Some tips from Newsweek:
- It's better to buy a real tree..."Buy live trees from a farm as close to home as possible so you cut down on emissions for transportation. If you can find a tree that's both local and organic that's even better."
- "If you send a tree that still has tinsel on the branches … your tree will probably go straight to the landfill."
- Conventional incandescent lights...burn up to nine times more energy than light emitting diode lights (LEDs.) Though they cost a bit more, LEDs produce less heat, last longer and shine brighter from one holiday to the next.
- Those shiny new glass balls and plastic reindeer figurines might be relatively cheap to buy, but when you tally up the raw materials, manufacturing and (usually international) transportation they require, they're environmentally costly. If your tree is bare, you're better off buying local, trimming the tree with homemade ornaments or scouting for natural decorations by hanging painted pinecones or berries.
- Some alternatives to fancy wrapping: use newspaper or old cereal boxes to conceal gifts. Danny Seo, author of "Simply Green Giving" suggests using brown paper bags decorated with red, black and white electrical tape. With a little creativity and craftiness, he says "the end result looks like Burberry gift wrap."
- Use LED candles instead. "They're difficult to break, last a long time, and they don't get as hot as conventional bulbs so they're less likely to cause fires."
- Inflatable lawn ornaments...require a constant stream of electric-fan power to remain upright. According to the nonprofit green consulting firm, Efficiency Vermont, it's best to cut the electricity when dark falls, let Santa deflate overnight, and plump him back up again in the morning.
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