Ten Eco-Tips for the Holidays
Originally published on care2.com by Kelly Magill.
The holidays are here! Along with the holiday spirit, a few extra pounds, and a happy but hectic hustle, this time of the year can be very wasteful. This year, however, you don’t need to feel guilty for going all out in your celebrations. We’ve come across an article that’s packed with tips on how to minimize your holiday footprint.
Top 10 Eco-Tips for the Holidays
Tis better to give than to receive, but with all the season’s generosity of spirit, the environment often pays the price. During the holidays, we travel more, our purchasing increases, we use more electricity to keep those holiday decorations shining, and we entertain more.
Can we keep the spirit of the season and still be good stewards of the earth? Of course! Positively Green interviewed party expert David Tutera, and Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell, authors of the new book, Celebrate Green, to collect the best advice for greening your holidays.
Positively Green’s Top Ten Eco-Holiday Tips
1. Buy and use only rechargeable batteries
2. To cut down on the waste of wrapping paper, try using materials such as paper grocery bags flipped inside out and decorated with soy ink stamps or the comic page of a newspaper for kids. Other great wrapping materials include old maps, sheet music, and magazine ads. Another great wrapping idea is to enclose all your gifts in re-usable cotton mini shopping bags. You can customize them yourself and the recipient can use them over and over again.
3. Try soy or beeswax candles. They are cleaner and gentler on the environment but are every bit as beautiful and fragrant. Plus they last longer!
4. Borrow items from nature to set your table and return them when you’re done. Dried leaves or smooth stones make beautiful place cards, and a pinecone lying on its side creates the perfect stand.
5. When entertaining, don’t let all your guests drive separately to the party, register your event at Ride Amigos! They take care of everything from arranging carpools, rideshares, taxi shares and even calculates the CO2 saved by ride shares in offsetting the carbon footprint of the event. And then your friends don’t have to let friends drive.
