Mommy Goes Green

Trying to decide what the most eco-friendly option is when choosing a Christmas tree?  Find the pros and cons here:

ARTIFICIAL TREE

• + reduced trips to purchase a new tree every year
• + require no pesticides
• + cost effective, 1x purchase
• - likely made of PVC – a poisonous plastic
• - found to contain lead, particularly if manufactured outside the U.S.
• - shipped from long distances, outside the U.S.
• - not recyclable, takes hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill

Bottom line :  if you do decide to buy one, try to find one made in the U.S.   Less shipping and smaller chance that it contains lead.  Once you are ready to get rid of it, keep it out of the landfill by finding a program or family that would like to have it.

 LIVING TREE

• + can be replanted after the holiday
• + renewable resource
• + recyclable
• + can be found locally (in some areas), reducing transportation and supporting a local business
• - annual cost
• - may be grown with pesticides
• - may be transported long distances

FRESH TREE

• + renewable resource
• + recyclable
• + can be found locally (in some areas), reducing transportation and supporting a local business
• - annual cost
• - may be grown with pesticides
• - may be transported long distances

Bottom line: whether you choose a fresh or living tree, try to find one at a local, organic farm reducing transportation and pesticides.  When the holiday is over, make sure you send the tree to the recyclers.

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Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, America’s trash rises by 25% – here are some ideas to make sure you are not a contributor!

1.  BYOB – bring your own bags when Christmas shopping.  Envirosax makes fantastic, stylish bags with plenty of room for your goods.  Decline a bag for every purchase you make and try to stuff it into a bag you are already carrying.

2.  Purchasing gifts -  most of your trash comes from the gift packaging so choose gifts with little to no packaging like gift cards, charity donations or memberships to the zoo, museum, or library. These are great gifts that last long beyond the holiday.

3. Wrapping gifts – wrap gifts in something the recipient can use again like canvas bags, a piece of fabric or cloth napkin with a pretty bow, or a decorative bag or box (reused from previous holidays!).  Kids are always creating art projects at school, use them for wrapping – grandparents will particularly love this!  For large gifts, just tie a bow around it. Ecorations also makes reusable fabric gift wraps and bags.  I love their personalized Santa sacks for kid’s presents!

4. Shipping gifts- if you are shipping gifts, have them sent directly from the store to the recipient.  No use in shipping first to yourself and then shipping again.  Also, reuse Styrofoam packing peanuts, air filled bags or plastic grocery bags to cushion the contents. 

5. Christmas cards and invitations – don’t feel obligated to send a Christmas card if you dread doing it every year.  Most of them end up in the recycle bin anyway.  Families do enjoy getting an update on their friends so try sending an email newsletter, a link to your family blog or an online card.  It’s free, saves you a lot of time and reduces your paper use.    For the Christmas cards you do get, donate them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children once the holiday is over.  The organization recycles used cards ( for any occasion ) into new cards and sells them, benefiting the abused, abandoned and neglected children at the ranch.  Hosting a holiday party? Use a free online invitation program, like Evite, for customized online invitations.

6. Holiday parties- if you or your company have a holiday party, there is bound to be leftover food.  Call a local agency that will pick up the food and deliver to people who really need it or package it up and have your guests take it home.  Compost fruit and veggie scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds.   During the party, use reusable dishes, utensils and cloth napkins – you can rent them from a party rental company if you need more than you own. 

7.  Opening gifts- when opening gifts, make sure to have 3 bags on hand – one for recyclable packaging and wrapping, one for ribbons and bags that can be reused and one for true trash.  Remember that a lot of things are recyclable, even if it can’t be taken curbside.  It may be an extra trip, but you can take Styrofoam and hard plastic packaging to local facilities to be recycled.  Check Earth911 for a local location.

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Happy Thanksgiving!  We are home resting comfortably with our new baby boy and doting big sister and looking forward to some homemade turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie! 

Enjoy this day, filled with Thanksgiving.

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A friend of mine owns Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in New York City and shared with me a little known fact about Thanksgiving turkeys.

“There is a loop hole in the ‘fresh’ meat business for turkeys – a turkey can be kept brined and at 26 degrees and still sold as a ‘fresh’ (never frozen) product in the U.S.,  and a turkey held between 0 and 26 degrees (which is a frozen turkey) and then thawed does not need to be labeled as previously frozen. That Thanksgiving turkey you pick up at the local supermarket could be 6 months old!”

So if you want a truly fresh turkey, do some checking around with your local butcher shops, grocery stores or farms.  If you are in New York, make sure to check out Dickson’s Farmstand in Chelsea Market – guaranteed to have TRULY fresh turkeys.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

It’s THAT time again – music in stores, lights on houses, the smell of evergreen and pine.  Whether you wait for Thanksgiving to pass or not – the Christmas season has arrived and the shopping has begun.  Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting great green gifts for your family and friends.

One of my favorite websites to shop for unique kid’s toys is Stubby Pencil Studio.  Mom and owner, Kate Rosenthal, stocks eco products for creative kids that are non-toxic and environmentally responsible.

This holiday season, skip the dollar bins – you never know what’s in those cheap products (check the ingredients, I often find phthalates, lead warnings or PVC) and pick up your kid’s stocking stuffers at Stubby Pencil Studio – all under $10 and much safer for your family.  Here are some of my favorites:

Holiday Smencils

Holiday Smencils- Grab these first, they were sold out last year!  5 limited edition gourmet scented pencils made from 100% recycled newspapers. Each Holiday Smencil comes packaged in its own (recyclable) Freshness Tube and come in 5 fun scents: Cinnamon, Sugar Plum, Candy Cane, Gingerbread & Sugar Cookie.  $6.50

Star Crayons- I can’t get enough of fun shaped crayons and your kids won’t either.  Each box holds 20 crayon stars in assorted colors and are made from 100% recycled crayons from the National Crayon Recycling Program.  Purchasing eco stars supports recycling education and employs people with disabilities.  $8.95

Monkey Pencils – Your kids will love taking these to school. 3 monkey pencils made from natural, chemical free rubber wood, and finished with non-toxic and child friendly colors.  $2.95

Star Crayons

YoYo- You can’t go wrong with a yoyo for any kid.  This classic yoyo is made from a wood called Ankudu and color is 100% lead-free, non-toxic vegetable dye and the lacquer comes from the sap of a rosewood tree.  $5.95

Envirosax for Kids- If you’ve been reading MGG long, you’d know that I love my Envirosax bags.  Now our kids can have one, too.  My daughter loves to put things in purses and bags and carry them around the house, to school and into the store with me.  Envirosax are a great way to introduce our kids to an eco-friendly lifestyle.  They come in 8 different designs.  $8.00

Color 'n Kids Thank You Go Set

Color ‘n Kids Card Sets – This is a great way to personalize notes from your kids.  All cards are printed on 100% PCW recycled stock and come with 6 colored envelopes: red, orange, yellow, lime green, green and blue. Cards measure 4.25″ x 5.5″.  Purchase 3 sets and receive a complimentary box of 24 vivid color pencils.  $7.95

Rainbox Softdough- Mary’s Softdough is a soft, non-crumbly modeling dough made from 100% food-quality ingredients. Completely non-toxic, this colorful tub of dough will last up to a year and provide hours of fun. An 18 oz. tub holds a rainbow of colors: red, yellow, green, blue and purple. Ingredients include flour, water, salt, cream of tartar, soybean oil, food coloring and sodium benzoate (a food preservative). $9.95

Made By Me Truck

Softdough Tool Set- No playdough set would be complete without tools to roll and cut the dough.  This 12 piece set includes a hardwood rolling pin and assorted cookie cutters: moon, star, sun, cloud, leaf, heart, frog, squirrel, butterfly, dragonfly, and turtle. $7.95

• Check out Stubby Pencil Studio and tell us what YOUR favorite products are!
• Follow us on twitter @mommygoesgreen and retweet this contest.

Leave your comment by Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 11:59PM PST.  Contest open to all U.S. residents, ages 18+.  We will choose 1 winner, by random, and contact them via email.  Privacy Policy.

 Congratulations to Sue for winning the shopping spree – enjoy!

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.