Sustainability and Waste - Green Gift Shopping

We can consider buying only appropriate gifts; we can consider more environmentally-friendly alternatives; and we can consider how we package them.

Consider appropriate alternative gifts. Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. "Re-gifting" is a must for consideration - how many delightful, lovely, but unused items do you have sitting around your house - filling up scarce space in your drawer or cupboard? Make no pretense about it, but some of them could be much appreciated. Buying second-hand from your local "op" shop or second-hand goods shop is another opportunity to promote the recycling of good, useable items. China and jewellery are a must. I’m told vintage clothing is also all the rage! And children would be delighted with some dress-up clothes.

Then we need to consider the needs of our recipient. Surely some of them must just about have everything? Someone might appreciate a gift of re-chargeable batteries and a battery charger, or some similar really useful product. But we could also consider ’Third Party" gifts - whether it is to a local charity offering comfort and succour at Christmas-time, or an international charity helping to save the world with water supplies or solar cooking devices for Africa. Tell everybody in your card that you have made an extra generous donation to  "My Favourite Charity - xxxxx " this year, in lieu of gifts to friends and family, and they’ll be most impressed!

Gift vouchers  are another favourite. Here we can give a direct gift which makes a contribution towards the purchase of something the lucky recipient really does need. A voucher to the local ’Green’ shop will push them heavenwards, especially after your commentary that the gift is to help save the planet. Gift vouchers can also be used as a very personal and loving gesture, by offering your time - for two hours baby-sitting, or cooking, or gardening, or cleaning, or  something even more intimate! Also worth considering would be

• movie tickets
• family membership or tickets for the zoo
• a voucher for a train or boat trip
• a year’s subscription, or tickets for concerts

Making your own gifts also presents many opportunities to impress. A batch of muffins, a cake, or a dozen ginger-bread people! Anything in this line is guaranteed to be welcomed. Consider also a very practical gift encouraging physical activity, such as a volley ball, croquet, cricket or petanque set.

And finally, we need to look at the recyclers’ nightmare - packaging!  For starters, how about using newspaper, second-hand wrapping paper, almost-new designer bags from Gucci (or wherever you shop), colourful magazine paper, or even waste scrap cloth materials. And tie those parcels up! Don’t sticky-tape them - tie them with twine, with ribbon, string, or even wool. All these allow the careful opening of the gift without damage to the paper, which can then be flattened and put aside for next year.