Supporting the web of life – try a fair green Christmas
Christmas is coming and with it a constant wave of consumerism. Christmas and gift-giving have been synonymous since it was learned that the three wise kings brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. On the other hand the shunning of gift-giving has been linked to Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel A Christmas Carol. His last name, Scrooge, has come into the English language as a byword for miserliness. It is difficult to maintain a balance between the frenzy and wastefulness of modern consumerism and the miserliness of Scrooge. The market industry moved in and exploited the spirit of gift-giving. Every year one trillion dollars is spent worldwide trying to encourage people to buy goods which they often do not need www.peacechild.org
Gift-giving can be environmentally and ethically sound through chosing gifts that meet the following criteria; local (where possible); green; fairly produced.
Buy food from local farmers markets and make a hamper. This saves on food miles and packaging and supports local food enterprises.
Buy Fairtrade labelled products. This guarantees a price to farmers and contributes to the sustainable development of the developing world.
Support local craft fairs.
Make gifts for your friends.
Encourage your children to make home-made gifts.
Place home-baked food gifts in a reusable tin box or a kitchen container.
A fruit tree or seeds can germinate the spirit of local growing.
A gardening book is ideal for the novice gardener.
Give bird feeders and bird food and encourage your friends to keep the feeding station going.
Look for toys, books, and other products made from recycled materials.
Buy Fairtrade Toys – available from Oxfam To learn more about the benefits visit: http://www.lankakade.co.uk/content/default/index.asp
Buy good as new gifts and books from charity shops. This gives the gift a second life and supports the charity.
Frame a special old family photo in a frame from a charity shop.
Consider how long an item will last. Often, a cheaper item will wear out long before its more durable equivalent.
Consider nonmaterial gifts such as theatre or cinema tickets or treat someone to dinner.
If you send cards, buy recycled-content cards and envelopes or make your own cards and gift tags out of last year's cards.
Send a decorative e-mail
It is estimated that over Christmas as much as 83 square km of wrapping paper ends up in UK rubbish bins - enough to cover an area larger than Guernsey. http://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/recycling2go/
Buy recycled wrapping paper and use string or ribbon for wrapping gifts, rather than using sticky tape. The string and the paper can then be reused.
If your store doesn't sell recycled wrapping paper, suggest that they order it in.
Design your own wrapping paper by decorating paper shopping bags.
Left over wallpaper makes perfect gift wrapping.
Make Your Own Fabric Bags for Gifts – this recycles fabrics as well as saving trees. These would probably be saved by the recipient and reused over and over again. http://www.care2.com/
For the sewing enthusiast, wrap a gift in a fabric remnant and tie it with a piece of lace or ribbon.
A kitchen gift can be wrapped in a colourful dish towel.
Interesting old boxes and baskets can be used as decorative packages.
Wrap gifts for a gardener in an apron, planter, or bucket.
For other alternative wrapping ideas visit http://www.thriftyfun.com/ and to avoid waste, when you go gift-buying, bring your own reusable bags.
Fran Brady