| It's a time of togetherness, a time of cheer and a | | | | electrical items such as phones, cameras, and MP3 |
| time of giving, but it's easy to forget that Christmas | | | | players. |
| is also a time of gluttony and waste. What with | | | | For the nature lover, how about encouraging your |
| temporary decorations, discarded wrapping paper and | | | | local wildlife with a garden bat box, bug box, or bird |
| unwanted gifts, a huge amount of waste ends up in | | | | feeder? Just make sure you fill it with fair trade nuts |
| landfill come January. | | | | and seed! |
| But there is a way to enjoy Christmas and at the | | | | Recycled gifts are also Green Christmas friendly. Beer |
| same time maintain our responsibility to the | | | | guzzlers will appreciate goblets made from recycled |
| environment and it doesn't mean we're reduced to | | | | beer bottles. Ladies can take pride in their purses |
| giving each other lumps of coal in true Ebenezer | | | | made from Cambodian rice sacks, or how about the |
| Scrooge fashion. | | | | Choc-O Mini bag made in the Philippines by an award |
| Giving greener gifts is one of the best things we can | | | | winning women's cooperative? |
| do to make Christmas a little less wasteful. | | | | With these recycled gifts, not only are you giving |
| Environmentally friendly gifts have a two fold benefit; | | | | new life to waste that would otherwise be burnt, |
| they're less wasteful gifts in their own right, but they | | | | buried or simply litter the streets and waterways, |
| also help to spread the green gospel and encourage | | | | you're also helping to provide employment to an |
| others to think about green issues too. | | | | impoverished part of the world. But it's not all charity |
| Eco-gadgets make great environmentally friendly gifts | | | | - recycling can be chic too, and many celebrities have |
| for the technophiles in your life. Solar gadgets are a | | | | been featured in the glossy gossip magazines |
| particular favourite as they save money as well as | | | | clutching their eco-bags which has helped to |
| reduce your carbon footprint, and are also extremely | | | | popularise these products. |
| useful for times when you can't plug into the mains. | | | | So this year, instead of dreaming of a white |
| The Solio Charger for example, is a simple hand sized | | | | Christmas - why not make it a Green Christmas? |
| solar cell that can be hooked up to most small | | | | |
