How Do You: Make your holiday shopping count for more than piles of unrecyclable wrapping paper?

With the holidays bearing down, I’m looking for ideas from you on strategies to maximize the impact of your gift giving. Last year I did a great job of using holiday gifting as an opportunity to pass along items in my storage room to family and friends who could use them. I figured I accomplished multiple goals without adding to the production waste stream.

Presuming there is something you’ll be buying in the next month, what ideas do you have for:

• supporting local businesses, artists, and artisans, including those that are women-owned?
• helping non-profit organizations?
• emptying your house of unneeded stuff?
• promoting environmental stewardship?

To offer your suggestions, click the comment link below this article and you can also see what others are saying. Here are a couple ideas to get you started:

• We buy our Christmas trees from Greenlake Elementary.  It’s their big fundraising activity each year
• Woodland Park Zoois promoting its animal adoption program. You get a nice stuffed animal and educational information to go along with it. The World Wildlife Fund does a similar program – my kids really liked their adoption kits last year. What other non-profits offer special holiday giving ideas?
• Several local schools, my son’s included, sell Sally Foster wrapping paper as a fundraiser. This year their papers are all recyclable – yippee! There may be other recyclable brands as well. If you want to support our public school, let me know and I’ll send you the link.
• Here’s a woman-owned gift shop in Wedgwood, Fresh, that has gotten great reviews. What others are out there?
• Offer experiences rather than things – no waste and you get the added benefit of spending time with friends. What are your best experiences?

- Janet Pelz

 

Comments

[Andy Cahn]

Last year, my youngest son bought me enough carbon offsets that I could drive all year without guilt! (It helps that I commute by bike.) There are many organizations that sell carbon offsets. Buy someone a guilt-free year and help the environment at the same time.

[Edna Shim]

I buy my coffee - yes direct vs. fair trade, shade grown, organic arabica beans from a local cooperative run and managed by the children of coffee growers in Guatemala.
The coffee can be purchased from Global Visionaries (GV) a nonprofit organization. The coffee comes in 12 oz bags in French or Dark roast, ground or whole beans for $12. www.global-visionaries.org

[Beth Brunton]

I contribute to the Alternative Gift Guide created by the Social Justice Committee of the Rainier Valley UnitariansUniversalist Congregation. The Guide includes both local service groups and groups in India, Nicaragua and Africa. I buy soccer balls and baseball mits for Nicaraguan children in the name of my nephews and nieces, contribute to BikeWorks and the Rainier Valley Food Bank in the name of other friends and relatives. More info at rvuuc.org

[Jennifer Bucher]

10,000 Villages on the corner of Roosevelt and 65th offers handmade items from artisans in Asia, South America and Africa. It is a fair trade business; the artists set their own prices and buying their stuff gives them the opportunity to earn a fair wage. I learned about it when a non-profit I am involved in had a fundraiser there - the merchandise is affordable and very nice.

[Beth D.]

Last year I purchased a donation of a starter flock of chickens in a developing country as a teacher gift, through Heifer International! I also enjoy buying locally made artisan gifts at places such as the Phinney Neighborhood Center sale and Soulumination, both this weekend, and my wreath supports the Eckstein orchestra. Am looking forward to hearing other ideas...