Green Christmas

Eight ways to give your holiday a green halo.
As the holidays approach, it’s a good time to get your green resolutions in gear and put in to practice some easy ways to make your holiday a little more sustainable.
Here are eight ways to give your holiday a green halo.
1. Be a green wrapper. Whether you are wrapping gifts for the office holiday party or family and friends, don’t default to mass-produced wrapping paper that generally ends up in landfills. Recycle newspapers and gift bags and get your creative juices flowing. Choose your favourite columnist or comic strip to wrap a gift. Use a scarf, bandana or attractive dishtowel and stand out from the Santas and snowflakes.
2. Packing green. Packing materials for gifts that are being shipped can also produce a lot of waste. Can you use recycled materials for packing like old newspapers? There are also biodegradable packing peanuts and environmentally friendly soft foam.
3. Get smart with energy-saving holiday lights. Buy your budget a holiday gift with LED lights which use 90 percent less energy than conventional lights.
4. Think outside the bow. Sometimes the best gifts don’t have a big bow on them. They are gifts that keep giving. Instead of buying presents, donate to an organisation that has meaning to you or the people in your life. The Sierra Club has sponsorship gifts that allow you to give towards protecting a place in the wild.
5. Recycle your old cell phone. Look for programs in your area where you can recycle that old cell phone before you put that new iPhone on your holiday list.
6. Create a green team. There are hundreds of ways to make your office and home greener. Here are just a few to get you started:
• Use coffee mugs instead of paper or Styrofoam.
• If you are a small or home-based office, you can produce your own energy. Visit www.cheetahpower.com for more information.
• If you can’t produce your own energy, look for a supplier that is producing green energy in your area.
• Put automatic timers or sensor lights in your bathroom, conference rooms or spaces that are not occupied the majority of the day.
• Use as much natural light as possible in the design of your office or home space.
• Use energy-saving light bulbs.
• Switch off computers, photocopiers and other equipment when not being used.
• Buy office equipment and home appliances with the best energy ratings.
• Use green materials when building out a new office, like bamboo instead of wood flooring.
• Use refillable vs. disposable pens.
• Buy green products for your office – everything from toilet paper to recycled paper for printing.
• Promote a reuse mentality and lead by example.
• Promote ‘think before you print’.
• Use environmental or natural cleaning products.
• Support and buy the products of other vendors and suppliers who are eco-friendly.
• Support virtual office employees or support car-pooling and ride-sharing if in a suburban area.
• If you’re in a rural area, can you create a wildlife trust around your company’s property?
7. Go loco about local. Challenge yourself to see how many local ingredients you can buy for your holiday dinner. It’s put a new spin on your menu planning and gets you in touch with where your food actually comes from.
8. Buy green online. When you shop online, try web sites that are committed to eco-living products like www.ecoplum.com
Make a commitment to green. When you make green more than a passing fancy, you show your family and co-workers that you’re not just being trendy, you’re making changes that impact the world around you. Enjoy the season!
Michelle LaBrosse
www.cheetahlearning.com