Bring Home the Christmas Tree

For almost five years, I have been dispensing green advice.  A regular Green Dear Abby.   It just seem like yesterday that I started Green Talk.   But, five years is a lifetime when it comes to web content.  During those years, information and company change.  As I updated my articles, I realize my old holiday advice that I have been doling out like cookies  is still relevant today.  Some call this type of content evergreen.  No pun intended.  (Well, maybe.)

So here is a sprinkle of five years to make your holidays greener.  Note, this is a sprinkle of advice.  I am leaving the door open for you to give me your favorite green holiday advice.  I know you have some ideas in this department.

Let’s Start with the Presents

How many of you out there still haven’t finished your holiday shopping? Hmm. I am counting at least 10 with their hands up. Each year, I bet your list seems to grow.  So, how can you give green gifts to all of your friends and relatives without breaking the bank?  See my ideas on “Green, the New Color of the Holiday Season.“

In my article, I explored a host of alternative gifts. Think about the gift of time, museum memberships or a subscription to their favorite gardening magazine.  (Hint. Hint.)  Whose says one box fits all?

How About Wrapping the Gifts?

You might be wondering do I need to wrap all of my gifts with recycled content wrapping paper?  My philosophy?  It is great you are thinking about using recycled content wrapping paper but there are other ways to wrap your gifts in sustainable ways.

How so?  Check out my article “To Wrap or Not.  That is the Ecofriendly Present Question.”  (Sheesh.  What a philosophical question.)  You’ll see my simple way of addressing this issue.  Sans plastic.  You all know what I think about plastic?

Don’t forget the Gift tags or Bows

Did you know you don’t need to buy gift tags? Each year you probably get a dozen greeting cards.  Use the greeting cards to make gift tags.  How?  See Reuse Your Greeting Cards to Spread Joy to Others.”  Reusing your gift cards never looked so good.

Why stop there?  How about the bow?  Yep.  You guessed it.  You can green those too.  In fact, you can make your own out of a magazine.

Don’t Forget the Christmas Tree!

If you haven’t gotten a Christmas Tree yet, here are some nifty ideas to keep those evergreens from being cut down.   Remember Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree?  Well, these unorthodox Christmas tree ideas are a little bit prettier than wrapping Linus’ blanket around that scraggly tree.  In fact, my suggestions are pretty tame compared to people who have made trees out of books or beer bottles.

Think rent a tree, buying a live tree, or maybe a rosemary bush.  The smell is heavenly.

Moving onto the Festivities.

Try and keep the waste to a minimum.  I know it is hard when you are expecting a crowd.  Sure, the best thing is to use china plates, silverware, and napkins.  However, you might be expecting a crowd.  No one like to be stuck in the kitchen washing dishes.

So, if you want to go the paper plate way, consider buying Chinet’s compostable plates.   I wash mine off, and bury them under my leaf piles.  Once I buried about 80 plates. It did take some time for the plates to decompose!

What about all the plastic silverware?  I hand-wash mine and reuse it over and over. If hand washing is not your thing, consider using them when you plant bulbs as markers  (Straws work great too. )  In fact, I use them to mark my seedlings to remind me what I planted.    You know, I believe in re-purpose, re-purpose, and then re-purpose.

Oh, don’t forget to read my 18 Ways to Cure the Unwanted Gift Blues.  It is still one of my favorite articles.

Everyone gets unwanted gifts…

Join the Conversation:

• How do you make your holidays greener? Let me have it!
• What are some of your favorite recipes?
• How do you make your presents greener?
• Any great family traditions you would like to share?

Similar Posts:

• Greener Holiday Greeting Cards, Bows, Etc. Trimmings without the Trash.
• To Wrap or Not, That is the Eco-Friendly Present Question
• Reuse your Greeting Cards to Spread Joy to Others
• Plastic Gift Cards: Keep the Convenience, Yet Reduce the Enviro Impact
• Fabric Gift Wraps by Fabricwrapper, Greener Choice to Wrapping Paper

Halloween Candy Buyback Program for the Troops

October 31 is the day of candy overload.   I don’t know about your kids, but mine guard their stash better than Fort Knox. I kid you not.  Sure they get their usual couple of pieces the night of Halloween, but after that I limit their candy intake.  (So, I think.  Check out the nerds containers in my trash can.  Kids, how obvious can you be?)  If you are like me, you can’t wait to get all that candy out of the house.  Here are some whine free ways to giveaway candy:

Give it to the Candy Fairy

Parents are so clever these days. I have never heard of the Candy Fairy.  Have you?  Well, the story goes that the Candy Fairy comes around Halloween night and collects candy for those children who didn’t receive any candy.  To be honest, I am not sure at what age the Candy Fairy no longer works.  But it is certainly worth a try.

At some point, you can come clean with your kids when they figure out that you are the Candy Fairy (along with the Tooth Fairy) and still have your kids donate their candy.

Give Candy to a Hospital or Shelter.

We use to give the candy to a hospital with a children’s ward, especially the candy that I didn’t give out.  Giving candy to shelters are another good idea.  The last thing I needed was to sneak a few Kit Kats here and there.  Here and there lands on my hips and thighs.

Start a Program at School.

In the last couple of years, my school’s PTA has taken back candy for our military.  They set a week period for candy retrieval.   Given the mounds of candy that I have seen in the boxes, parents are relieved to give away the excess candy to our soldiers. For more details on donating candy to support our troops, see Operation Shoebox or Operation Gratitude.

Halloween Candy Buy Back Program

Halloween Candy Buyback program has partnered with area dentists to buy back your child’s candy. Some dentists might buy the candy for a $1 a pound or others might give the kids small gifts.

For more information as to who is participating in your area,  simply add your zip code to their search box.  In case, there isn’t an area dentist participating, you can send your candy to the following address:

Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard
17330 Victory Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91406

This year you must send the organization your candy by December 5.  (Check the website for changes to the end date each year.)

Use Candy for Experiments or Math

Learn about density using Skittles.  How about learning how to add and subtract using M &Ms? For other fun candy experiments, see here.

Recycle Your Candy

If you have an upcoming party, save some candy to re-use it in candy bags or use it in a piñata.  (See here on how to make a homemade piñata .)

Arts and Craft Projects with the Wrappers

Don’t throw out the wrappers!  You can make a multitude of art projects with the wrappers.  Here are some ideas:

• Napkin Candy Wrapper holders.
• Starburst Wrapper Bracelet Tutorial
• Candy wrapper purse

Need Your Input

At the end of this article, I asked myself.  Okay, Anna.  You have given some great ideas on how to give away your kids’ candy.  How do you get your kids to actually give it away?  This is where you come into play.  List your ideas below in the comments how you have gotten your kids to buy into the Candy Fairy or whatever.

Join the Conversation

•  How do you get your kids to willing give away their candy? Bribery?
• How do you dispose of all the candy?
• What do you give away at Halloween in lieu of candy?
• How much of the candy do you eat?  Come on.  We all want to know.

Similar Posts:

• Candy Wrapper Napkin Holders: A Sweet DIYer Dream
• Halloween leaves me Hollow
• Say Goodbye to Boring Halloween Music and Hello Count Crow’s Mix
• Reuse your Greeting Cards to Spread Joy to Others
• Preserve Recycles No. 5 plastics at Whole Foods

Pingg Online Paperless Invitations

Nowadays, I am finding that I am receiving quite more email  invitations than I use to.  However, when it comes to the “big day events” such as weddings and bar mitzvahs, paper seems to be rule of thumb.  With such great online invitation websites such as Pingg and Paperless Posts,  you can have your cake and paperless too. (And did I mention how much you can save?)

I have been playing with both Pingg and Paperless Posts for the last couple of weeks since I too have a “Big Boy” event coming up.  Yep.  The fourth bar mitzvah.  And yes, Kemosabi, the last bar mitzvah.  (Many of you might remember the 3rd Son’s Green Bar Mitzvah.)  I used Pingg to send out my “Save the Dates,” and I found it to be extremely easy to use.  (Next post, I will talk about Paperless Posts. I am spreading the love around between the two sites.)

What I love about Pingg

What I love about Pingg is the ease of creating an invitation and sending it out. The Company offers free as well as premium online invitations for any occasion.  In addition, for a $10 fee, you can send your invitations advertising free as well  have your own website where you can upload your pictures and videos.

Additionally, how  many of you have spent a bundle on paper invitations?  Once the party is over, where do you think your hard earn cash invitation goes?  In the trash.  Most people probably don’t even recycle it.    Pingg’s low cost options allows you to spend more on other items and be environmentally savvy as well.

Pingg has the gifts covered as well.  You can attach a links to your registry such as at Amazon.com, Macy’s,  and Pottery Barn.  Perhaps, you are seeking a group gift for your event or money donations for a charity?  Your website could feature a Paypal account.

I made

The Pingg Envelope in Your Mailbox

The beauty of Pingg is I could see who opened the emails and whose emails bounced.  Pingg  not only told me when my invitations went out but actually notified me to fix the bounces.  Changing email addresses was a snap in their dashboard.

What about Relatives who don’t have Email Addresses?

I hear this questions all the time when I talk about online invitation services. Pingg offers a postage option.  They send your invitation to your non-email recipients for a fee

“Have pingg address, stamp and mail invitations directly to your guests. Send to your entire guest list or to a select few. Continue to collect their RSVPs online via a unique RSVP code found on each mailed invitation. All invitations are sent by first class mail, domestically and internationally, and arrive within 7-10 days.

Postal pinggs:

• are 5×7 folded cards protected by clear envelopes
• includes printing, stamping & mailing
• $2.50 + postage”

Since older folks may not have access to a computer, you could easily put a phone number on the bottom of the invitation.

Did I opt for the Premium Package?

The premium package is $10 and this enables your invitations to be sent without advertising.  In addition, you can choose a premium template.  The $10 fee is per invitation set.

Would I use Pingg again?  Absolutely!  I love the ability to send to my guests an email and written invitation. And by the way, some of you have still not opened my save the date.  You know who you are.

Join the Conversation:

• Have you used Pingg or any other online invitation service?
• What was the reaction from your guests?
• What was your experience with Pingg or online invitation services?
• Did your service offer to send written invitations?
• Would you use an online thank you?

Similar Posts:

• Ditch Invitations and Go Paperless at MyEvent.com
• Thank You Notes Via Email? Are They Eco-Proper?
• ECHOage Eco-Friendly Birthday Parties: Teaching Children to Give Back
• Greenfield Paper’s Grow A Notes: Why Trash? Just Plant.
• Greener Holiday Greeting Cards, Bows, Etc. Trimmings without the Trash.

Happy New Years!

What does 2011 look like for you? Are you finding that your old patterns are no longer working for you?  Struggling to redefine your life?  Are you feed up with wearing pants with elastic (metaphorically or literally) because you don’t have time to make yourself the most important person in your life? Sure, elastic pants are comfortable. Like life, they don’t require you to change because you can shift up and down with weight without anyone noticing. They always fit.

But you know that you wear them.  And that you  hide in those pants. I do too.

What do I wish to accomplish this year? To me this is the year of hope. Hope that I can redefine my goals, establish a better course of direction for my life, and find more time for me. Lofty goals, but I am worth it.  And so are you.

Now, I bet your were expecting the old, how have you become more green this year post from me.  But what I have realized this year, is there is too much noise out there perhaps to fully talk about how we can become better caretakers of the Earth when we need to become better caretakers of ourselves.  It all starts with us first.

Struggle to Redefine Ourselves

Many over the last year have had to redefine their way of life because of job layoffs, reduction in pay, or illness.  Some people have changed their lives looking to be more caretakers of the Earth.  They realized that their footprint was heavier than they wanted it to be.  Both these changes share a common thread, although it seems like they are so different.  Their lives have changed which eventually made them realize what is important to them.   Perhaps,  bringing an inner peace or simplicity to their lives that has not been there for a very long time.

I too am struggling, but have hope.  Green Talk is now a young child.  It is almost four years old.  Just has its own personality separate from me with its own destined direction.  I am at a crossroad with my career and Green Talk.

• Do I focus more on my sustainability consulting?
• Do I open up a green store and sell the wares that I openly review and use?
• Do I brand myself more? Start actively speaking at events?
• Do I break Green Talk apart with a business and home editions?
• Do I guest post more to seek new members to the Green Talk community?
• Start a food company to sell my raspberry and strawberry jams that I haven’t made yet? (Still frozen in the old freezer.) Or sells the abundant food that I create but can’t eat it all?

As you can see, many “do I’s.”  And my friend, Mary Hunt told me in one of my whine sessions pick one.  But how do you just eat one delicious chocolate chip cookie when you have the bag of cookies before you?  (Um, you can jump right in now, and give me your suggestions…)

I know I am not alone in the conquest to redefine myself. Perhaps, you feel the same way. Maybe it is to lose weight, change your career, change your lifestyle, get out of a not working relationship, or move to another part of the country?

A couple of years ago, I attended a green conference at FDU in New Jersey and saw so many thirty through sixty somethings  embracing the green movement and trying to redefine their careers to align their beliefs with their work lives.  One of the most popular workshop was where people had to envision their lives by cutting out magazine pictures and placing them on a poster board. I think it is called creating a vision board?

The workshop was so packed that you could barely move.  I watched the people in the workshop from a distance and was amazed at the energy they displayed in trying earnestly to figure out where their life road could take them.

Do you feel you are lost in the sense of expansion or redefining yourself?  If so, how have you dealt with this struggle?

What really matters?

I know this may be a hard concept to think about right now since the economy has taken such a toll on so many people.  But I ask, what really matters?  Over the year, I have noticed my own gardening posts have been the happiest articles for me to write.  Don’t get me wrong. I still love green building and spent the New Year’s Day oh-ing and ahhing over my  friend’s recent installs of some pretty swanky boilers.  (Different strokes for different folks.) And I don’t want to give up on my reviews or my interviews. I love this part of Green Talk.

But as I was saying about the garden, when I talk about it, I light up. I can’t wait to show everyone what I harvested from it.  As I have said in a previous post, I am the little green hen.  The one who grows, harvests, mills, and bakes the bread.

When I am in the garden, there is an inner peace that I feel. The sun beats upon my cheek, the bees hum around me, and the wind gently blows the plants as they sway back in forth.  It sometimes is very surreal.  Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you the garden is this easy peezy bundle of joy.  It is a lot of work, but a labor of love.  Kind of like raising children.  Frustrating, exasperating, exhausting, and rewarding all in the same time.

But the bottom line.  The garden is my inner peace in a world that I find too demanding, moves too fast, and without a real sense of belonging. A place where we are connected by electronics not face to face anymore.   And most of all,  lacks  in feeling.  Who truly lives as if each day is our last?

So I ask,

• Have you felt this way as well?
• What has become your inner sanctum?
• What really matters to you?

What Old Chains do we want to be free of in 2011?

My goals:

Goal #1

As I am writing this article, I can’t help to laugh at myself since I have so many “I want to dos.”  At the same time, in the last three years, I have gained ten pounds since I sit so much in front of my computer.  Sometimes way too late at night that I forgot what the morning sunshine looks like.  So, consequently, I am eating four meals a day.  There is my morning, lunch, dinner, and 2 am small meal.  I stopped exercising as much and my routine at the gym is so ’80′s minus the shoulder pads.

When all of your clothes really don’t fit anymore, except the ones with elastic, you have to start a new plan.

A new plan it is:

This last month, I decided to start exercising 5 times a week for my own sanity, and went to three  sets in my weights instead of two half hearted sets.

I also went vegetarian in August with a bent towards veganism since most dairy food and I don’t get along too well.  I am having a hard time giving up yogurt ice cream. (I did not lose any weight but my husband lost 8 pounds.)

And I promised myself to stop the 2 am small meals! (Which means go to bed earlier and get up earlier.  Green Talk can wait.)

Are you suffering from the same problem?

Goal #2:

Find more time to have fun.  Life just seems to keep passing me by.

• Do you feel you never see your friends enough?
• You never get to read that amazing book?
• Take that trip that you want to do?

Again, I know I am not the only one feeling this way.  At a recent meeting, I listened to a group of people express how there wasn’t enough time in the day to do what they had to do at work.  They looked harried and unhappy. I couldn’t imagine what their home life must be like.  In turn, I felt so sad for them.   Was this treadmill, their destiny?

Do you feel like you are on that same treadmill? Take it from someone who had young children and in a blink of an eye, two are in college.  A blink. Faster than a speeding bullet.

Unfortunately, I can’t shed any light on this subject except the realization that I too struggle with this dilemma as well.   I am a work in process but I know that simplicity has to be the key. Simplicity in the demands I make upon myself and simplicity in what I decide to take on.  Does it have to be perfect?

How about you?  What do you want to change for 2011? Do you have hopes for 2011 or do you see more struggles?

Are the elastic pants no longer working for you?

Photo by Daniel Voyager.

Similar Posts:

• Reuse Your Old Panty Hose Rather than Chucking in the Trash
• How to Be a Superhero for Planet Earth!
• ioby’s Co-Founder is a Green Gal Next Door. Inspiring Local Change
• Grow Your Own Vegetable Seedlings. Slim your Waist and Footprint.
• Organic Nanny Says Chicken Nuggets Can be Healthy

Fabricwrapper gift wrap for all occasions. Check out my Giveway below!

How would you like a gift wrap that makes your gift the fairest of them all?  And to boot, makes Kermit one happy frog? Give up?  No,  Miss Piggy is not the answer.   Fabric gift wraps and bags by Fabricwrapper!  Read on to discover why you will love Fabricwrapper as much as I do, and win a fabric gift wrap in the contests listed below.

Why Switch from Paper to Fabric?

Why should you switch to products offered by Fabricwrapper?  Two reasons. The environment and the look. In my opinion, a fabric gift wrap is so much more chic than a gift wrapped in paper wrap.  Plus, giving a fabric wrapped gift is like giving two gifts in one.  Your recipient can reuse that bag over and over again or give it away.

Secondly, you know how I feel about paper gift wrap and its effect on the environment.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, our trash increases by twenty-five percent! Translated, that  means an humongous amount of trash being buried in landfills.  Worse yet,  four million tons of our trash during the holidays is wrapping paper. That is downright disgusting.  The products offered by Fabricwrapper give you an option to not only be greener, but give a stylish gift as well.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, all the fabric gift wraps are washable and made in the USA.

Anna, you got me so excited. I broke out into a cold sweat. Tell me more about their products.

I feel like Monty Hall here.  Fabricwrapper offers three different fabric gift wrap products. Carol Merrill, show us what is behind door number 1.

Bags for Anything.

Fabricwrapper Gift Bag.

(The Crowd Oohs and Ahhs)

Want a quick and easy solution to wrap you gifts?  Slide your gift into one of these cute fabric  bags.   Fabricwrapper offers different size bags in a multitude of colors and themes which will fit your wine bottles to toy gifts.  The features of the above festive bag are as follows:

• 7” x 13”
• 2” complimentary fabric encasing
• 35 inches of 5/8″ ribbon
• Wraps anything from wine bottles to dog bones; this bag will fit anything tall and slim. Barbies, vases, wool socks, hot sauce, olive oil, rolled T-shirts, wallets, etc.
• Priced at $5.99.

Carol, door number 2 please.

Fabricwrappers

Fabricwrapper gift wrapper with attached ribbon

(The Crowd starts clapping wildly.)

I love these fabricwrappers.  I haven’t seen anything else like this on the internet. The fabric is reversible and has an attached satin ribbon that you pull through a button hole on the bottom to make a beautiful bow.  They come in various sizes and colors just like the bags.  Great for wrapping books, DVD, gift certificates, and more.  The fabricwrapper listed above has the following features:

• 11.5” x 23”

Reversible Fabricwrapper for wrapping presents

• Reversible.  (See the two colors above?  In the picture one side is green and the other is a Christmas tree theme?)
• 34 inches of 5/8″ ribbon on each side
• Priced at $6.99

How do you wrap a gift with one of that fabricwrapper?  I thought you would ask. So, I made a video to showcase my hands, um the fabricwrapper for you all to see.  Watch my below video of 

Fabricwrappers' Ode to Furoshiki.

Vanna, turn the letter.  Wait a minute.  Wrong show. Carol? (The crowd claps but isn’t sure of what a Furoshiki really is.)

Rest assured, an Ode to Furoshiki is one of the most versatile fabric gift wraps that I know.  You can wrap a box, books, and even wine glasses in so many different ways. Like all the other Fabricwrapper products, they come in different colors.  The one above has the following features:

• 30” x 34″
• Wraps almost anything… In or out of a box.
• See wrap instructions for examples. This is the most standard size Furoshiki. (Or you can watch a bona fide klutz like me

  One wish I do have for the Fabricwrapper is that they use more organic or recycled cotton fabrics.  However, founder, Steph Lancaster explained that “[w]e do have an organic line but they are all listed in our clearance section.  We had to wash all of them and since the material is so sensitive it changed the appearance.” I know how green minded this Company is and I bet in the future they will endeavor to have more organic products.

  Oh Happy Day.  A Giveaway!

  

  Polka dot all occasion fabricwrapper

  I love giveaways.  Don’t you?  Fabricwrapper, in keeping with the holiday spirit, is offering Green Talk readers the above pictured medium every occasion fabricwrapper. Steph tells me the above fabricwrapper is the Company’s most popular general occasion fabricwrapper!

  Rules, Rules, Rules.

  Want to enter, here are the rules:

  • You must be over 18 and live in the US.
  • Leave me a comment here telling me about why you would love to win this fabricwrapper.   If you don’t have a specific reason, just say so.
  • To double your chances consider joining my free Newsletter email list or subscribe to my RSS feed. Both subscriptions are listed on the upper right hand column. Be sure to come back and leave a separate additional comment to tell me which one you joined. If you are already a member, just say so.
  • To triple  your chances of winning, tweet about this contest and come back and leave a separate additional comment of the url (weblink) of your twitter comment.
  • To “fourple” your chances, consider joining Green Talk’s Facebook Fan Page!  Again, leave a comment that you joined with your Facebook name.
  • You must enter by Monday, December 27, 2010 6 PM EST time to win. Winners will be chosen at random on December 28, 2010 .  Good Luck everyone!

  Disclaimer:  I was given products from Fabricwrapper for free to give my honest opinon.  No pay to play here.  Just the wrap. Also, we value your privacy and your email will not be shared with anyone.

  Photos courtesy of Fabricwrapper.com

  Music on videos:

  Kids then Age by Fireproof_Babies is licensed under a Sampling Plus.

  Similar Posts:

  • To Wrap or Not, That is the Eco-Friendly Present Question
  • Greener Holiday Greeting Cards, Bows, Etc. Trimmings without the Trash.
  • 18 Ways to Cure the Unwanted Gift Blues
  • Tis the Season For a Greener Wrapping Paper Fundraiser?
  • Greener Holidays: Sage Advice to Last You Through Gift Returns
  ]]> http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/20/fabric-gift-wraps-by-fabricwrapper-greener-choice-to-wrapping-paper/feed/ 34 http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/19/recycled-content-or-live-christmas-tree-alternatives-for-the-holidays/ http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/19/recycled-content-or-live-christmas-tree-alternatives-for-the-holidays/#comments Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:01:33 +0000 Anna@Green Talk http://www.green-talk.com/?p=7651
  
  
  
  

  Recycled Plastic Bottle Christmas Tree in Paris, France

  
  If I could rewrite the lyrics of “O Christmas Tree,” to incorporate a greener theme, I would sing the first verse of the song as follows:

  O, Christmas tree, O Christmas Tree,

  I wish that buying a green one is what people could see.

  O Christmas tree, O Christmas Tree,

  Perhaps they could replant, rent, or re-purposing thee.

  A lyrist I am not, but the point I am making is how many plastic trees are used for Christmas with lead in them? Or trees that are cut down to be put in the trash? You know I am no stranger to wishing people used live Christmas trees or Christmas trees made out of recycled content materials.  If you want to call me a treehugger, then I will proudly wear the ornament.

  If you Must have a Tree, Buy a Replantable Tree

  In my article, “Buy a Real Christmas Tree like Charlie Brown ,” I cited the following  benefits of buying a live tree espoused by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service:

  • “Help to settle out, trap and hold particle pollutants (dust, ash, pollen and smoke) that can damage human lungs.
  • “Absorb CO₂ and other dangerous gasses and, in turn, replenish the atmosphere with oxygen.
  • Produce enough oxygen on each acre for 18 people every day.
  • Absorb enough CO₂ on each acre, over a year’s time, to equal the amount you produce when you drive your car 26,000 miles. Trees remove gaseous pollutants by absorbing them through the pores in the leaf surface. Particulates are trapped and filtered by leaves, stems and twigs, and washed to the ground by rainfall.”

  In Portland, the Original Living Christmas Tree actually plants the trees for you.  Not in Portland?  The Company provides sage advice on how to pick a potted  Christmas tree as well as planting it yourself or donating it to your community park service or someone who wants the tree.  Check out my other suggestions for live trees and plants.  My favorite is a rosemary bush.

  What about re-purposing items to look like a Christmas tree?

  The question is do you need an evergreen  tree at all to have an X-mas tree?  I know that sounds like a strange question, but creative people are re-purposing items and creating a recycled content environmentally friendly tree.  See below:

  

  Recycled Plastic Water Bottle Christmas Tree in Israel

  In Haifia, Israel, designer, Hadas Itzcovitch and her father, artist Ernest Itzcovitch, created  a tree out of 5,480 recycled plastic bottles illuminated by  LED lights to raise awareness of environmental issues.

  

  Christmas Tree made out of Books

  Recyclart featured an X-mas tree at the San Franscio Gleeson Library made out of books.   I bet everyone could make a tree like this. Best of all, no one has to clean up the needles. Just dismantle and shelve the books.

  

  FSC certified recycled content cardboard Christmas Tree

  Over on Fake Plastic Fish, Beth, my friend who hates plastic, features an X-mas tree made out of FSC certified, 100% recycled cardboard from Cascades. Ah, a tree that you simply need to fold and store. These trees come in various sizes and colors ranging in price from $24-$40.

  

  Heineken Bottle Christmas Tree

  Over on GreenDiary, they featured a 1000 recycled Heineken beer bottle X-mas Tree that was displayed in Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China.  (Source of the picture.)  At your next party, start collecting those beer bottles.

  Israel is not the only one to have their very own recycled plastic bottle Christmas tree.  The DesignPackGallery, Coca-Cola, the City of Paris, and EcoPackaging teamed up to  informed people of the benefits of recycling plastic bottles.  To that end,  Paris got its own recycled plastic Christmas tree made by Fabrice Peltier, founder of DesignPackGallery. (See picture at the beginning of the article.)  Several other plastic trees were installed through out the City.   (Source of the picture.)

  

  Recycled Cardboard and Plastic Bottle Christmas Tree Kit

  Want your very own recycled bottle Christmas tree and live in France?  The DesignPackGallery sells the above kit at the gallery with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the WWF.

  For more ideas for recycled material based Christmas trees, see here.

  Do you have a Nontraditional X-mas Tree to Share?

  As you can tell from my lyrics above, I am not the creative one, but merely the storyteller.  Let me know below how you have created a nontraditional holiday tree. Or alternatively, tell me if you have spotted a nontraditional Christmas tree on the internet or around town.  Add the link in your comment.

  Better yet, upload your videos or picture to Green Talk’s Fan Page for all of my friends to see.  Sometimes, all it takes is someone with a little imagination for others to follow.

  Let’s sprinkle some green Christmas magic around the internet!

  Similar Posts:

  • Buy a Real Christmas Tree Just like Charlie Brown
  • Wow Imports: Fair trade and Recycled Fun Household Products
  • Greener Holidays: Sage Advice to Last You Through Gift Returns
  • Elmer’s Glue Sticks and Bottle Recycling Program & Giveaway
  • Green Christmas, How to Have a Joyous, Eco-Friendly Holiday Season Book Review
  ]]> http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/19/recycled-content-or-live-christmas-tree-alternatives-for-the-holidays/feed/ 7 http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/07/greener-holiday-greeting-cards-bows-etc-trimmings-without-the-trash/ http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/07/greener-holiday-greeting-cards-bows-etc-trimmings-without-the-trash/#comments Wed, 08 Dec 2010 02:41:04 +0000 Anna@Green Talk http://www.green-talk.com/?p=7492
  
  
  
  

  Happy Holidays Greeting Card Make on Reclaimed Paperboard

  I recently guest posted over on Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen about how to green your wrapping paper options.  Why?   With Over 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bags used during the holidays along with ribbons, bows, tissue paper, and cardboard box, I wasn’t surprised to learn Americans throw away 25% more trash from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

  I listed numerous options from the a simple ribbon around a white box to making your own gift wraps. But in order to keep the article concise, I decided to break the article up into two parts:  greener wrapping paper options on Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen blog and all the rest of your gift wrapping trimming here from bows to greeting cards.

  Just Stop laughing.

  You all must be thinking there is no way she wrote a short article for Maria. Brevity is not Anna’s strong suit.   Oh by the way, know it alls, I still have plenty to say for this green bows to greeting cards article. I don’t want you to feel deprived.

  Holiday Greeting Cards

  According to a 2007 Washington Post article, Hallmark estimated that over 2.2 billions cards would be sent during the holiday season. How many do you figure end up in the trash?    So, here are some greener suggestions:

  • Send post-consumer recycled content holiday greeting cards.  Conservatree.com has a long list of vendors to choose from.
  • Send greeting cards online from such online venues as Hallmark, American Greetings, and others.
  • Like sending the greeting cards with pictures? Consider sending them through Pingg and Paperless Post.
  • Want to take greeting cards to the next level?  This is one of my favorite suggestions. Consider sending a video montage. All you have to do is upload your photos on Animoto and their program does the rest.  Your video will look like you’ve spent hours creating it.  (It will be our little secret.)
  • Consider buying ReGreet cards where your recipients can resend your card to someone else.
  • Make your own cards from making paper.  Great family project.

  Instead of trashing or recycling the holiday greeting cards, consider the following:

  • Reuse them for next year. Just strike out your name and insert your friend’s name!
  • Cut them up and use the cards as gift tags for the next year.
  • Send them to St Jude’s Ranch for Children so that the cards can be used to create new cards.  This program helps the children learn entrepreneurial skills.   You can purchase the new cards online.  Note, you can send cards all year round.
  • Use the cards for scrapbooking and children’s art projects.

  Gift Tags:

  With every gift comes a gift tag.  Here are some more greener options to show off your holiday gifts.

  • Um, last year’s gift cards!
  • Cut up old Cereal boxes and decorate the back with Christmas ornaments.  (Someone I know even uses the cereal boxes for her business cards.)
  • Give Seeded gift tags.  (Just plant those gift tags!)

  Bows and Ribbon:

  With packages comes bows and ribbons.  Consider the following greener options:

  • Although it might be too late for this year, consider saving ribbons from all the other gifts you receive during the year. Then you have a whole pile of used ribbons.
  • Use recycled content ribbon.  You can purchase a variety of eco-friendly ribbon here. In addition, Creamy City Ribbon offers organic and recycled cotton ribbon by request.  (Ordinarily they sell cotton ribbon.)
  • Make your own bows out of old magazines. This project is great to share with your kids.
  • Make your bows out of chips bags.  I absolutely love this idea!
  • Buy an up-cycled bow made out of sheet music. 
  • Use Hemp twine, recycled paper ribbon, or Raffia fiber to give your gifts that Earthly look.

  Tape:

  I don’t know about you, but I cannot wrap a gift without using alot of tape.  However, tape on the wrapping paper makes it unrecyclable.  So, here are some greener ideas:

  • Consider wrapping your gifts without tapes.
  • Don’t use wrapping paper and simply tie any of the Ribbon suggestions above around a plan white box.
  • If you do get a wrapped gift, take off the tape and then recycle (if you can)  or reuse the paper. By the way, wrapping paper makes great backdrops to framed pictures.

  Alternatives to the Cardboard box:

  Consider choosing one of the below greener suggestions rather than using the cardboard box for your holiday gift:

  • Thrift shops have a wonderful assortment of pans, trays, glasses, and ceramic bowls. Use old plates and ceramic bowls as gift holders full of goodies.
  • Keep old cardboard boxes from this year’s gifts.  Reuse them next year.

  Don’t forget to green your tissue paper as well.  Consider seeded tissue paper from companies such as Little Kay Garden.

  What Are Your Suggestion?

  Now, not to brag, but the above are some pretty creative suggestions.  But I also pride myself for having some of the most creative readers. So, spill on how you green your gift wrapping options with all the frills.  Upload pictures or videos to Green Talk’s Facebook Fan Page or to the Forum.

  Photo by Kim Love of The Lovelihood.Similar Posts:

  • Greener Holidays: Sage Advice to Last You Through Gift Returns
  • Reuse your Greeting Cards to Spread Joy to Others
  • To Wrap or Not, That is the Eco-Friendly Present Question
  • Seltzer Goods: Sassy Green Greeting Cards, Notebooks, and Wrapping Paper
  • Tis the Season For a Greener Wrapping Paper Fundraiser?
  ]]> http://www.green-talk.com/2010/12/07/greener-holiday-greeting-cards-bows-etc-trimmings-without-the-trash/feed/ 12 http://www.green-talk.com/2010/11/30/shop-nothing-get-your-retail-fix-with-no-harm-to-the-planet/ http://www.green-talk.com/2010/11/30/shop-nothing-get-your-retail-fix-with-no-harm-to-the-planet/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:33:44 +0000 Anna@Green Talk http://www.green-talk.com/?p=7432
  
  
  
  

  Shop Nothing. The Retail Cure.

  Do you buy to buy? Think about it.  If you see something you like, do you stop and say, well I really don’t need it even though you can afford it?  Don’t feel bad. Lots of people feel the same way especially if you are spending it for others.  So, much that despite high unemployment and other economic concerns, online retail sales are predicted to reach  $32.4 billion this holiday season, which is an 11 percent gain from last year.

  What happens if you are teetering between a Buy Nothing Black Friday Supporter to itching to press that “Buy Now” button?  Materialistic but realize your impact on the Planet? Shop Nothing offers you some retail therapy so that you can “buy nothing” but still get to press the buy button.  Confused?  So was I.

  What is Shop Nothing?

  Current MBA student Jonathan Mariano explains,

  “[y]ou must think ShopNothing is a crazy idea. How can someone sell nothing for something?

  Nothing for free cannot go head to head with the latest iWidget, eDoodad, or xFad. But nothing for a price may be able to compete. ShopNothing provides that alternative where nothing can truly compete with something.

  If you need a little retail therapy, look no further than ShopNothing. We provide a retail experience where you can find fashionable great deals on nothing.

  Sustainable goods and services attempt to lessen our impact on the planet. But there is still an impact. Sometimes, the most sustainable thing you can buy is nothing. ShopNothing gives you the choice to buy nothing, or buy nothing.”

  According to Mariano’s blog, he contemplated entering into a business contest and pondered did the world really need a new doodad.  As he explains, the concept of buying nothing, which has no impact on the Planet, became so obvious to him that he created Shop Nothing.

  

  Consider Shop Nothing's Nothing Delusion Item

  Now you can shop for nothing basic priced at $.99 to nothing acidic priced at $999.999.00.  I personally like nothing delusional at $9999.00:

  “Is nothing reality in a delusion? Or can nothing be a delusion in reality? “The belief that one’s own view of reality is the only reality is the most dangerous of all delusions.” -Paul Watzlawick, Psychologist. Find out with Nothing Delusion.”

  So for the time being, Shop Nothing will be open for business until the end of the 2010 Holiday season.  However, it Shop Nothing become a one-shop-nothing success, Mariano will continue offering us greenies more buy-nothing-retail therapy.

  But He is Charging to Pay Nothing?

  Okay. This stumped me too.  I guess he wanted you to feel that you are buying something with your money.  But why not just offer to give money to charities?

  But where is all the money going?  According to Mariano,

  “If ShopNothing actually catches on, I plan on donating part of the proceeds to a non-profit organization, one that is fairly well known and many of us use almost daily (I know I use it daily!) Part will probably go to Uncle Sam. And the rest will be for my next “crazy” project or startup down the road.”

  Got to Love His Parity on Cyber Monday:

  “We have some Nothing specials for Cyber Monday!

  “Nothing Basic was $4.99, now only $.99.
  Nothing Essential was $9.95, now only $1.99.
  Nothing Deluxe was $19.95, now only $9.95.
  Nothing Premium was $99.95, now only $19.95.

  Limited time! Get Nothing at bargain prices:)!”

  Will He Succeed?

  • What do you think?
  • Would you buy from Shop Nothing?
  • Will people just buy out of principle to denounce our ultra-materialistic world?
  • Will people blindly shop for some of their money to go to unnamed charity?

  Time will tell.  Mariano states he will disclose after the 2010 holiday season the traffic and revenues generated. Should be interesting especially since Shop Nothing was featured in Discovery’s Treehugger who has plenty of green readers.Similar Posts:

  • Lotus Balance Board: Get Your Sustainable Core Back
  • Double Impact: The Business of Creating Social Change
  • Double Impact: Change Your Carbon Footprint. Earn Money for Charities.
  • Walmart’s $20,000 Earth Day, Every Day School Challenge Grant
  • Water Conservation Products Backed by Education. American Standard’s Newest Effort
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