Green holidays - the greeting cards

One of the holidays big green issues is the greeting cards. Greeting is a nice gesture, but should it necessarily have environmental impacts?

Every year 2.65 billion holiday cards are sent in the U.S. alone. hundreds of thousands of trees are cut down to meet this demand. This is definitely a place where we can go green and act more sustainably, and the good news is that it's easier (and cheaper) than ever.

Here are few examples for greener options:

1. Make your own cards - on the website Allie's Answers, I found a great tip on making your own cards:

I’ve been saving magazines and scraps of pretty paper all year. Using a few decorative punches, and a glue stick, I mounted shapes on to recycled card stock and used rubber stamps to spell out holiday greetings.

You can get really creative with your reused materials. I made snowflakes out of scrap computer paper, aluminum foil, paper bags, and even the foil top from my vitamin bottle. The cards are easy to make. This would be a good project to do with your kids.

2. Send an online holiday card - this is also a paper-free and much greener option. You can find many websites that offer you to email greeting cards on your behalf at no cost. If you look for something more special you can check out Three Leaf Cards, which provides you with provide a customized holiday online card solution that is both only tree-free and carbon neutral.

Another interesting option would be to use the services of GoldMail, which offers an alternative, fun, and free way to send personalized messages. Friends of the Urban Forest. Check out GoldMail's presentation here - http://cdn2.goldmail.com/?GMID=1s0ntr484dns.

3. Send holiday cards made of recycled paper - If you decide to purchase greeting cards on the holidays, you can find beautiful cards made of recycled paper. Our recommendation would be on Doodle Greetings, whose cards we use for Eco-Libris holiday gifts.

Doodle Greetings is a Co-op America member from Kensington, MD. Their cards come with a beautiful design, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Furthermore, according to Doodle Greeting's website, the paper is made entirely with renewable energy (primarily wind power).

Other ideas for cards made of recycled paper or tree-free paper can be found on this Ideal Bite's tip.

The bottom line is that the green options are right there (and we even didn't mention recycling the holiday cards you receive from others..). All you have to do is just choose and make someone else knows you care about him or her, but also about the environment :-)

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!