10 WAYS TO HAVE A GREENER HOLIDAY SEASON

4. Digital subscriptions are a great zero waste option. My dad once gave me a year’s subscription to my favorite online magazine and it was perfect: I never would have thought to buy it for myself but I could look forward to the new edition every month. Looking for a digital suggestion for that book reader in your life? The Feminist Book Club is a monthly virtual book club that supports BIPOC writers and makers and is a great gift. 

5. More recently in my family, my parents and I have mutually agreed that we don’t need any more presents at Christmas, so instead we make a charitable donation in each person’s name to an organization that means a lot to them.  Dedicating the time to picking the not-for-profit each year and thinking of the positive impact is a lovely lead up to Christmas, and they get a feel-good notification of the donation on Christmas day.

6. Don’t waste any of that Christmas deliciousness!  Food waste is a big problem year round, with American households throwing out an average of 27 million tons of food – but it gets especially bad around the holidays.  It’s understandable: cooking and eating is a big part of Christmas, and nobody wants to run out on the day so we tend to overstock and then waste perishable food.  Good planning and being realistic about how much food you’ll REALLY need is essential to counteract this. (Don’t get sucked into buying extra at the supermarket just because there’s a shiny special on something you don’t even eat anyway).  Once you figure out how you’ll be celebrating Christmas this year, consider how you might use up leftovers the day after so that nothing goes to waste. Pinterest is a great place to look for recipes on how to use leftover food. And for the food scraps, remember to compost them. Even if you live in an apartment like me and don’t have direct access to a compost bin, you can still utilize city compost drop off sites to make sure that your scraps don’t go to landfill!

7. Skip buying wrapping paper this year.  Beautiful wrapping is both lovely to create and receive, but did you know that Americans spent over $8 BILLION on wrapping paper last year? What a whopping waste of money on a product literally designed to be ripped into and then instantly discarded.   You also can’t recycle gift wrap with glitter, foil or velvet, so this goes straight to landfill. Instead, save waste and your pennies and think of what you have that you could reuse with a few creative twists to make it look festive: old wrapping paper, brown paper bags, kitchen twine with a pop of red ribbon and a sprig of evergreen.  (I’ve been doing this since I was a kid and I haven’t bought any new wrapping paper for years).   If stashing paper away all year isn’t your jam, how about reusable cloth gift bags?  We have holiday patterned gift bag sets at Tare Market that can be used year after year and come in a variety pack of different sizes – or try plain cotton produce bags tied with ribbon and a pinecone.