Health & Fitness
An Eastside Guide to a Green Holiday
Darsi counts down her five tips to making the holidays greener—greener for the season, greener for the environment, greener for the local economy and greener for your pocketbooks!
Green is the color of the season! Well, green and red, but why not make that green a really rich colored green. Green for the wreaths and evergreen garland, green for the environment, green for the local economy and green for your pocketbooks!
Here are a few tips to get you started, and started soon, as the winter holiday season is almost here!
- Shop Local—The first tip is one you have likely heard a number of times before and bears repeating. Purchase some of your gifts from local stores and craft fairs! Help spread the word of good places to shop and share your favorites in the comments section below.
- Buy Environmentally Smart—Purchase now to maximize your recycling vs. garbage output later on. For instance, buy the type of wrapping paper that can be recycled afterwards. In King County, this includes all wrapping paper except the shiny and metallic.
- Gift Exchange the Experience—Make a date in lieu of the traditional gift exchanges. It helps to agree on this plan before the gifts are purchased, so ping your friends today to see if they would be interested in attending a local holiday theatrical production or movie together instead!
- Gifts that keep on Giving—And for those gift purchases, consider buying less but of higher quality. Toys made of natural materials, items that hold their resale value like Legos and books, and clothing that can be resold or handed down later make great gifts. One of the brands leading this theme is Patagonia to the extent that they are offering an easier way for their customers to resale the items later on eBay!
- Save Money!—The last one is my Eco-Advantage tip for the season that will help even more in the new year! Make it a priority this season to keep your habit going strong in sending the food scraps to the appropriate bins and keep them out of the landfill. There is no better time than now, as King County disposal prices are going up in 2012. Click here and scroll down to the "King County Focus" article for more info.
Share your Eastside favorites in the comments section below: Local businesses? Craft fairs? Great gift certificate locations? Upcoming holiday productions?
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