Posts tagged ‘eco-style’

littlejapanmama

courtesy furoshiki.com

What do you remember most about your childhood holidays?

The smell of cider?

The snow crunching under your boots?

How about that pssssshhhhht sound of wrapping paper as you mercilessly tore it to shreds getting to the goods?

Yeah, that was pretty awesome.

But the environmental impact of gift wrap? Not so awesome.

Every holiday season, an estimated 2-4 million tons of wrapping paper and gift packaging get sent on a permanent holiday vacation – to the dump.

Most wrapping “paper” is made from virgin trees and treated with chemicals to make it shiny and bright. Or it’s made with plastics and other compounds that can’t be recycled or burned in your cozy holiday fire. That means almost all of it ends up in the trash.

The good news is there are a million ways to wrap greener, use fewer resources and harmful chemicals, and even have a positive impact on our planet.

Your best bet is to reuse or re-purpose stuff you already have on hand. To make this easy and convenient, create a “gift wrap bin”  and keep it in a handy location. That one you see there on the right is my bin, tucked away in the closet. I like to have a small separate bag floating binon top to stash ribbon, bows and the like. I rescue anything that survives the gift-opening frenzy and pop it straight into the bin. (Please don’t judge me. My rescued wrappings certainly don’t have hospital corners – I kinda just shove everything in there.)

Notice my bin is almost overflowing. I can almost guarantee you’ll never purchase wrapping supplies again. (If you want to get really organized, you can even have a separate holiday-specific bin.)

courtesy marcicoombs.blogspot.com

courtesy marcicoombs.blogspot.com

A few more ideas to get you wrapping:

  • Reuse household paper and glass. Newspaper, old maps, and brown paper grocery bags are all great choices. Empty glass jars are perfect for jewelry and other small gifts.
  • Wrap with your kids’ artwork. It’s gorgeous. It’s unique. But you have so much of it you’ll soon be forced to rent it its own storage unit. Why not share it instead? Save the best, photograph the rest, and then promptly transfer to your gift wrap bin.
  • Get creative with embellishments. Festive-ize and personalize with rubber stamps, poems, quirky quotes.
    courtesy ecology.com

    courtesy ecology.com

    Cut up last year’s holiday cards and reuse all those snowflakes and sleighbells. Borrow from the garden and tie on a few flowers, leaves or berries.

  • Choose fabric instead of paper. Fabric may not make that satisfying pssshht sound, but it’s infinitely more reusable than paper. Learn a bit of Furoshiki, the Japanese art of fabric wrapping (see feature image). If that sounds way too complicated, stock up on pretty pillowcases from your local thrift shop. Tie top with ribbon and voila – you’re done!
  • Make wrapping a useful part of the gift. Wrap a kid’s gift with a jump rope “ribbon”. Hide your mom’s present in a gorgeous scarf. House a hostess gift in a dishtowel or reusable grocery bag.
  • No wrapping necessary. Support local businesses by gifting a spa service or movie tickets. Give unique experiences from websites like Cloud 9 Living. Or, for the person who has everything, how about a donation in their name to your favorite charity?

What are your green gift wrapping tricks or traditions?

 

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Threads for Thought Juno Poncho

Threads for Thought Juno Poncho

Normally I’m not one to plug a single product or business. But since October is fair trade month I’m going to let you in on a little fair trade secret.

Be Good  has lovely clothing and jewelry for the ladies, gear for the guys, gifts for all. And every stitch of it is socially responsible, fair trade, sustainable, and/or philanthropic (usually and).

For many of us going more eco, our clothing is the final frontier of green-itude. And it can be tricky finding stylish goods in the sea of hemp caftans and beige messenger bags out there.

GoodBoysOwners Mark Spera & Dean Ramadan have curated an amazing collection of fine greenery for the hipster set. In a jaded world of I-can’t-make-a-difference-so-why-bother, their optimism and energy is refreshing and contagious. Plus how can you argue with free shipping over $50 and free returns?

 

Screen shot 2013-10-14 at 1.02.59 PM

Pop in the brick/mortar shop on Union Street in San Francisco, or just pop by the website.

What are some of your favorite online eco-purveyors?

susan lenz

susan lenz

It’s fun to let your personal style shine with unique clothing and accessories. But buying them from conventional stores? Not so fun for the environment.

Most apparel companies use fabrics, dyes and practices that aren’t kind to people or the Earth. Polyester and acrylic fabrics are made from plastics, conventional cotton crops are doused with heavy pesticides, and fair trade is often sacrificed for the bottom line.

The good news is, with growing awareness and the eco-movement in full swing, greening your closet has never been easier!

 

oprah.com

 

 

Swap your stuff: If you need a wardrobe refresher, try doing a temporary trade with your close friends. Share clothing between sisters, mothers and daughters. Or host a clothing swap party with friends, classmates, mom’s groups or even your book club.

 

Hunt for treasure: Who says clothes have to be new to be fabulous? Some of the best (and eco-est) deals can be found second hand. And buying used helps preserve the precious resources that it takes to produce new clothing. Make a mother-daughter lunch date and hit the vintage stores and consignment shops in your area. Or peruse Ebay Green   for greener goods.

 

Choose consciously: Think before you buy something new. Ask yourself: How was this made? Where was it made? What was it made from? Choose natural fabrics over synthetic, and organic whenever possible. Seek out greener brands you can trust. And remember the timeless motto “quality over quantity.” Stock up on classic basics and then spring for a few statement pieces to make your fashion mark.

 

stewart+brown

 

 

Walk the Web: Fire up the online search engine to find your favorite organic clothing purveyors. Here are a few of ours:

 

 

How do you keep your closet green?

(this post soon to be published on Edelbio Skin Care – stay tuned!)