Give the Gift of Green

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Great Green Gifts

Need some inspiration for your holiday gift-giving this year? Here are some suggestions that can help you be as green as the Grinch (after his mood improved, of course...)

Why not help a friend or loved-one overcome some of the barriers we have all heard:
“I don’t have a (or enough) re-usable shopping bag(s)”
“Compact fluorescent bulbs are too expensive”
“I wish I had a rain barrel…”

Give the gift of green this year, by supplying yours with green items that will help them conserve resources in 2009:

Re-usable shopping bags
Compact fluorescent bulbs
A rain barrel
Battery re-charger (my dad LOVED his last year!)
A gift-basket of green cosmetics
A picnic basket filled with re-usable plates, cloth napkins, to-go cutlery, etc.

You may also consider supporting green industry:

A selection of Fair-Trade coffees and chocolates
A gift-certificate for green-certified products

Or perhaps you might be inspired to give a 100% waste-free gift:

Different charitable organizations will make a contribution in the name of your recipient. You can sponsor a goat, cow, flock of chickens, beehive, medicine, training or any number of products and services to help developing nations. As we struggle with our own economy, spare a thought for those countries that depend on charity to survive—and how charity may be dropping off during the “first world’s” crisis. Visit Oxfam Unwrapped to learn more.