Have Yourself an Eco Friendly Little Christmas

Gifts: There are lots of great gifts to buy that use sustainable resources, recycled products and that also help different charities. Look up websites such as Greenpeace, Amnesty International and World Wildlife Fund, who all have great on-line Christmas catalogues. You can also buy presents that are durable, non-disposable, recycled, have no packaging or are made from small local producers. Or be creative and make something yourself!

Trees: One of the most enfren ways of having a Christmas tree is by buying a good quality live one and potting it over Christmas, then replanting it in your garden for reuse next year. You can also use a big house pot plant instead of the usual pine tree, and decorate it with pretty lights and hand-made decorations out of recycled Christmas cards, fabric scraps and wool. Alternatively, you can buy a durable recycled tree that can be use again and again.

Wrapping: Buy wrapping paper with as much recycled content as possible, and again, these usually come from charity or non-profit organisations. You can also reuse paper from last year, reuse brown paper bags as wrapping and tie presents up with colourful string or raffia. Another idea is to wrap presents in fabric scraps or bags, for something unique. Or avoid wrapping altogether and buy people presents such as cinema or concert tickets, memberships to earth-friendly organisations, or buy a family in another country a pig or chicken on behalf of your friends here. Oxfam have a great `Unwrapped’ program on their website.

Cards: Again look for cards with the most recycled content, or make your own. After Christmas pack away you cards to reuse for decorations and hand-made cards next year, or give them to Planet Ark, who recycle them into toilet paper. In Australia, you can do this at any Coles supermarket.

Have a happy (and eco friendly) Christmas.

The complete article is available at www.actionchange.com, issue #10 out 24th November 2006