Clean Air Partners is a nonprofit partnership in Baltimore/Metropolitan Washington region that helps reduce air pollution through simple, everyday actions. For more information and to access easy ways you can keep your air clean, please visit: www.cleanairpartners.net.

More resources for your green holiday:

> Use our Green Holiday Shopping Guide to make this year’s shopping easy.

> Find a green gift for everyone on your list by shopping hundreds of Big Green Purse-approved items on our Amazon store.

> And as you’re preparing to wrap those gifts, don’t forget to read our tips on how to cut down on holiday waste!

The post White Xmas or Smoggy One? This Energy-Saving Green Guide to the Holidays Will Help Keep It Clean appeared first on Big Green Purse.

But when you shift your spending to greener products and services, don’t you want to know that your dollars are really making a difference?

Use this simple green shopping guide to help you make healthier and more eco-friendly choices when you shop for the holidays.

Green Holiday Shopping Guide

√ Nix “natural.” Everybody likes the idea of “natural” – which is why marketers slap the words on products that couldn’t be further from their natural state. Don’t get sucked into buying something just because the packaging claims it’s “natural.” Instead…

Green Shopping Solution: Buy certified. While “natural” doesn’t mean much, products whose environmental attributes have been certified to meet rigorous standards by organizations independent of the manufacturer can more readily be trusted.

Look for companies whose claims that their goods are organic, Fair Trade, humane, non-toxic, or designed to help protect forests and wildlife have been independently certified.

We put together a list of labels you can trust here.

√ Banish battery-powered gadgets and toys. Batteries leak cadmium, lead and other heavy metals when they’re thrown away. They usually come wrapped in plastic and cardboard, creating more trash as soon as you buy them. Plus, you have to keep replacing them; in some cases, the cost of batteries over the life of a product ends up amounting to more than the product itself.  

Avoid toys, gadgets and appliances that require short-lived, throwaway batteries. If you must give a battery-powered gift, include rechargeable batteries and the recharger to go with it.

Green Shopping Solution: Buy solar- or hand-powered. Among your options: hand-cranked radios, coffee grinders, blenders and juicers. Vintage-style razors with replaceable razor blades.

A French-press coffee pot that uses no electricity (we sell a few in our Amazon store, like the one pictured here.)

More interested in solar? Try solar-powered chargers for cell phones, flash drives, and radios.

√ Revise wrapping paper. Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than at any other time of year, reports the Stanford Recycling Center. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!

If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. Plus, if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

Green Shopping Solution: Use reusables. Can you wrap your gift in cloth? Try decorative towels, large napkins, festive scarves and bandanas, tied up with shoelaces or ribbons.

Use reusable shopping bags, lunch boxes, and cookie tins, too. If paper is your only choice, choose wrapping made from recycled paper.

√ Skip synthetic fragrances and air fresheners. Ironically, even though these products are supposed to make things smell better, they actually make it more difficult for many people to breathe, especially those who suffer from asthma or other respiratory problems.

Want your home to smell like Christmas? Simmer a small pot of water, cloves and cinnamon sticks over the stove. Need to smell better yourself? Dab a drop of essential oil from your favorite flower (mine is lavender) behind each ear and on the inside of each wrist.

 Green Shopping Solution: Buy phthalate-free. Phthalates are often the building blocks for synthetic fragrances. They’re also found in nail polish and many other personal care products.

The downside? They’re nasty chemicals considered a reproductive hazard in Europe and the state of California.

You can find a wonderful variety of phthalate-free nail polishes, perfumes, make-up and other personal care products in our online store, for starters.

√ Bump BPA specifically and plastic generally. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is like phthalates – an “endocrine disruptor” that could destabilize your reproductive system. It’s usually found in plastic, especially plastic water bottles, some baby bottles and nipples, and rubber and plastic toys. If what you want to buy is plastic or rubber, check the label for the words “BPA Free.” Better yet…

Green Shopping Solution: Buy stainless steel, aluminum, glass, or wood. Instead of plastic water bottles, choose stainless steel, aluminum, or glass bottles that come with a protective sleeve to reduce the chances of breaking.

Choose glass or stainless steel food serving and storage containers, too.

You can find wonderful toys made from wood and decorated with lead-free paint from many American companies.

The post The Only Green Holiday Shopping Guide You Need appeared first on Big Green Purse.

1) Wrapping paper and ribbon (keep a paper bag or box handy when you’re unwrapping presents to make the job easy and efficient) – Shred paper to use as packing material, put aside for your kids’ art projects, or recycle with the weekly newspapers and junk mail.

2) Cardboard and paper boxes – Line smaller boxes with soft towels to create a new bed for a cat or small dog; flatten any boxes you don’t need for easier recycling.

3) Cell phones – Take to Best Buy, Staples, or Office Depot, or send to Collective Good, which will refurbish them, re-sell them, and share the profits with the charity of your choice.

4) Computers, laptops, notebooks, monitors, keyboards – Any of the office supply stores should accept them at no cost to you.

5) Cameras – (same)

6) Fax machines (same)

7) Clothing – Most shelters will take t-shirts, pants, long-sleeved shirts, jackets, underwear and socks. Donate fancier clothes to the local theater company or school drama department to use as costumes.

8) Christmas lights – These links will show you where you can recycle old lights and find new, energy-efficient LEDs.

9) Beverage cans, bottles and jugs – Glass, aluminum, and plastic beer, soda, juice and bottled water containers can all be recycled.

10) Plastic food containers – Many community recycling programs now accept plastic food trays and cartons, along with containers from yogurt, sour cream, dips, and spreads.

11) Toys – Clean, working toys your kids have outgrown can be passed along to the children of neighbors, family, friends, day care centers, and shelters that help house children.

12) Christmas tree – if your community doesn’t pick up used trees, recycle this yourself: cut the boughs off to create mulch, and use the needles to make potpourri.

13) Televisions and Major appliances – If you got a new appliance, ask your installer to recycle the one he removes. Or check these links to get specific guidance on recycling your tv.

14) Christmas cards – Cut off the part containing the signature (usually the back page), and use the front, decorated page as a Christmas gift tag for next year.

15) Food – Combine leftovers into stews and soups, or freeze in lunch-size portions to take to work or send to school with the kids; simmer meat and turkey bones until they make a rich broth that can be used for gravies and stock; freeze cookies, breads, and dessert bars to use over the next three months.

Click here for suggestions on recycling tinsel, ornaments, and other Christmas decorations.

Holiday Traditions That Mean the Most to Me: Family, Friends, Food!

Free, Mostly Green, Holiday Gifts to Keep Your Christmas Green

NEED LAST MINUTE GIFTS? VISIT OUR AMAZON STORE!

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