Greening the Holidays

Greening the Holidays

Whether you're preparing for the start of Hannukah this Friday, for Solstice next Thursday, or planning upcoming parties for Christmas, Kwanzaa, or the New Year, you can use Co-op America's Web site to help you go green.

Use the Green Pages™ online to find all your sustainable party supplies. Use our Real Money , to find articles on green celebrations and more, and use our Responsible Shopper site to get the dirt on the worst corporations – before you go shopping.

To get you started, here's our list of the top five ways to go green for your holidays:

1. Make your holiday meals local and organic. Find resources from Local Harvest, the Eat Well Guide, and Co-op America's Good Food Guide.
   
   
2. Give green gifts. Search our Green Pages™ for everything on your list, or check out our Real Money article on cool solar gadgets for exciting energy-saving gift ideas. (Or, give loved ones the gift of your time, talents, and affection, and direct your consumer dollars toward those in need.)
   
   
3. Use recycled or tree-free gift wrap. Old maps, comics pages, or even festively decorated brown paper bags can be turned into beautiful giftwrap without the waste. Or, consider using reusable gift bags or tree-free/reusable giftwrap, both available in the Green Pages™.
   
   
4. Find a sustainable tree. Our Real Money article gives you the low-down on the sustainability of different types of trees, whether live, artificial, or even potted (and re-plantable!).
   
   
5. Recycle everything! After the holidays, check out Earth 911's excellent recycling information by searching for area resources in your ZIP code, or by jumping straight to their holiday page for tips on recycling trees, wrapping paper, product packing materials, and other leftovers. (Also, don't forget to recycle your obsolete electronics if you receive new ones as presents. For example, the Rechargable Battery Recycling Corporation, can show you how to recycle power tools, cellular and cordless phones, camcorders, digital cameras, and more, and our Real Money article gives you resources for recycling your old computer.)

Here's to making this the greenest holiday season yet! Even better, forward this to your friends to get everyone you know thinking green this year.