Green Work

If you or someone you know is trying to make a green difference for the environment, consider this when it's time for giving gifts. Gift giving can be green, too. Don't give gifts of stuff that the recipient will never use, that's wasted space and waste for the landfill. Make sure to know your recipient well enough to decide on a gift that they will get some use out of and appreciate. And if you don't know the recipient very well, you can still give green gifts.

Consumable gifts are a great green gift. Fruit baskets, wine and cheese gifts, and even gift cards to grocery stores are all very useful and will be well received and very much appreciated by the recipient. Knowing the recipient is especially important, however, when giving food gifts. Fruit isn't the best gift for a diabetic and wine could be seen as less than a gift if given to a recovering alcoholic. A grocery gift card is a great gift because it is like giving money; the recipient can buy whatever they want with it.

If the recipient is a tree hugger then they will truly appreciate your gift of an acre of saved rain forest on their behalf. You can donate as little as $50 to $100 to save an acre of rain forest from construction and other forms of destruction. The company that you make your donation to will purchase the acre of rain forest. Nobody else who has destructive intentions has any access to it.

Buying gifts from local crafters or putting together a gift basket from local farm markets is a great way to give a green gift. You will not be buying something that has caused a lot of carbon emissions in shipping and you will keep the money within the local community.

Use recycled or recyclable packaging for your green gifts. There are several companies making wrapping paper and gift bags from recycled papers. But recyclable packaging is even more fun and will be considered part of the gift. Recyclable packaging can be pretty baskets or boxes that can be used for keepsake storage. Using a nice silk scarf or a tee shirt and some ribbon to wrap a box is a lot of fun. Just be sure to tell the recipient to take care in the unwrapping process.