Ecocentricity Blog: Giving a Better Gift

Ahhhhhhh, the holiday season. ‘Tis the season of giving! And by giving, what we Americans really mean is buying stuff for people!

Before I put my foot in my mouth (or whatever the appropriate turn of phrase is when you are writing instead of talking), let me get a disclaimer out there. I’m fully supportive of the giving of gifts. I celebrate Christmas, and I can’t wait to see my little boy rip the wrapping paper off of the gifts we have for him (which will probably entertain him more than the gifts themselves). There is so much that is good about this time of year.

That said, sometimes the holidays can turn into forced consumerism, and that isn’t good. Remember, just because it’s the holiday season, that doesn’t mean the environmental footprint of what you buy disappears. It still takes fossil fuels to ship our gifts across the country. Santa’s elves are still assembling billions of pieces of plastic into toys for our children. Our landfills will still gobble up the old stuff we throw away to make room for our new stuff. There’s no such thing as an environmental hall-pass at the end of the year.