Comments on: Greening Gift Giving

By: Elena

Elena — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:29:47 +0000

I’ve given reusable cloth gift bags made by a company called Wrapsacks that I purchased at my local Whole Foods. What makes them special is that each bag has a code printed on a sewn-in tag, and once the original purchaser logs the code at wrapsacks.com, everyone who receives the bag in the future can go online and see where the bag has been and where it went after you re-gifted it. It’s fun to see where the bag goes and how often it gets reused.

By: David Smith

David Smith — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:30:02 +0000

While I appreciate the arguments put forth above. I wonder why a company that asserts they are a “Green Company” does not provide customers with transit directions to the stores. I know that PublicRoutes.com provides both transit and driving directions to websites so that users can get transit directions with a single click from Whole Foods website.

I submit that Whole Foods by providing transit directions in such a way that user does NOT have to go to three transit sites to find out how to get the store, Whole Foods will be truly encouraging people to use Public Transit to get to the store. I mean think about it if 50 people per stores used public transit instead of driving to Whole Foods a day, and grew by 5 or 10 people a day until 500, the impact would be significant. Does this make sense?

PublicRoutes is like MapQuest which is free to websites to provide driving directions, but if your promoting green initiatives it seems that you want to promote transit, where possible as well.

Best regards,
David Smith

By: valerie jones

valerie jones — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:43:04 +0000

We are going to use the WholeFoods recycling bag to wrap our presents to friends and family.

By: Kimberly Lawrence

Kimberly Lawrence — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:31:41 +0000

I tend to give whole grains (or foods) in jars that I’ve painted with recipes attached or if I give kitchen accessories, I will wrap them in towels that match the recipient’s kitchen, likewise if I give something for a bathroom, wrapped in the towels to match.

By: Mary Pierce

Mary Pierce — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:34:54 +0000

I ordered reusable shopping bags at a discount (if you get 10 or more) from reusablebags.com they have mnay to choose from I picked “Plastic Bags Blow” since they are only $5 each i they are the gift bag with a eco friendly in side either Jim Morris t-shirts or Klean Kanteen’s with a nice ribbon (saved from last year) they best gift my family will get!

Now if I could only find better Made in the USA toys for my kids!

By: Tyna Walker-Lay

Tyna Walker-Lay — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:15:48 +0000

I give gifts that require no wrapping whatsoever. I give flower pots full of potting soil and packets of seeds with instructions to grow your own kitchen herbs. I give bowls with organic flour, dried fruit and nuts with a recipe attached to the side. I have always used old maps to wrap gifts for guys. Kids love brightly colored water/travel bottles–the ones from Whole Foods are great–filled with granola mix or caramelized nuts!! Why should the treats for kids be plastic non-reuseable tubes filled with fake candy full of dye and sugar?
This year, I made all my friends and family a cookbook of all my favorite recipes. I made each one a CD for the computer. I give gift certificates to Goodwill. Going green does not mean that we “try” not to be wasteful. It means we have drawn the line to excess and waste in every way possible. Here’s the gift that will score you the most points: buy a canvas shopping bag at Whole Foods. As the gift tag, attach a gift certificate to Whole Foods. Inside, add a cookbook, some great ingredients, a water bottle and voila—the gift that just keep giving!!

By: GDK

GDK — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:24:16 +0000

The cartoon sections of newspapers make great gift wrap…a ribbon or bow can be added to complete the job with no more tree loss or miles to the store to drive.

By: Elaine L.

Elaine L. — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:39:41 +0000

For years my family has made each year’s gift tags from the previous year’s Christmas cards and envelopes. (We do the same with other greeting cards and envelopes. I love Jennfer
s idea of using the leftover wrapping for “stuffing” bags and baskets, and will now also shred the scraps from the greeting cards and envelopes as well. Thanks, everyone, for helping my family have and spread a greener Christmas!

By: austingreengirl

austingreengirl — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 14:35:29 +0000

Each year I try to introduce new eco-friendly products to my family through their holiday gifts. It’s a great way for them to try these products without ‘wasting their money’. My mom now exclusively use an organic brand of bath products, and my sisters have switched to green cleaning products based on gifts from previous years!

By: Kathryn M.

Kathryn M. — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:33:04 +0000

I recycle brown paper bags by using them as wrapping paper. After wrapping, decorate the gift with pine cones and greenery.