[] TL: GREEN HOLIDAY IDEAS TO SAVE MONEY AND THE EARTH (GP) SO: Greenpeace USA DT: December 1991 Keywords: toxics alternatives greenpeace gp factsheets us / With a little thought and some planning, there are many things we can do during the holiday season that not only help protect our earth but save money at the same time. Below are just a few Green holiday suggestions to get you started. Think of them as your personal holiday gift to the earth. FACT: In less than 50 years, more than 25% of the earth's forest land has disappeared. This year alone more than 35 million Christmas trees will be cut, decorated and enjoyed for two or three weeks and then discarded. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Buy a live Christmas tree with a root ball, and after the holiday, plant it in your yard to help protect the earth from global warming. Trees consume carbon dioxide, a major part of air pollution, and give back oxygen. If you live in an apartment or don't have anywhere to plant a tree, donate it to a park, school, hospital or other public place in your area. If you must buy a cut tree, be sure to have it mulched after the holiday rather than adding to a landfill. Both Ikea furniture stores and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream mulch trees after the holidays as do many parks and zoos around the country. *For your tree decorations, use natural, non-plastic items that can be reused or that biodegrade easily. Some suggestions: popcorn, berries, shells, pine cones, dried flowers, mistletoe and cookies. Glass ornaments can be used year to year but can be recycled if broken. *Give plants--indoor and outdoor--they help clean indoor air and help lessen carbon dioxide pollution outdoors. Potted and hanging plants and window sill herbs are great for indoors and rose bushes, trees and shrubs are great outside. Plants are a gift that will have you remembered all year round. FACT: Americans produce almost 150 million tons of garbage per year. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Wrap your gifts in cloth--napkins, scarves, handkerchiefs--which can look nicer, and the wrapping itself can be part of the present. Or wrap your gifts in old newspapers (the comics are best), magazines or paper bags to save paper and, therefore, trees. If you can't, use only recycled wrapping paper and be sure it can be recycled again (i.e. no glossy stuff). The same goes for holiday cards. *Give cloth napkins and dish towels--they are gifts that can be used over and over again, look nice and help to avoid disposables. *Give presents that don't involve excess paper or plastic packaging like homemade foods, volunteer services--babysitting, cleaning, and errands--or tickets to a play, ballet or concert. Give a donation in the name of a friend or family member to your favorite environmental group. *Create gift baskets of products that step lightly on the earth-- energy efficiency light bulbs, low-flow shower heads and non- toxic cleaning products for the home. *Give non-toxic bath oils and soaps in decorative glass containers. *Give a child hours worth of coloring fun with The World of Greenpeace coloring mural made with recycled paper and complete with a supply of colored pencils--a peaceful, non-plastic educational adventure. FACT: Americans use enough polystyrene cups every year to circle the globe more than 400 times -- and polystyrene foam is toxic, non-degradable and contributes to ozone depletion. WHAT YOU CAN DO: For coffee, hot chocolate or tea lovers, give ceramic mugs with traveler tops for trips in to work. They keep liquid hot, can be used again and again and help avoid disposables. Or, give gold coffee filters or coffee presses to eliminate the need for paper coffee filters and metal or ceramic tea balls to be used instead of paper tea bags. Whenever possible, buy pesticide-free coffee and loose tea. FACT: We use more than 2 billion disposable batteries every year in the United States. Batteries are a major source of highly toxic and dangerous mercury, cadmium and lead pollution. Batteries end up in our landfills, and thus our water and soil. About 40% of all battery sales are made during the holiday season. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Buy solar-operated electronics when possible. If you are giving a gift that requires batteries, be sure to buy rechargeables and/or the recharger--solar rechargers are available. A rechargeable battery set may be a great gift for someone that uses a portable tape player or other electric goods that require batteries. FACT: Each year almost 30 million acres of tropical rainforests are destroyed primarily to clear land for agriculture and grazing purposes. That's a football field-sized track of forest every time you snap your fingers. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Give gifts derived from sustainable harvesting of rainforest resources such as soap, candy using rainforest nuts, and natural cosmetics. Many of there products are sold in environmentally-aware stores and catalogs. FACT: The average American household used the energy equivalent of 1,200 gallons of oil every year. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Give solar products--calculators, portable radios and cassette players. Buy bikes, walking shoes, public transportation passes. *During the holidays more than ever, turn off your electric lights and rely on candles when you can -- it gives your home a festive look and feel. FACT: In an average year, Americans produce over 50 billion pounds of plastic that is non-degradable, made from petroleum and threatens ocean life and clogs our landfills. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Give a net or decorative cloth grocery sack and cloth lunch sacks--all are sold in the Greenpeace catalog and retail stores. *Give the gift of a cotton shower curtain, tightly woven, that can replace mildewed plastic in your shower and be washed easily and reused over and over again. FACT: In the United States alone the EPA estimates we use 750 thousand pounds of pesticides on our farms. Worldwide, 50% of all insecticides used are used to produce cotton. Cotton production is also a major contributor to formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide and other types of dye pollution. *WHAT YOU CAN DO: Give the gift of green cotton--towels, sheets, blankets, clothes, sweaters and underwear. Green cotton is unbleached, undyed and untreated and is sometimes even grown without pesticides (although harder to find). Green cotton is soft, comfortable and safer for sensitive skin. Environmentally -aware stores (Macy's and Nordstrom's) and catalogs (Seventh Generation) are now carrying green cotton products. *Give organically grown fruit baskets--you'll be supporting the growing number of US farmers who have discovered that fruits and vegetables grown organically are not only better tasting and better for the environment but can also be cost effective. FACT: Americans produce 150 million tons of trash a year and 50% of that waste could, but is usually not, recycled. WHAT YOU CAN DO: If you haven't already, make a New Year's resolution to recycle your newspapers, glass, aluminum, cardboard and metals. FACT: Americans throw away almost 20 billion disposable diapers a year, almost all of which go untreated into our landfills. WHAT YOU CAN DO: For friends with newborns--purchase a month or more's use of a local cloth diaper service or go in on it with other friends for a full year. Cloth services are thought to be not only cost competitive with disposable plastic diapers (not to mention much better for the environment) but in some places may be significantly cheaper. If you can't afford a service, how about a set of cloth diapers and/or a diaper cover (usually wool works best). #### To receive the Greenpeace catalog, call 1-800-327-3223. Greenpeace stores are located at: Greenpeace San Francisco 890 North Point, San Francisco, California Greenpeace Key West 612 Duval Street, Key West, Florida ENDS [Greenbase Inventory December 30, 1991 ] =======##=======