genetic engineering.
6: Travel smart. When it's time to go shopping for the perfect gift or visit relatives, try to take public transport or carpool for trips. Every time you hop in your car or, even worse, a plane you're producing greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Even better? Shop online. You can get your loved ones gift memberships to environmental organisations like Greenpeace.
7: Cut down on paper. Why not have fun making your own wrapping paper out of recycled paper? With a potato stamp and some water paint you can make unique wrapping paper. Cut up last year's cards to make perfect recycled gift tags. Make sure your waste wrapping paper goes in the recycling. If you send holiday cards, look for a recycled content or, better yet, send an e-card.
8: Be tree friendly. If a tree is traditionally part of your celebrations, think about buying a live native tree that you can plant in the backyard later. By planting a tree, you'll be helping combat global warming. And by not using a cut tree, you won't be contributing to greenhouse emissions or deforestation.
9: Go au naturel. Replace plastic, overpriced holiday decorations with natural, reuseable decorations like whitewashed branches and pine cones. They can put you in the holiday spirit just as easily as a huge, inflatable snowman can.
10: Cut down on your shopping. As a general rule the more you buy and consume the more of the planet's limited resources you are using up. Try to buy local produce to cut the travel miles your holiday essentials have clocked up.
11: Break out the china. When it comes time to feast, use real dishes, not disposables. Ask your friends to BYO plates and glasses or rent them. If you must use disposable, look for recycled content.
12: Get started on those New Year's resolutions! If you've followed these 12 tips for the holiday season why not be good to the planet for the whole of 2007 by ordering our free Going Green Guide?
