Greening Your Holidays

'Tis the season to show the Earth you care

by EMILY MURGATROYD

The holidays are a rare time when cranberries trump BlackBerrys, waistlines give for chocolate and fine wine, and the urge to decorate and sing has been known to overcome even the surliest grinch.

As we near the end of 2007—the year when green finally went mainstream—many of us are thinking beyond the usual shopping, wrapping, cooking, and decorating madness, and trying to find ways to celebrate that are gentler on the planet.

With this in mind, we bring you some ideas for having an even greener holiday season than the kind we’re already accustomed to on the West Coast.

Décor

Lighten Your Footprint
Snuff out traditional paraffin candles and light up with beeswax or soy candles instead. Paraffin is a petroleum waste by-product containing major carcinogens that are released
as the candles burn. Soy and beeswax candles burn cleaner and last twice as long. Beeswax candles also smell sweet naturally, while many soy candles are scented with essential oils. I’ve bought lavender-scented ones in the past and they smell heavenly.

Don’t Trash Your Tree
Because Christmas trees are grown on farms, you can bring home a tree without worrying that you’re clear-cutting a forest. But be sure to reduce waste by “recycling” the tree once you take it down. If you live in a household with yard-trimming collection, you can put your old tree out on regular collection days.

Or you could extend the spirit of givingbeyond the New Year and take your tree to a charitable tree-chipping event. For a small cash or non-perishable-food donation, local non-profits transform trees into wood chips. These in turn go into the municipal compost, which is used by the City of Vancouver’s Park Board and engineering departments and sold to local landscapers. Using the key words “Christmas tree,” you can search the City’s website, vancouver.ca, for a wood-chipping event near you.

String Along
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are the rage in Christmas lights—indoor and out. The soft glow of these colourful lights are up to 90 per cent more efficient than incandescent bulbs, and they last for about 200,000 hours! (Bonus: if one light burns out, you don’t have to worry about the whole string losing power.)

Gifts

It’s a Wrap
I used old magazines to wrap gifts for my family last year, and nobody turned to me and said, “I really missed the Rudolph-and-Jesus-making-dreidels-under-Santa’s-watchful-eye wrapping paper you used before. It’s a shame you’ve turned into such a hippie.” So hatch a new tradition—while saving yourself the trip, the time, the trees, and the money—and wrap your gifts in old magazines and newspapers. (Hint: this issue of SharedVISION will make great wrapping paper once it’s been read from cover to cover.)

Tasteful Treats
Organic and fair-trade teas, coffees, and chocolates make great stocking stuffers. Muzi Tea is a local company that sources organically and ethically grown teas. In addition to supporting low-impact, traditional farming operations, their cute tins are recyclable and reusable. And their vanilla rooibos is to die for.

Local and handmade Mink Chocolates are beautiful, and include several organic options. Their “Artist Series” Bon Bons features whimsical designs by local artists on each chocolate. Careful buying these though: if you’re like me, you might find yourself stuffing your face instead of stuffing the stockings.

Gifts That Keep on Giving
Services aren’t shipped from afar, they never break down, and they don’t take up any space. So when shopping for loved ones, consider a gift certificate for a cooking class, a massage, or—if it’s been a season filled with cocktail parties—a private yoga or Pilates session.
For long-lasting gift ideas, the key is to think before you buy. Consider giving only local or fairly traded goods. Products made out of natural materials are also a great idea. Not only are these Earth friendly, but they show that you’ve put care and thought into your gifts—which, at the end of the day, is what giving is all about.

Emily Murgatroyd is the owner of Greenprint Events (greenprintevents.com), Vancouver’s premier sustainable event-planning company. She considers herself a hippie disguised as a businesswoman.

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