The holiday season is full of joy. There’s nothing quite like the sound of laughter among family and friends at special gatherings, the thrill of finding a great deal on a long-sought-after gift, or the tempting smells of your favorite holiday foods.
Unfortunately, for many of us, this joy brings with it a significant dent to our wallets and the environment. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, Americans throw away 25% more trash, resulting in approximately one million additional tons of trash per week.
Fortunately, however, there are easy ways you can shift your holiday gifting to be more sustainable, for both the environment and your budget.
Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle Your Wrapping
We all love to present our loved ones with well-wrapped gifts. As you’re shopping for supplies this year, consider the following to minimize waste and save some cash.
-
Reduce the amount of wrapping paper you use. Many wrapping paper options are not recyclable due to the materials added to them, like sparkles, glitter, or laminated coatings. This can contribute to a significant increase in residential trash each holiday season. Get creative and consider ways to reduce your use of non-recyclable wrapping paper such as repurposing old newspapers or paper grocery bags.
-
Reuse wrapping materials. Wrapping supplies can be expensive. Cut back your costs and your environmental impact by saving bows (you can attach them to a different gift with a loop of tape after the one-time-use adhesive is gone), gift bags (don’t write directly onto the bags when labeling them so it’s easy to pass them on to another recipient), and ribbon after the gifts are opened.
-
Recycle what you can. When you’re faced with a mountain of clutter after the gifts have been opened, it can be tempting to shove it all into a garbage bag and be done. However, taking the time to sift through and separate items that can be recycled is a great way to reduce your household waste.
Streamline Your Shipping Choices
Online shopping is an easy and convenient way to cross items off your gift-buying list – who doesn’t love having everything they need delivered directly to their door? However, there are steps you can take to make the delivery of your online purchases more sustainable and save yourself some money, too.
-
Avoid placing multiple small orders from the same seller. Each delivery you receive requires packaging materials and contributes to the number of delivery trucks on the road. When you can, skip small purchases and order everything you need from a seller all at once. This consolidates the amount of material used to package your items and can help streamline how many delivery trucks are on the road. Plus, if the retailer you’re purchasing from doesn’t offer free shipping, you’ll only have to pay one shipping fee rather than several.
-
Choose consolidated delivery options. If a retailer you shop with allows you to have multiple orders combined into one delivery, go for it! Not only will you reap the benefits of fewer packages heading to your home, but you also might get credit from some sellers for other items if you allow them to deliver everything all at once.
-
Recycle or repurpose shipping materials. Once you open a package, consider ways you can reuse the materials used to deliver it. For instance, the shipping boxes may be the perfect size to wrap an oddly shaped gift in. Before you trash the items you won’t reuse, check to see if they’re recyclable in your area.
Give Green Gifts
Choose items for your loved ones that will wow them with both their thoughtfulness and their eco-friendly nature.
-
Create a homemade gift from items found in your house. Get creative in how you look at items you already own. Before you toss a weathered wreath, could you use the flowers or other components to create something new? If you cut back a plant, could you re-pot the trimmings and use them as a gift? The only limit is your imagination.
-
Find unique gifts at local thrift shops. Tons of items in new or like-new condition are available at secondhand shops. Is there something you could breathe new life into to create a one-of-a-kind gift?
-
Choose sustainability-focused retailers. Research the companies you’re buying from. What are they doing to help the environment? Are they using sustainable packaging materials? Do they help plant trees with every purchase? Support companies that match your environmental priorities.
Unwrap Ways to Go Green + Save Green Year-Round
Striving to gift sustainably will help your budget and the environment this holiday season and for special occasions throughout the year! In addition to sustainable gifting, there are many simple ways that you can consciously work to make a positive impact on the Earth and your wallet every day. Check out our resource center for more ways to go green and save green.
