An ECO Christmas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Originally Posted on Sept 5.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An ECO Christmas Part 1

Ok, so how do I have an ECO friendly Christmas and make everyone, including my three children, happy? Hmmmmm......

The Christmas Tree Debate: Real or Fake?

Now, obviously buying a real tree is more environmentally friendly, if you dispose of it in an Eco friendly manner or plant it in the ground. And if you care for the tree well while it is in your home, making sure to keep it well watered so it does not turn into a fire hazard.

What if you are allergic?
We use an artificial Christmas tree. The same tree we have used for the last four years when my husband and I became a couple and got our own place. We plan to keep it until, well forever. But artificial trees are non-renewable, non-recyclable and non-biodegradable plastic. So buy a great one the first time around and take good care of it.

Try these options when you will be getting a real Christmas tree;

Buy from a small-scale sustainable grower and/or make sure the tree has Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation. Go to www.soilassociation.org/christmas for a list of producers.

BUY A TREE WITH ROOTS AND PLANT!

Planting a new Christmas tree after is a great way to leave an eco-friendly legacy. After only a few years, you will have a living reminder of fun and enjoyment in Christmas Past. American Forests provides detailed information about tree planting.

* To potentially reduce air conditioning and heating bill, plant trees strategically near your house to provide cooling shade in the summer and an insulating wind break in the winter.
* Trees clean the air and provide pure oxygen in return.
Planting 30 trees can offset your home and car’s annual contribution to global warming.
* Tree root systems hold in place soil that, if washed away by heavy rains, flow into streams and rivers, making them shallower and causing flooding.
* The EPA claims that planting trees is the best way to reverse the global warming effect.

If replanting isn’t an option:
Most local councils run Christmas tree recycling schemes. Contact yours or go to http://www.letsrecycle.com

Decorate an exterior tree or houseplant instead. (This option is probably not going to make your children happy if they are school age. But younger than 3 or teenagers might not mind)

RECYCLE YOUR TREE!

To avoid discarding old Christmas trees in landfills, where they consume much needed space, consider composting or mulching your tree.

An old Christmas tree…
* Can be ground up and used as mulch in gardens, on trails, or in animal stalls.
* Can be used as sand and erosion barriers on beaches, streambeds, and lakes.
* Can be sunk into private lakes and ponds, where it provides refuge for fish.
** For more information on recycling your tree, click here!

ECO-BENEFITS OF CHRISTMAS TREE FARMS
* While Christmas trees grow, they replenish the air with oxygen; just one acre of Christmas trees produces enough oxygen to support eighteen people.
* Tree farms provide habitat for birds and other wildlife (However, pesticide use on Christmas tree farms could be decreased for even greater environmental benefits.
* Due to their hardiness, Christmas trees are often planted where few other plants grow, thereby increasing soil stability.
* For each Christmas tree cut on tree farms, 2 or 3 new seedlings are planted.

CHRISTMAS TREES ARE NOT ECO-FRIENDLY WHEN:
* They are discarded with regular trash and end up in the landfill or incinerated. Landfills take up space, and incineration pollutes the air.
* They are burned in your trash, causing air pollution and creosote buildup.

Some of these tips were found HERE and HERE

"The holiday spirit can be dampened by the knowledge that monocrop tree farms use pesticides such as glyphosate (Roundup), associated with chest pains and nausea in humans and deadly to many fish and beneficial insects. Other pesticides used include the organophosphates di-syston 15-G, which can cause convulsions and unconsciousness, and dimethoate, which can cause tremors and breathing difficulties. But it's not that you'll need to wear a face mask around your tree. "Many pesticides will have been removed from trees by rain and ultraviolet light by the time they are harvested," says Dr. Thomas Arcury, Ph.D., professor of family and community medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "However, some will remain and, in particular, one, the systemic pesticide di-syston 15-G, may be present in the tree." Luckily, there are better choices to keep this holiday season healthy, organic and even fair-trade friendly."

Trees
As for the tree, "the most sustainable thing is to be sure you put your dollars towards tree growers that you want to keep in business," says Aubrey Raper, co-owner of Rogue Harbor Farm, which sells organic trees, adding, "By all means cut the tree, enjoy the fragrance and when you're done with it put it in a fish pond to serve as an incubator for young fish."

Alternatively, you can decorate houseplants or purchase a potted tree to plant outdoors after the holidays. Sloat Gardens' 11 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area sell potted organic trees ($39.75/1.5 to 3 ft. to $200/6.5 ft.; www.sloatgardens.com; they don't ship). The New Leaf greenhouse in the Bronx borough of New York City sells potted trees, the sales of which support the program's efforts to teach marketable workplace skills to former addicts (www.arguscommunity.org). Elsewhere, visit your farmers' market (see www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm) or check www.localharvest.org for nearby nurseries and organic tree farms. For proper care, see www.forestry.iastate.edu. In San Francisco and Portland, you can rent a tree that will be delivered to you, picked up after New Year's, and planted (in Portland, $60, www.livingchristmastrees.org; in San Francisco, see www.fuf.net for prices).

If you can't buy locally, try a 7-ft. Fraser ($89.95) or balsam fir ($79.95) from NorthlandSent Wreath Company, which applies Roundup only between rows (www.localharvest.org, 218-591-0632).

For other tree recycling tips besides the fish pond, see www.thegreenguide.com.

Wreaths
Darthia Farms has fresh, organic balsam fir wreaths decorated with pine cones, rose hips and a bow for $35. Add mantelpiece greens—organic balsam fir, pine and cedar ($25)—or a centerpiece with three candles ($35; www.meweb.net). For a different take, try McFadden Farm's organic three-herb wreath ($35) or their bay leaf wreath ($22.50), which provide holiday seasonings to your meals long after New Year's Day (www.mcfaddenfarm.com). Or pick Rogue Harbor Farm's certified organic Fraser fir wreaths (from $39; www.localharvest.org; 828-689-4586).

Lights
There are a variety of LED options that run on about a tenth of the energy of conventional lights and, since they produce no heat, don't present the fire risk of traditional bulbs. Forever Bright's traditional strawberry-shaped bulbs (from $14.95), round "razzberry" bulbs (from $12.95) and mini-icicles (from $14.95; www.christmas-treasures.com) are all festive choices. As with conventional lights, the plastic in some strings may include lead, so wash hands after use.

Make sure to check the wiring of all new and used lights you buy this year. Most important of all be safe and keep your family safe.

An ECO Christmas Part 2

Continuing from the previous blog post, look below this post.

So we have covered the tree, the wreaths, and the lights. We still need to discuss decorations, gift wrapping, gifts, and cards.

Decorations

The easiest and cheapest way to decorate (not to mention most ECO friendly) use nature. Forgot those plastic lead cover, chemical filled decorations. Pine cones, cinnamon sticks, berries, poinsettias are all natural signs that the Christmas season is upon us. You can also make your own, this website has some recycled ornaments you can buy, but I am sure if you are creative in anyway you could make these yourself.

Colorful ribbon (made from hemp or bamboo or eco twist ribbon), recycled paper garland, recycled paper snowflakes,
more snowflake how to's

If you have children;

For some reason Santa always seems to track in Magical North Pole Snow. When the kids wake up in the morning there are footprints everywhere!!! This snow is magical because it does not melt! What a delight! Usually the snow smells like baby powder, but I have a feeling the snow will "smell" like baking soda this year!!! Contact me (via the contact button on the upper left column of this blog) for more information!!



Gift Wrapping

Ok, gift wrapping this is why I started this two piece article in the first place. We all should know by now that after all the wrapping is unwrapped, we NEED to recycle it. BUt what about while it sits nicely under the tree?

First use boxes and bags around the house and decorate them yourself. If you have to buy new boxes and bags this year, make sure to save them with your Christmas decorations for next year. If you have older kids make sure to only use that specific White Fluffy Dog with a Santa Hat bag only once "From Santa" and any consecutive years "From Mom and Dad".



Can I find ECO friendly gift wrapping paper? Besides, the cartoons from the Sunday paper, which;
A) we don't receive
B) Are kinda dull for Christmas morning excitement

The search begins......

Recycled Paper Gift Bags

Recycled Wrapping Paper some from Fish Lips

Banana Fiber Paper

Molded Pulp Packaging for shipping gifts to relatives and friends

Unique Gift Wrapping Ideas

More tips and a Video

Amy Butler 100% post consumer recycled

Gift Wrap and more

Gift Bags


WoWza!!!! Thank you for the Internet!
The Christmas Cards

Lots of fun to receive, not so much fun filling out for your whole address book! If you have kids get them involved by using eco friendly kids paint have them each dip a hand in the paint, or you can paint their hand (careful this tends to cause giggles and uncontrollable laughter!!!).
Lay the largest hand on the left side of the card and press down firmly. You can do this for all the cards and lay them out on a flat surface, such as the kitchen table. After that drys, about 10 minutes, or so, do the next largest hand, in a different color, on top of the previous hand. And so on, everyone enjoys getting these cards in the mail and the kids get to help out and it is tons of fun!

Have you heard of plantable cards? No? Well let me introduce you! Plantable cards have seeds in the fiber of the paper. So when the recipient is done enjoying the card they can plant it and still enjoy it through the wonderful flowers that come up!!! The insk used on the cards is soy based and not harmful to the environment! You can find them on a number of different sites, I wonder if we will see them in stores this year?

GraceGraphics

Botanical Paperworks

GreenFieldPaper

Photo is from Etsy Seller BazilEssentials- Click Photo to get more information on the product

Gifts

Oh Boy! Where to start? Certainly with children, the better built the toy, the longer it will last and can be saved for future generations. Toys made out of wood and handmade are all the more reason to stop by Etsy and see what those artists have cooking! Plants are ideal of grownups and friends as they will cleanse the air in their home. See this previous blog post for the best indoor plants to cut pollutants.

Sure you could give a certificate that says you bought the person a tree on the other side of the world I am not sure how long the tree will be there what kind of care it receives, and usually a gift you can touch, see, smell, is a lot more welcomed and looks like you spent more time and energy on it. Or you could just buy the person a tree, especially if you live in a climate where it is warm during Christmas. But they can take care of the tree indoors for a few months and then plant it outside.

Try not to buy into all the electronics and new gadgets on sale this year, they likely wont last till next Christmas and that is what the sellers are expecting. If you have to try shopping on places like EBGames, Amazon.com, or Craigslist.com where you can get the same items for cheaper prices because they are used. You are recycling here in your own way and it is likely that the item was not used much if at all and still looks brand new.


Handmade gifts

If you are crafty you can make a handmade gift such as soy based candles, use glass jars that you save from your everyday life, or handmade notebook/journal (make sure to use recycled paper).

Maybe you don't think highly of your crafting skills or maybe you just do not have the time to make your own gifts, that is where Etsy comes in. Etsy is an online community of artists/crafters that sell handmade items. They sell everything; candles, journals, cards, toys, clothing, jewelry, plants, food, art, books, pottery, photos, woodworking. You name it and you can probably find it on Etsy!



Now why would buying handmade be ECO friendly?
Well the products might not necessarily be ECO friendly but buying handmade is. When you buy handmade from Etsy you are buying a product that one individual spent time making. It was not factory made and it was not made to break after a certain amount of time. These people pride themselves on products that will last for years to come and that is ECO friendly. You will find sellers from all of the world, they love to answer your questions and if you ever have any problem with a product, most sellers will be right there helping you out. They want you to feel that you have purchased a quality product from them because that is how they rely on business. Happy customers that return for more and spread the word about the fabulous product they received.


I hope these blog posts will help make your holidays a little greener and if you have any more tips please add them to the comments for other readers!