Green is the Color of the Holiday Shopping Season
5 Cool Green Gifts for Holiday Shopping
Nov 17, 2010 12:39 PM ET
Green is the Color of the Holiday Shopping Season
When it comes to holiday shopping green gifts are high on the list if in addition to being green they’re just plain great products. While many still think that green products are always expensive, hard to use, and don’t work well, the truth is they can help people everywhere deal with challenges facing their families and their budgets, as well as caring for our planet. Even in the Great Recession, surveys show that consumers are still on a green path forward. A Deloitte market survey found that 20% of consumers will purchase more eco-friendly products, 18% plan to patronize more eco-friendly retailers than in the past, and 47% are even willing to pay more for green gifts. When it comes to buying green though people are often confused and need help, looking to experts they can trust like Beth Remmes, founder of Zola Goods.
Remmes founded Zola Goods to provide greener alternatives to household goods we deal with everyday, solving challenges, and creating entrepreneurial opportunities for those who work with her as Zola Goods Coordinators. When she looked at women organizing gatherings in homes to sell other products, she realized that it would make a lot of sense for women to have the opportunity not just to sell things but to make a difference in people’s lives as well as helping the environment. “All of a sudden it occurred to me that if women were willing to gather to talk about and buy kitchen products or make-up, then I thought they would also be interested in learning how to help the environment and save money in the process,” said Remmes.
Over the years, Remmes has discovered a slew of great and green products that are both good for the planet and good for everyday life. If you’re going to buy things this Christmas, check out these 5 creative and cool green products Remmes recommends, making yours the Greenest Christmas ever.
We throw away billions of plastic spoon, knives and forks each year and never give it a second thought. Sporks too. With To-Go Ware, you always have a utensil with you, ready to go in a pocket or purse, so you don’t have to waste money and our planets resources to keep on living the throwaway life.
Rather than sending foil juice packs to landfills, a women's co-op in the Philippines is making Bazura Bags from them, getting creative to turn waste into green gold. The bags are strong, good looking, long lasting, and affordable. The women win, their community wins, you win, and the earth wins.
3. Lets Hear it For the Bees - Honeybee Scatter Garden
Everybody loves flowers for the splash of color they add, and the HoneybeeScatterGarden is a great collection of flowers but it turns out that planting flowers is also good for bees that rely on flowers to survive, and bees have been having a hard time of it lately. While people often fear bees, bee populations have plummeted because of Colony Collapse Disorder and this is a problem for all of us. We need bees not just for their honey, but their pollination. By pollinating our fruit trees, bees create billions of dollars worth of economic activity. The least we can do for them is to plant them some great flowers with the HoneybeeScatterGarden, and create your own eco-friendly economic stimulus.
Candles are a popular gift, but which one is best? While it’s hard for most candles to really stand out, soy aromatherapy from the mountains of northern Vermont do the trick. These candles are biodegradable and non-toxic and smell good without using dyes, perfumes, or other chemicals, just natural waxes, hemp seed oil, and pure essential oils.
5. Green Gift Wrap
About half the paper the US uses is for gift and package wrapping, most of which will end up on landfills and which often contains toxic dyes. While you might use gift wrap this Christmas, it doesn’t have to leave a nasty hangover for the planet. Earth Love'n whimsical designs are printed with vegetable-based ink on 100% post-consumer waste, processed chlorine-free paper which is made from previously used home or office paper.
Be sure to visit www.ZolaGoods.com to see for yourself what the best green gifts for Christmas are, and get in touch with Beth Remmes if you’re interested in being a Zola Coordinator yourself.
To get in touch with Beth Remmes and Zola Goods:
Phone: 1-888-316-ZOLA (9652)
Website: www.zolagoods.com
Email: bremmes@zolagoods.com
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