Nicole's guide to the Holidays

Hello Everyone

I know you are going shopping. So I wanted to arm you with some things to think about when you purchase your gifts in the next few weeks.

We live in a time, where we have more than enough, so here is the theme...

Buy Less, Buy Better

Buy Less

Save yourself some money, giving a gift does not have to be a new THING.

• Give of gift of something homemade or something you don't use any more
• Give a gift of chores - wash your friend's floor, watch their kids for a night, rake their lawn, help them paint a room they always have wanted to do... the list is endless.
• Give the gift of appreciation - sit down for 10 minutes and write a note to someone about how much they mean to you. Think about how wonderful it feels to be appreciated.

Buy Better

• Buy used. I was in a Goodwill the other day and found some beautiful items that I know friends would appreciate, used is the new black.
• Buy organic - it can be food or clothing, but this gift is not only a nice treat for the receiver, but also for the farmers and the communities who grow organic crops.
• Buy Fair Trade. This is not charity, it is about good and fair business being done all the time. Each time you support Fair Trade you are directly helping workers at the lowest levels of the supply chain gain access to a better living.

My Favorite brands right now:

PACT - All organic and super cute T's, socks and underwear.

prAna - prAna is offering more organic and Fair Trade styles than the company ever has before. You will love the designs.

NAU - I am a huge fan and appreciate all of the work that goes into the designs of their products, and the contents are recycled, organic or TENCEL.

Metiseko - this amazing company is a French couple living in Vietnam who are focusing on all organic cotton and silk styles. I got to meet them when I was there 2 years ago. Amazing products. 

Green e-bay - e-bay has a specific site for all things green - worth checking out especially if you have kids.

The Body Shop - continues to innovate around sustainable innovation for farmers and customers around the globe. And I LOVE the smell of pink grapefruit!

Share your favorite sustainably designed products for the holidays. 

Holiday cheer

Now in full disclosure I do become a bit of a scrooge around this time of year.  I can't handle the over consumption, but at the same time I want to give gifts to my friends and family.  So I end up feeling stuck in the middle.
This is a hard year for many people who feel stuck in the middle.  There is a very visible need to conserve money and resources since the unemployment rate remains quite high in the USA, however the only solution that gets thrown around is to consum more to get our economy going.  You can see the problem here.  There are a lot of smart people trying to figure this out and what healthy economy looks like.

I come back to the idea of values and investing your hard earned dollars into quality not quantity, less equals more and dealing with our drive to consume for the sake of consumption.  This holiday, as with every holiday, we have an opportunity to do more with our money.  And while it is hard to justify spending $80 instead of $60 for a sweater, realize that buying cheap has some pretty negative impacts. (Check out this article on how Walmart has destroyed the environment and our jobs)

There is an opportunity to do more that just tick off a name from your TO DO list.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you are shopping:

• Does the company you are purchasing from have a strategy for its social and environmental impact?
• Is this product Organic, Fair Trade, Local?
• Is this cute for now, but will be first in line at the next garage sale?
• Does this gift add value to this person's life for the better?

Enjoy the season and enjoy the opportunity to help shape the world to be a little better in 2012.