Go Greener, Australia

Gift-giving has the potential to be the most eco-unfriendly part of Christmas - there’s the driving to and from the shops, the pressure to buy quantity instead of quality, the potential to choose the wrong gift if you’re in a rush or buying for people you don’t know well, which leads to wasted resources as those gifts end up gathering dust or thrown out.

But thinking green not only reduces the environmental impact of your gifts, it can also make the whole process a lot easier on everyone. You can go green by choosing gifts with various environmentally-friendly labels on them, but it’s not the only way…

Do’s and Don’ts

• Think before you buy: consider the person you’re giving the gift to, and find out their hobbies, their passions, and general tastes before making a decision about something you’d like to get them. It cuts the time you spend haunting the shops wondering if they’d prefer a singing Santa or a new fairy-floss maker, and it reduces the chance of you buying them an unwanted gift.
• Remember your general green principles: less is more; reduce, reuse, recycle; buy local, sustainable, organic, or all three if you can.
• Don’t buy disposable things, avoid toxic plastics (PVC) and over-packaged products.
• Plan your shopping trip so you can be as efficient as possible. It saves time, causes less car-pollution, and frees up a parking space for someone else on the days you’re sitting at home listening to carols
• Let your fingers do the walking: order gifts over the phone or online, to be delivered to you through the post.
• If you don’t know the person well enough to know what they’d like, don’t buy them a gift! Will they notice if you don’t? If so, consider a gift certificate (not a green tip so much as a time-saving one!).

So how else can you make your gift-giving greener?

More ways to green your Christmas gifts

Secret Santa: Both my family and my in-laws do a Secret Santa exchange instead of buying gifts for everyone. Adults names are put into a hat, and the name you pull out is the person you have to buy a gift for. (The kids still get gifts from everyone!) This way, you buy one or two special gifts instead of stretching the budget to include everyone. It gives you more time to focus on the person you’re buying for, and to research eco-friendly options.

Home-made goodies: If you’re good at cooking, gardening, etc, and you’ve got time, give people things you’ve made or grown or built yourself. Some people don’t care for homemade items, but those who understand will appreciate your efforts. Dave once made a portrait of his Dad for him; a few years ago I made a chilli-flavoured vodka for my brother-in-law, and I’ve made knitted scarfs and beanies for most of my family. Simple is best, so you don’t create stress for yourself, but if you’ve got a talent, don’t be shy!

Not a DIYer? You can still buy handmade by checking out local markets, art galleries or craft stores like Etsy. Support local businesses rather than mass-produced imports.

Give memories rather than objects: Consider buying someone an experience rather than something they have to find room for in their home - think movie tickets, restaurant bookings, balloon flights, river cruises, and so on.

For kids (and the young-at-heart): get them to appreciate the environment by getting them out in it! Camping and sports gear, binoculars, and bugcatchers are often popular with both boys and girls. Trips to the zoo or aquariums are always fun. In Australia, swimming and beach gear will always be useful. Quieter kids might prefer books on animals and nature, or science kits.

Feed them: Try Australian native foods like wild rosella jam or finger-lime marmalade. These support agriculture that’s more suited to our climate, as well as guaranteeing an original gift! Or try organic chocolates, wines, olive oils and so on.

Buy vintage: it’s the elegant way to recycle, darling. If you’ve got the budget, consider vintage jewellery or antiques.

Ask people what they’d like: Saying “I’d like to get you something special - is there anything in particular you want that I could find for you?” is easy and gives you an idea of their taste. Try to get a few suggestions from them, so there’s still a little surprise. If people ask what you’d like, they’re trying to avoid giving you something you won’t use, so don’t let them down by standing there blankly… think ahead for some ideas you can tell people when the question comes. Bonus points: think of some eco-friendly gifts that are easily available, so the gift-giver will have an opportunity to browse products they might not have seen before.

Next time I’ll post some specifically eco-friendly products to inspire you and show some online shops you might not have considered before.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 4:00 pm and is filed under celebrations, gifts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.