In my last post I talked about how for every small action you take there will be someone who reminds you that 100 companies that cause 71% of climate change or that it doesn’t matter what you do because large developing economies are still building coal plants. But if a couple of billion of us moved a few of our hard earned dollars away from companies killing the planet and toward offsetting our own carbon footprint, we’ll all be in a better place.

Christmas is one of those times where it’s easy to take a few dollars that you would spend anyway and put them in a constructive direction. I tried to do at least a minimum of research on each of these organizations, but please before you buy do dive into the details to make sure your money is going where you want it.

Without further ado, here are some creative ideas for environmentally-aware Christmas gifts:

The Polar Bear Protection Plan

I came across the Polar Bear Protection Plan in an article on Fast Company. The idea is pretty simple. From the Fast Company article:

The average person’s carbon footprint is about 15 to 16 tons a year,” he says. “And then you could offset each ton for about $10 to $15 per ton.” For a little less than $200, it’s possible to pay for tree planting and other projects that can suck in as much carbon pollution as a typical American emits in a year. A “frequent flier” version of the plan offsets more carbon for those who tend to travel and consume more than usual.

The website is pretty bare bones. But I did a search for the founder behind the idea — Jeff Engler — on LinkedIn.

Clothes that plant trees

Fast fashion is a huge and growing problem. Polyester-type materials are adding to the problem of ocean plastic pollution. An estimated 1% of our clothing is ultimately recycled into new garments — instead becoming items like insulation and cloths, which in turn may end up in landfill.

Search engine Ecosia, and non-profit Trees for Life have clothing webshops, from which all profits are put back into planting trees. And surprise! When you visit their respective pages on how their clothes are manufactured, it appears to be in exactly the same factory. See here for Ecosia: https://ecosia.teemill.com/the-journey/ and here for Trees for Life: https://treesforlife.teemill.co.uk/the-journey/

Patagonia — new or second hand

Ok, so more clothes. But they are an easy buy. I have already written about how Patagonia puts 1% of its total sales or 10% of its profit, whichever is more, to environmental groups, and how it gave the proverbial middle finger to Trump’s tax cuts by putting its $10 million dollar tax return to grassroots environmental groups. But as a bona fide business with a conscience, Patagonia has also famously urged its fans to not buy its products new, but search second-hand on eBay.

Cleantech gifts

Finally, for a few things that are more pricey, the people at CleanTechnica have come up with a list of cleantech and recycled gifts in this post: CleanTech Holiday Gifts From 2018 That Keep On Giving. Among the tech ones, they include a portable solar charger, an electric bike, and if you are already into electric vehicles, a home electronic vehicle charger, the Enel eMotorWerks JuiceBox (with a helpful review of it here).

Determine what you can control

2019 may be the hottest year on record, and carbon emissions reached an all time high this year. As David Attenborough noted this week, the collapse of civilization is on the horizon. Really solving these existential issues requires organized effort. But since I am an individual with a regular job and no political influence, this blog is my outlet. If we all choose to focus on what we can control, and make changes around that, we’ll collectively take a step in the right direction.

Final thought: Take some inspiration from a climate scientist who has cut his own carbon footprint to under 10% of the US national average — and written about how it made him happier: Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution

Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas in the comments!