Holiday Gifts That Help People and the Planet
Give and go green with these gift ideas.
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Give and Go Green - It’s that time of year. Time for festive lights, holiday parties—and a frenzy of shopping and waste. The reality is, as joyful as the holidays can be, they aren’t easy on the planet. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the volume of household waste in the U.S. increases by a whopping one million tons between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. And while the average American spent $770 on holiday gifts last year, more than a third of the world’s population has less than that—roughly $2 a day—to live on.Fortunately, there are plenty of gifts you can give that reflect the true holiday spirit of generosity—from protecting our air and water for future generations, to creating opportunity for folks living in poverty. — Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins(Photo: Steve Debenport/Getty Images)
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Gifts That Fight Poverty - Alternative Gifts International offers dozens of gifts designed to alleviate human suffering. By buying a colony of bees to produce honey or a pair of rabbits to breed ($55), you can help a family in Haiti, where many are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy and the devastating 2010 earthquake. You can save lives in Burma by buying a backpack full of medical supplies ($25) or help a woman in Tanzania with a wood-saving rocket stove ($31).(Photo: Alternative Gifts International)
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Gifts That Protect the Planet - Here’s one that will benefit the planet and your favorite uncle: for $25, you can get a gift card from California-based Mosaic that allows you to fund a community solar project. Your $25 will fight climate change, and your gift recipient will also receive a return on the investment. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Farm-to-Table - Another great idea is giving a subscription to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organization that delivers weekly produce from a local farm. There are hundreds of CSAs around the country (click here to find one near you). In Oakland, a favorite is Phat Beets Produce, which supports small farmers and farmers of color. For $15 to $25 a week, you get a Beet Box brimming with fresh fruits and veggies.(Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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Gifts for Kids - Check out Invenio Toys, which is donating 20 percent of its proceeds in December to the Homeless Prenatal Program, dedicated to preventing childhood poverty. And if you’re looking for an affordable gift that won’t poison the planet, you can encourage your favorite little one’s creativity by giving him vegetable-based sidewalk chalk or organic sculpting dough.(Photo: Invenio Toys)
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Reusable Water Bottles - If you want to give your loved ones something more tangible — a box under the tree that they can open — you can buy them a reusable water bottle. It will help cut down on the 38 billion disposable water bottles that end up in landfills each year. Bonus: If you buy a bottle through water.org ($25–$31), they’ll spend $10 bringing safe drinking water to developing countries. (Photo: Janine Lamontagne/Getty Images)
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Adopt an Animal - Does your niece love elephants or tigers? You can “adopt” one for her through the World Wildlife Fund, which will send you a stuffed animal and official adoption papers in return for your contribution to protecting endangered species.(Photo: Ian Walton/Getty Images)