GOING GREEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

By Ella Tyler

If you want to make your holidays green, there will be no shortage of ideas coming your way in the next few weeks. Magazines, TV shows, e-mails, and newspapers will feature stories like “12 Ways to Have a Green Thanksgiving” “Dreaming of a Green Christmas? Shop Debra’s List” and “Eco Friendly Holiday Gifts.”

A look behind the headlines reveals that a lot of the ideas involve buying something – and gadgets, even solar powered ones, still need to be manufactured, packaged, shipped and merchandised. And I find it hard to believe, even after reading the Union of Concerned Scientists message on LED lights, that I am giving the environment any help by getting rid of outdoor mini-lights and replacing them with LED lights, considering the short time I use them.

Moreover, some goods that claim that to be made of exotic, renewable resources actually are not. A recent New York Times article about a line of pricey yoga clothes reports that the label on one item says it contains seaweed, but the newspaper’s tests found no seaweed.

All holiday over-consumption can’t be blamed on buying and wrapping presents and decorating our homes. Shannon Buggs, the Houston Chronicle’s personal finance writer, recently suggesting making a holiday spending plan. She directed, “For every holiday on your calendar between now and mid-February, write down what you will do to prepare for and celebrate it. Will you:

Buy new clothes, shoes and accessories?
Get your hair styled or cut?
Buy presents for others?
Decorate your home?
Prepare a meal?
Invite relatives to stay in your home?
Entertain others at a restaurant or bar?
Travel to visit family or friends?”

Buggs calls each of these activities “opportunities to overspend.” She means money, but these activities are also opportunities to overuse resources.

Here are some ideas for a sustainable holiday season that don’t involve wrapping gifts in newspaper and giving everyone memberships in the Sierra Club – not that these are bad ideas, but they may not be your style.

Don’t forsake your everyday good habits like composting, recycling, and carrying a tote bag to the store, just because there is more to do.

Think about taking the bus for some of your shopping excursions. Busses run to most malls. Drive to a convenient parking spot on the bus line to avoid congested roads and large parking lots. That kind of slow, stop-and-go driving really lowers your gas mileage.

Tell your child to ride the bus home from college or catch a ride with friends. If you are driving somewhere new, get directions before you set out. And take them with you. If you are using a computer program, check the directions with another source. Getting lost can easily cost an extra 30 minutes of driving. Carpooling isn’t just for work. Share a ride to go shopping or to a church performance or the ballet.

If you’re hosting a party, choose reusable plates, cups, linens and utensils. These can be rented, and can be returned unwashed as long as the food is rinsed off.

Making wreaths and other decorations is easy. Before you buy magazines for instructions, see what the library has.

How about not having an office holiday party? Give your employees an afternoon off to go shopping and have a party after the holidays.

Make holidays less about things, more about values. Instead of gifts, plan a family excursion. CEC member groups offer all kinds of interesting outings. Make a donation to a group or cause that is near and dear to your giftee’s heart. Instead of “Shop ‘til you drop,” make this season’s motto “Reduce, reuse, recycle, rebuy, repair, reweave, reknit, regift, resale shop, and resist.”

And remember, even though the Grinch stole all the food, decorations, and gifts, the Whos still had a merry Christmas.

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