Some Holiday Facts...

• Did you know that the amount of household garbage in the United States generally increases by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, from 4 million tons to 5 million tons?  
• Did you also know that 38,000 miles of ribbon is thrown out in the US annually, which is enough to tie a bow around the Earth?
  (Source: USEPA)

Help reduce this waste by following environmentally sound holiday shopping and gift-giving tips (see below).

Fishing for Holiday Gift Ideas?

• Visit COA’s online store.  Visit www.CleanOceanAction.org (follow links for “Join/Donate” and “COA Store”) and shop for beachy items from tote bags to t-shirts.
• Shop at igive.com.  Clean Ocean Action is a featured cause on i.give.com, the model for safe and secure online charity mall shopping.  We are proud to now offer our supporters yet another way to support COA and many other wonderful charities this holiday season.  iGive.com delivers shopping opportunities for millions of consumers, donations to more than 11,000 worthy causes, and new customers for more than 230 merchants.  The company's overall strategy and philosophy is to "change online
  shopping for good."  Here’s how it works:
  1.  Join to support COA.  It's free, private, and easy.  Go to www.igive.com to sign up.  Or, to donate to COA, go directly to this link.
  2.  Shop the Mall at iGive.com. You'll see familiar stores like Gap, Hallmark, Lands' End, Office Depot, JCPenney, L.L. Bean, Neiman Marcus, Expedia, Barnes & Noble, and eBay to mention just a few!
  3.  Enjoy knowing that up to 30% of each purchase is donated to COA.

All Wrapped Up for a Cleaner Ocean

     When you visit Barnes & Noble in Howell, NJ, to purchase that special gift on November 27, COA volunteers will ease your wrapping worries by wrapping your gift in the store.  Gift-wrapping is free; donations, which will go directly to COA, are welcome. 

• Date: Sunday, November 27, 2005
• Time: 9am-3pm
• Store Location: 4831 US Highway 9 in Howell, NJ

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with COA for our Holiday Gift Wrap Program.  This program is designed to help local not-for-profit organizations raise funds and increase visibility by wrapping gifts for donations during the holiday season,” said Melissa Bogart, Community Relations Manager for Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

Holiday Shopping & Gift-Giving Tips for a Cleaner Environment

• As you venture into the madness of holiday shopping this season, here are a few things to keep in mind to shop and give responsibly, for a cleaner environment:
• Give gifts of experience.  Give tickets for the theater, concerts, museums, and aquariums as gifts, or gift certificates for restaurants and spas.
• Shop over and over again.  Buy and use cloth shopping/tote bags for groceries and gifts.  Bring your clean, dry plastic grocery shopping bags to your local store for recycling.
• Buy products with eco-friendly packaging.  Many products are over-packaged or packaged with materials that persist in the environment.  Make better choices and choose products that have recyclable or reusable packaging.  Buying in bulk helps.
• Read the label.  Look for these terms on the label before purchasing a product: recyclable, biodegradable, recycled content, unbleached or chlorine-free bleaching, not tested on animals, and CFC-free/ozone-friendly.
• Shop at home.  Save money on gas and avoid the hassle of holiday traffic and parking by shopping from your home computer or catalogues.
• Send eco-friendly greetings.  Buy holiday cards made from recycled paper (“post-consumer” content) and printed with soy or water-based ink.  Save on paper and postage by sending postcards instead of cards that require envelopes.  Send electronic greeting cards.  Also, save cards you receive to use as gift tags.
• Give a gift that gives twice.  Purchase your gifts from an environmental organization or nature center (see insert).  Proceeds will benefit that organization’s efforts.  Consider giving a membership, which may offer extra benefits throughout the year.
• A gift for those in need.  Don’t throw away used or extra items when you receive a new replacement as a gift.  Donate the extra or unwanted items to thrift stores, shelters, or other charities.
• Recycle holiday wastes and save gift packaging.  Check with your town for the items that are mandatory to recyclable (e.g., plastic, glass, metal, newspaper, magazines/catalogues, and corrugated cardboard) and follow instructions for recycling.  Also, save ribbon, bows, and wrapping paper in good condition for decorating next year’s gifts.
• Make a “green” New Year’s resolution.  Learn to compost, recycle more materials from your household, save water, resist disposable items and products with excess packaging, use your car less, clean your house with less toxic products, and replace items in your home with more efficient and economical ones.

(Portions adapted from the Better World Handbook, www.betterworldhandbook.com and USEPA)

For tips to live environmentally sound all year round, click this link.  Got a tip?  If you have any tips to add to our holiday tips or “10-Tips series”, please send them to Education@CleanOceanAction.org, or call Holly at COA at 732-872-0111.