Be a better gift giver + receiver
Earth Points20 
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Summary
Gifts can be a great way to express love or appreciation. Influence positive change by gifting sustainable items, experiences, or consumables, promoting a sustainable lifestyle.
Description
A tricky thing to reconcile about an appropriate climate change action is its effect on the ones you love. We are not all the same, and we do not have the same commitment towards the environment, nor towards how to give gifts as a way to communicate love.
You have an opportunity through gift giving to make an impact both for the people you love, and by yourself. Spend some time thinking of gifts that can change their habits towards the environment and make their lives better. Also, think about how to react to gifts that you do not need.
The impacts are on more than one person, so putting this into practice creates a ripple effect from your friends and family outward.
You have an opportunity through gift giving to make an impact both for the people you love, and by yourself. Spend some time thinking of gifts that can change their habits towards the environment and make their lives better. Also, think about how to react to gifts that you do not need.
The impacts are on more than one person, so putting this into practice creates a ripple effect from your friends and family outward.
Tips
• When giving gifts, consider a "Buy It for Life" item or an experience. For example, a park or museum membership, tickets to an event, a yearly donation, or a useful or high-quality energy-saving tool. This is your chance to influence someone in a genuinely positive way.
• Relatively low-impact consumables like special fun food and drink also make great gifts. We all need to eat and imbibe some time!
• If you are receiving a gift from someone who is not into the climate and environmental movements and who might be offended if you say that you do not need anything, then use this opportunity to fill a gap in your path. Perhaps respond by saying you have a preference for a gift from a particular green company. For instance, certain sectors like textiles are typically bad for the environment — but we do need to wear something, so asking for something specific from a company that offsets their carbon impact will satisfy everyone.
• If it is too late and you have already received the gift, a) use the gift for someone else later and b) set up the gift potential for next year. For instance, announce to your family and friends that you prefer donations to your favorite non-profit this year and/or you are going minimalist for the sake of our shared future.
• If that does not work with a particularly notorious gift giver, in advance of the occasion, ask for advice on a particular subject they are interested in that is environmentally friendly, such as edible gardening, and hint that you want gifts in that area.
• For special occasions, such as anniversaries, join the family together to buy a family member a solar oven, or even a solar hot water heater, or a membership in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group.
• Alternatively, some families de-escalate gift-giving altogether and mutually agree to keep presents under a certain limit, for instance limiting your gift giving to just one gift per person. Not only does this limit stuff we do not need, it reduces the time needed to intensely shop for others, and one gift can become extra special. It helps get people out of the mindset that many gifts should come their way. Perhaps that energy can be channeled into a nice family meal instead!
• Relatively low-impact consumables like special fun food and drink also make great gifts. We all need to eat and imbibe some time!
• If you are receiving a gift from someone who is not into the climate and environmental movements and who might be offended if you say that you do not need anything, then use this opportunity to fill a gap in your path. Perhaps respond by saying you have a preference for a gift from a particular green company. For instance, certain sectors like textiles are typically bad for the environment — but we do need to wear something, so asking for something specific from a company that offsets their carbon impact will satisfy everyone.
• If it is too late and you have already received the gift, a) use the gift for someone else later and b) set up the gift potential for next year. For instance, announce to your family and friends that you prefer donations to your favorite non-profit this year and/or you are going minimalist for the sake of our shared future.
• If that does not work with a particularly notorious gift giver, in advance of the occasion, ask for advice on a particular subject they are interested in that is environmentally friendly, such as edible gardening, and hint that you want gifts in that area.
• For special occasions, such as anniversaries, join the family together to buy a family member a solar oven, or even a solar hot water heater, or a membership in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group.
• Alternatively, some families de-escalate gift-giving altogether and mutually agree to keep presents under a certain limit, for instance limiting your gift giving to just one gift per person. Not only does this limit stuff we do not need, it reduces the time needed to intensely shop for others, and one gift can become extra special. It helps get people out of the mindset that many gifts should come their way. Perhaps that energy can be channeled into a nice family meal instead!
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Photo Credit
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash