Not all reusable bags are costly. Even Wal-Mart rolled out reusable shopping bags made of 85 percent recycled materials this winter for only $1. Blogger Leah Ingram calls herself the Lean Green Mom and says she'll use these Wal-Mart bags as gift bags all season long. At $1, they're cheaper than the average Hallmark-style gift bag and come with a trendy slogan: "Paper or Plastic? Neither."
As with any Christmas season, the top gifts touted by media outlets are those that have been deemed cool, and the "green" trend is no different.
Sasso and her roommate, Megan Wheeler, A&S '09, stipulated that a "green" gift still had to be cute, preferring a T-shirt made out of organic cotton over a pack of compact fluorescent light bulbs. "When are light bulbs ever a good gift, environmentally friendly or not?" Sasso asked rhetorically.
Both agreed that they would rather receive a cool gift without wrapping paper or a gift ordered online. Stephanie Seitz, CSOM '11, was willing to let her wish list take a hit this season. "I think our environment is important, so I would be fine with getting an eco-friendly gift for Christmas," she said.
For college kids, the "green" trend can be a good reason to save money on friends' presents. "This year, we're not giving each other gifts," said Meg Ward A&S '08. "We're all going out to dinner. I'm not sure if that will cut down on emissions, but at least we won't be using wrapping paper." Forgoing physical gifts altogether is an increasingly visible trend with so many charities packaging donations as gift options.
The Nature Conservancy's Web site urges shoppers to "Give the Gift of Nature this Holiday" by adopting an acre of the Costa Rican rainforest or "Rescue the Reef" by donating money to protect "some of the most biodiverse and wondrous places in the world."
The contribution of the Internet to the success of the "green" movement cannot be overlooked. Pictures of megastar Cameron Diaz hopping out of her hybrid Toyota Prius are beamed around the world with the click of a mouse.
Spring Break
