How is the Christmas shopping going? It is time for cheer and lots of warm fuzzy feelings. The songs and pretty lit trees, red Santa’s and the bells ringing is uplifting and infectious.

Because we live such busy lives, we tend to become lazy when thinking about giving. We choose gifts for the “heck” of it, we over buy, or we want to just give that person “something”. We search for sites that have advise on “giving” and in some way we absolve ourselves of the responsibility of thinking about this whole act! This is normal as there is a profusion of items out there calling out for us to buy them – and these days we can afford more.

One person who was very candid about her shopping style shared that she has gifts sorted in her head as:

1. People who need special gifts since they are important for one reason or another
2. People who she really cares for and does it out of love
3. People who really just need a shiny, new, cheap new thing and are on her list

When we shop, we have no idea about how the gifts, decorations, wrapping, and cards will look in the trash pile. Unfortunately there is no app for that just yet. But just imagine if while we scanned a product, it could show us how it will look under a tree after a week, a month, and a year later. If we could see those images, we might buy differently, maybe even gift differently.

So this Christmas, do consider these facts as you shop:

• 300,000 tons of packaging is disposed of
• 1 billion cards go into the bin the day after Christmas
• Wrapping paper used to wrap up all the toys can wrap around the equator 9 times.
• 6 million Christmas trees wind up in landfills

Most of what is gifted and used is thrown out the month following Christmas.

Ask yourself, do you really think this person will like it, need it, use it, cherish it for the next 5 years? If the answer is no to any one of those questions, don’t buy it! Give an envelope of cash instead, make something, or gift an experience or gift a meal!

Just see how many gifts are returned!

It requires a little awareness not to punch that buy button online!

Also do consider buying local, non-toxic gifts! (70% of all gifts come from China. Even our Diwali gifts are mass-produced in China!) Most of these are made of materials that contain toxins, especially the plastic toys and “cute” decorations and knick-knacks. Their carbon footprint is huge.

And if you want some super cool holiday gifts for children, consider our new line of products that help build awareness about e-waste. We’ve got Care Box to help you collect your light bulbs safely. There’s also Ooze Stopper to keep batteries out of landfills. And, finally our fabulous new set of books: Ooze filled with lots of exciting activities for children to learn more about e-waste and electricity.

Don’t kid yourself that it is not possible to enjoy yourself without shopping. Remember the joy you had with all the things that had nothing to do with opening a gift. Don’t worry that people will think of you as “non giving”.

Smile and plan, so you can enjoy the fun and keep from contributing to the waste during this festive season. Have a great Christmas and Happy 2018!

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