Responsible People Tree travel…

Posted by: Katie

Wow, here’s an offer and a half! Fair Trade fashion pioneers, People Tree has teamed up with online travel directory, responsibletravel.com to celebrate the launch of their new Summer Collection with a fantastic competition.

Win a holiday and a holiday wardrobe!

To win a luxury weekend break for 2 in Devon, plus £300 worth of vouchers for a Fair Trade holiday wardrobe to match, all you have to do is answer this question:

Both People Tree and responsibletravel.com projects support communities in Peru.

Which of these regions is NOT found in Peru:
a) Amazonas
b) Cusco
c) Himalayas

Enter the competition

Find out more about the holiday, the competition and terms & conditions

20% off at People Tree

And if that wasn’t enough, they’re also offering a 20% discount at People Tree when quoting this special code, RTJUL08, to redeem the offer. You can also place orders at www.peopletree.co.uk or over the phone on 0845 450 4595.

Be quick though as the offer ends 8th July 2008!

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Nominate a green holiday!

Posted by: Katie

It’s that time of year again when I call on all green girls around the world to get nominating in our annual Responsible Tourism Awards!

The Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards, founded and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with our partners, Telegraph Travel, Geographical Magazine and World Travel Market, need your help in scouring the globe for interesting, unusual, innovative but above all worthy nominees for this year’s Awards.

In 2007 we received over 1700 nominations from travellers around the world and we’d love to use your responsible travel know-how to find operators, accommodations, low carbon transport, tourism organisations and individuals who you think are the best of the best in responsible tourism for 2008.

The New Forest - 2007 overall winner

Last year’s overall winner, best destination, and best personal contribution (for destination manager, Anthony Climpson) award winner was the New Forest in the UK in recognition of the work they have been doing for over 15 years with visitors, industry and the community to look after the environment and promote sustainable local development. Find out more and watch a video about overall winners, the New Forest.

What does it mean to win a Responsible Tourism Award?

If you’re not sure whether it’s worth making a nomination, take a look at some of these comments from last year’s winners:

Mark Jacobs of Azafady, winner of the Best Volunteering Organisation Award said:

‘Winning the award has clearly increased the profile of Azafady and its work out in south-east Madagascar.

When potential volunteers look at our website, the knowledge that we have been named “Best Volunteering Organisation” provides an extra assurance that our work has been vetted independently and found to be the best in its field.

We have already received applications from volunteers who have cited the Responsible Tourism Awards as the reason they have applied to us and I’ve no doubt that winning the award will result in an overall increase in the numbers of volunteers going out to Madagascar.’

While Arugam Bay, in Sri Lanka, Highly Commended in the Best Destination category said:

‘Arugam Bay has been rewarded for its unique community tourism offers, most of all, Arugam Bay people are now very proud of their achievements. The Award has helped them to get international publicity and for a long time to come they will cherish this Award. The formal tourism sector and the tourism authorities are now taking more interest in our work and want to help us.’

Read more interviews with our 2007 Responsible Tourism Award winners.

Nominate and you could win a holiday!

You can nominate in any of 13 categories - all we need is the name of the nominee and how to contact them, and a few lines explaining why you think they deserve to win an award. If you nominate an eventual Award winner, you could even win a prize holiday for 2 to India courtesy of Real World Adventures!

In support of the Responsible Tourism Awards

Support for the Responsible Tourism Awards is growing every year. Read what some of our supporters have to say:

Michael Palin
Getting to know more about each other remains one of the most important hopes for the peaceful future of the planet.

If we are really to understand each other better, then we need to be reminded to travel carefully and thoughtfully,
listening to people along the way and respecting the world we are privileged to travel through.

The Responsible Tourism Awards are one of the most important ways in which we can understand how to travel better.
Photograph by Basil Pao

Ben Fogle
The Responsible Tourism Awards scheme is now widely recognised around the world for leading the way in celebrating individual achievements in responsible tourism. This unique Awards scheme, run by responsibletravel.com, inspires travellers and travel companies to tackle the environmental, social and cultural issues that tourism faces, head on.

During my travels in the next few months I’ll be looking out for worthy nominees and encourage all passionate travellers to get on board: dig out those travel journals, tell your travel-mad friends and if you’re on the road, keep your eyes peeled for tourism ventures that are really making a difference. For me, the future of tourism is inextricably linked with this more thoughtful path of travel.

Pen Hadow, Explorer
The significance of each single step towards our shared worldwide goal of sustainable tourism is greater than you
may imagine – and these hesitant early steps are the most important as with any journey.

Your nominations for those that are our pathfinders are of inestimable value in building everyone’s confidence this really is the direction we must all be heading. Support our pathfinders and multiply the value of their efforts by encouraging others to follow their superlative example.
Photograph courtesy Pen Hadow

Alain de Botton, Writer & Philosopher
Over the last few years, we’ve become painfully aware that tourism isn’t just about passively observing a place,
it’s also about changing it - and usually for the worst. Most often we literally destroy the beauty or interest we have come to witness.

It’s therefore paramount that we learn to come up with forms of travel businesses that don’t destroy their host organisms
and The Responsible Tourism Awards sound like an admirable way forward.
Photograph by Charlotte de Botton

Responsible Tourism Awards magazine

Find out about all last year’s winners and read other interesting features on responsible tourism issues in our dedicated Responsible Tourism Awards magazine, r:travel.

I can’t wait to read your nominations!

Happy travelling…

Katie
responsibletravel.com

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A hand-made, eco wedding update

Posted by: Vicky

Well, Jez and I are now back from honeymoon and back to reality and our wedding day, although only two weeks ago, now seems like a distant happy memory. Wow, it flew by so past but that’s probably because we had such a fantastic time!

This post is just going to be brief but after so many good luck wishes from everyone I wanted to give a quick update on how it all went. My original post, ‘Planning a hand-made, eco wedding‘, gives more details about what went into preparing our big day.

I suppose one of the things about planning an ethical wedding is that many people are curious about what it will be like. I think quite a few of our guests were really expecting something unusual but in fact it was traditional in many ways.

It was great for us that people entered into the spirit of the day so happily, some of our older guests said they enjoyed it because it reminded them of the simple, family weddings they used to go to when they were children. One of our friends even recycled part of our invitation to put into her wedding card.

The maypole cake and chocolate cupcakes looked beautiful and went down a treat. Everyone loved the food and organic wine and nothing went to waste!

On the morning of the wedding we picked up the flowers and took the hall keys to the caterer. Our caterer was excited that she’d bought so much local food from the market that morning and the florist made a point of writing down where the flowers had been sourced - “Flowers and foliage from Leiston Suffolk, Spalding Lincolnshire, Penryn Cornwall”.

For our honeymoon we went to Brussels on the Eurostar and then on to Amsterdam on the Thalys train. We hadn’t travelled on the new Eurostar from St Pancras before and I have to say I was impressed that there was organic and fairtrade food and drink on the menu. Their information also says that they are constantly reviewing their environmental performance, reducing waste and increasing the use of biodegradable packaging. OK, so this statement isn’t quantifiable but its a start, right?

It’s strange to think that after so many months of planning, preparation and creating your day is over in a flash. Of course it isn’t really because it’s just the foundation of a new commitment you’ve made to each other for many, many more days to come.

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Happy Earth Day!

Posted by: Arcadia

“On April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy…” American Heritage magazine, October 1993

Did you know that today is actually the 38th anniversary of Earth Day? I have to admit I didn’t know that either. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day actually had this idea seven years prior to its official celebration. He knew then how important it was to bring attention to the demise of our environment. He had this idea in 1962 on how to bring environmental issues to the fore front; so he persuaded President Kennedy to take a five day, eleven state conservation tour in September 1963. The tour was not as successful as he had hoped in bringing national attention to the environment but it did plant the seed to what would become Earth Day!

“At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance……….” -Senator Gaylord Nelson (www.earthday.enironlink.org)

Today, because of this one day 38 years ago, when millions of Americans decided to act, we now have laws protecting our most precious resource, our Planet! We have the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and so many others that help us live in a healthy environment.

Earth Day isn’t just about going out and hugging a tree, it’s the one day to pause and recognize that our very existence depends on how we manage and maintain our surroundings; and to ignore it is to do so at our own peril for now and generations to come.

I’ve always liked the reason why the company Seventh Generation chose that as its name: The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” This is something to think about on day like today.

I hope you enjoy your day today as there are so many celebrations happening all over. *Fun Fact:  Today is also the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day (the national tree planting holiday)!

Here’s a small timeline of just how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time:

In the 1970s 20 million people gathered to celebrate the first Earth Day.

In the 1980s Congress declares the public’s right to know when toxic chemicals are released in the air, land, and sea.

In the 1990s the EPA (environmental protection agency) issues tough new air quality standards for smog and soot, an action that would improve the air quality for 125 million Americans.

In the 2000s school buses across the country are retrofitted through the Clean School Bus USA program removing 200,000 lbs. of particulates over the next 10 years.

”Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.” Senator Gaylord Nelson.

Happy Earth Day!

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Edinburgh to Paris, the greener way

Posted by: Katherine

Last month I had to attend a seminar in Paris for work. Most people in Scotland fly to Paris, it’s quicker and more convenient (apparently). I chose to go by train. My main reason was that I don’t like flying (who does?) and would spend most of my time away worrying about it and therefore not be able to do a good job. Of course the other reason was environmental, as a member of my office ‘green team’ I felt I should set a good example. Work were fine with this and so that’s what I did.

National Express, who currently run the Edinburgh to London East Coast rail line, offer through tickets from their destinations to Eurostar ones. I had already enquired earlier about the cost of this, having been thinking about going to Brussels for my fiance’s birthday. If you’re lucky, it can cost you just £79 return. Even though I booked the work trip nearer the time, it still only cost £120.

I should say that if you want to travel from Scotland to Paris by rail, you need time on your side. Not everyone’s company would be ok with them basically spending two days on the train, I’m very lucky. I set off from Edinburgh at 8am and got to Paris at 5.30pm. Coming back I set off at 10am and got back at 6pm. It would have been earlier but engineering works meant I had to get a coach between Darlington and Newcastle. I don’t mind long train journeys though, I’ve grown up doing them having lived in Orkney and visiting relatives in England during the holidays.

The National Express legs of the journey were perhaps the least comfortable, at least compared to the Eurostar seats and leg room (I hope one day you can get a through train). I was really glad to get off the train in London and stretch my legs with the short walk over the road to St Pancras International. Since last November this has been the new Eurostar hub, and it’s lovely, a vast improvement on the St Pancras of my student days in Sheffield, only a few years ago. Much more convenient for those coming from King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston, it also has much better facilities than Waterloo (well, before you go through check-in and passport control that is). Although the Eurostar departure lounge may not have as many overpriced souvenir shops as it’s counterpart at Gare du Nord, it is very comfortable and offers power points for those with laptops to use.

I arrived in Paris relaxed and calm, having had time to read through my presentation, do a bit of knitting and watch a beautiful sunset over the French countryside. For me, this is the only way to travel.

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Guest Editor: Laura Burgess Cornwall…slowly

Posted by: Guest Editor

It is thought that over 80% of holiday makers to Cornwall arrive by car. So when the population of the county swells to five and a half million during the holiday season it is no surprise that the roads simply can’t cope. Going against the norm, I set out to discover if a holiday without the car in this beauty spot of Britain is both practical and, let’s face it, pleasurable.

The mainline railway between London and Penzance serves as the spine of Cornwall’s public transport system. Served both by Virgin Trains and First Great Western, the journey can be epic, long but surprisingly relaxing. Travel by day and enjoy the coastal views between Exeter and Plymouth; or by night on the Night Riviera Sleeper Service and arrive for sunrise in Penzance.

For daytrippers, the mainline trains stop at the principle south west towns and cities including Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth and Truro. From each of these railway towns you should, in theory, be able to reach further towns and villages in Cornwall and Devon. I wanted to put the theory to the test. Armed with a 70 page public transport guide, I left the train at Bodmin Parkway Station (remembering this time round that the station was a few miles from the town itself) and waited for the hourly Western Greyhound bus to Bodmin. Use www.transportdirect.info to help plan the journey to include all forms of public transport.

As it turned out, the Western Greyhound bus service is providing the essential link between otherwise difficult to reach towns across north Cornwall. The network extends from Lands End in the west to Clovelly, Exeter and Plymouth in the east. And it’s pretty affordable. As an example, a single fare from Boscastle to Truro, a total of 40 miles, costs just £4.50. And what could be better bumping around the winding Cornish roads knowing that you need only worry about the stunning views from the window rather than the approaching traffic.

Trouble is among the bus travellers, there was an entire demographic lacking: namely the mid-to-late twenties and thirty-somethings who I guessed preferred taking the car to public transport. Even more revealing was that despite the fact that each of the towns I passed through was buzzing with tourists, I only ever came across two holiday makers travelling on the bus.

One of the best ways to get around is by bicycle. Granted, certain parts of Cornwall are hilly and you’ll come back feeling fitter than before. But cycling through towns, villages and natural landscapes brings you closer to an authentic experience of Cornwall itself.

Luckily First Great Western and Virgin Trains have good cycle facilities which means travelling with the bike from wherever you are shouldn’t be a problem. The Cornish Way, part of National cycle route 3, connects Bude to Penzance and Land’s End via St Austell or Newquay. So you should be able to connect to a cycle route simply by alighting at certain stations. Take Bodmin Parkway station again. You can follow a stretch of the route 3 directly from the station and through to the town and out toward Padstow or Camelford, on the famous Camel Trail. This easy and flat route out of Bodmin follows the meanders of the Camel River and offers a secluded route through the trees.

The big question I came back with was how to encourage more people to leave the car behind when travelling to Cornwall. It’s not an easy one to tackle, as many holiday properties are in remote locations that aren’t served by buses. Certain green businesses will offer a discount for ‘slow’ arrivals, but many still expect their customers to arrive by car. The Financial Times recently pointed out the paradox around the feeling of independence derived from owning a car and our dependency on owning one to get around. Isn’t this the case for holidays? Driving to the West Country gives us the impression of independence but really we are continually reinforcing our complete lack of. Luckily there are alternatives such as car clubs which have diminished people’s dependence on the car. Car Share Cornwall is growing in popularity. However, the website is directed at residents and not travellers, so visitors to the county would have to find their nearest car pooling scheme. For shorter journeys, Explore South West runs a bio-diesel fuelled taxi service which can pick your small group up from the railway station.

With a bit of imagination and a sense of adventure, there are some fabulous journeys to be had across Cornwall by train, bus or bicycle.

Laura Burgess
www.ecoescape.org

Laura Burgess is the founder of ecoescape. ecoescape promotes responsible escapism in the UK and beyond, helping people find ways to get off-grid and enjoy low carbon lifestyles – holidays included. ecoescape is both a new printed travel guide series and an online community offering people inspiration for greener ways to travel and a place to share their stories. In 2007 with the help of Big Lottery Funding, Laura published the first guide to sustainable travel in the UK. You can order a copy of the guide on her website at www.ecoescape.org. The new series will be published in April 2008 by Green Guide and will include an updated UK edition along with the first Ireland ecoescape guide.

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Five percent rule

Posted by: Wendy

When it comes to resolutions, think small and work to remain consistent.  Someone told me a long time ago that if you can change any area of your life by a consistent five percent, the effects will be remarkable.   The truth of this is mirrored in the reality of global warming.   Even changes of a single degree can change everything.  Just a few years ago what was imperceptible even to scientists, was altering the landscape of our collective future.   This 5% rule applies to our personal ecosystems as well.   The smallest of changes in how we communicate in, show up for, and think about our relationship can and does alter its course.

Bad things happen fast, good things take time.  This is the caveat about how the five percent rule works.   Accidents, illnesses, forces of nature like hurricanes or tornados arrive in a moment, often with no warning.   Personal catastrophes like divorces can fall into the middle of your world like a tidal wave.  How is it possible that we could not see these things coming?   Relationships are fragile eco-systems and just as in the aftermath of a storm, rebuilding and recuperation is a process which takes the time and patience that is the daily work of sustaining.

It is easy to get burnt out in this daily work of relating, it is the hardest work that we are asked to do.    People are annoying, even the very best of them and especially when you live with them and are charged with their care.   This fact can apply to growing families or aging parents as easily as it does to our primary partner.    Keeping relationships healthy and being willing to heal the ones that are ailing is not a quick fix solution, it is a resolution to keep the five percent rule in action.   It is being willing to do the one extra act of kindness each day.  It is taking the time to listen even when you have heard enough.  It is finding the energy to be intimate even when you don’t feel connected.  It is the laundry and the dishes and one more trip to the grocery store.  

The five percent rule is a good resolution to take on no matter what your life situation.  Another way of thinking about it is the continuous improvement plan, where we agree to remain vigilant to our own attitude and willingness to participate.  It acknowledges that we aren’t going to be perfect or expect perfection, but rather with realistic intentions, we strive to be just a bit better than yesterday.   It respects the time that it takes for small, seemingly imperceptible changes to be felt and experienced.

Making a resolution to live with a five percent improvement plan is a heroic act.  Not only do you courageously embrace the unpredictable and certain falling apart that happens in every life, but you simultaneously hold your heart open to trying to make the small acts of living softer and more bearable for the people you love.    It is a resolution that you can keep because it commits you to a process rather than an outcome and gives you the freedom to miss the mark some days. 

So go ahead, resolve to get better at whatever you choose- or what the heck, just resolve to get better in your whole life, but just go for five percent.  It’s plenty.    

 

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Gift of Presence ‘07

Posted by: Wendy

Every now and again we are given the gift of true presence. Usually it is when we are faced with the stark reality of life ending, whether it is through the death of someone or something beloved. The details that we often think of as life itself, fall away and the mystery of our frail human form and relationships that make life meaningful is all that we have, and all that we ever really had.

This naked place of pure presence is not an easy one to live in- we know in these moments of pure love and connection, pure loss and loneliness that our emotions are not thoughts in our head, but physical weighty forces that fill our physical body so completely that they have the power to alter our senses. Falling in love is a full body experience, one that alters how we see everything- a more powerful drug you can’t find on the planet.

The same is true for grief, especially grief that we don’t allow ourselves to experience. Feeling the weight of our own sadness is frightening. There is no deeper emotional access to the present moment than our sadness and grief. Yet feeling the full force of these emotions often reminds me of my kids when they were three years old, just old enough to get their experience but without a big enough body to contain it or a language to express it. Witnessing the trauma of a full on tantrum is enough to make any sane adult choose to repress it, the power of the feelings are as large as any force of nature.

When it’s over, I want to say: All my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. Mary Oliver

Giving yourself or someone you love this gift of pure presence is the most amazing and life changing gift you can offer. Here’s the truth… it doesn’t work to repress our feelings. Our experience of life deserves to be witnessed and shared. All that is not given the air and space in the world around us will like any force of nature so transform and alter our internal landscape that we can’t find our presence- with ourselves and not with the people we long to love the most.

Eternity is not waiting to happen after you die, it is happening right now- and the meaning and love that you have the chance to make in your life is the only gift that will really count when your days are over. So instead of just exchanging physical gifts this holiday season- open your arms wide to the stories and feelings that make our presence real and our relationships sustainable.

My gift for the season was launching my new website www.goodcleanlove.com.  Come visit and share your stories of sustainable love.

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Guest Editor: Lucy Brindley - I’m dreaming of a “Green” Christmas!

Posted by: Guest Editor

A user-friendly guide to organising an eco-friendly Christmas.

So, you’ve taken steps to reduce the impact your lifestyle has on the environment; you wash your clothes at 30 degrees, you walk on short journeys, you carry re-usable bags, you’ve changed your light bulbs to energy saving ones, and perhaps you have even had an eco-friendly party using products from Little Cherry!

But what about an eco-friendly Christmas? Traditionally a time of over indulgence in every way, it’s obvious why we would get wrapped up in the excitement and relax our habits towards being friendly to our planet… but this year why not try to organise a green Christmas.

It is estimated that we make a massive 3 million tones of rubbish over the festive period, and sadly much of this ends up dumped in landfill rather than recycled. Did you know that approximately 1 billion Christmas cards could end up in the bin this year?

So follow our eco-friendly Christmas tips and choose to make it a Green Christmas in 2007!

Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree
Almost 8 million Christmas Trees will be used this year resulting in an estimated 12 million tones of rubbish. Don’t choose an artificial tree, massive amounts of fossil fuels are used in their production and they only last a few years - you can’t beat the wonderful smell of a real tree - make sure you choose a Christmas tree with roots, and help the environment by planting it afterwards!

Did you know that real trees are completely carbon neutral? So collect one from your local FSC accredited supplier and if replanting your tree after Christmas isn’t an option, contact your local council or www.letsrecycle.com for tree recycling schemes.

Decorations
Bring nature back into your home by decorating with real holly and ivy, collect attractive branches from your local park and dip them into vegetable based water paints for an unusual display.

Invest in re-usable decorations such as our 100% cotton Christmas Bunting, which is hand made in the UK. Use cotton or wooden decorations, not only are they better for the environment but they also look much more stylish.

Choose low energy LED Christmas lights and remember to turn them off when you are out or at night.

Cards
Send e-cards rather than traditional cards and make sure you recycle any cards after the festive season by using them as gift tags, or The Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading conservation charity, arranges for the recycling of used Christmas cards via Tesco and WH Smith. Visit www.woodland-trust.org.uk/recycling for more details.

Gifts
Less is more this year – choose charitable gifts which help others, such as those through Oxfam Unwrapped. Children also love the idea of helping animals, and through the World Wildlife Fund you can adopt a range of endangered species including orangutans and pandas (www.wwf.org.uk/adoption).

Pass any unwanted toys or gifts to charity chops, your local hospital or school; try to choose gifts that are recycled such as our pencil case which is made from recycled car tyres! Instead of mass produced plastic toys, choose wooden ones made from sustainable wood and painted in non-toxic paints, such as our best selling Fire Engine or Cement Mixer, or how about our wooden jewelry or skipping ropes?

Wrapping Paper
Around 83km2 of wrapping paper will be used this year – make a difference and wrap your gifts in a re-usable 100% cotton bag or in recycled wrapping paper. If you can, save any wrapping paper from gifts you receive and re-use it next year, if you get too excited when unwrapping your presents so this isn’t possible, make sure you recycle any paper after use.

Batteries
We get through more batteries at this time of year than any other; batteries contain toxic chemicals, don’t biodegrade and are difficult to recycle. Make sure you cut down on your toxic waste by only using rechargeable batteries.

Food
Visit your local Farmers Market (find one through the Soil Association or www.farmersmarkets.net) and buy locally produced organic food. Not only will you be reducing the amount of packaging you take home but organic foods contain higher levels of nutrients than other foods, so your taste buds and body will thank you for it too! An organic turkey is an absolute must, and as 4,200 tonnes of aluminium foil is thrown away over the festive period - make sure your aluminium foil is washed and recycled after use!

Compost all your green waste and any leftovers rather than sending them to the landfill, your local council should have cheap compost bins available.

Packaging
Did you know that around 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging will be wasted this year? Try not to buy anything with excessive packaging and buy your vegetables loose. Make sure you carry re-usable bags with you on all shopping trips to reduce your plastic bag usage.

Christmas Party!
Make your Christmas Party a green one, use our biodegradable organic bamboo plates or our plates made from recycled organic yoghurt pots. Make sure cutlery is recycled and re-usable and choose recycled napkins. Browse through our comprehensive range of products and celebrate in style this year!

Finally…
Try to make a difference by extending the reduce, re-use, recycle mantra to Christmas this year, lets teach our children how to look after the planet and its resources, that’s the most stylish way to celebrate!

Wishing you a very merry green, eco-friendly Christmas!

Lucy Brindley - www.littlecherry.co.uk

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Oh Christmas Tree

Posted by: Arcadia

Is it too early to start talking about Christmas yet?  I try to refrain because here in the USA holiday decorations start to go up the very next day after Halloween! 

Every year this debate comes up:  The Christmas Tree!  Do you buy a real one or go plastic.

I actually think this debate was settled or at least a very convincing opinion was given by advice maven Umbra at Grist.org (I LOVE her column), and through her I even learned that there is such a thing as an organic Christmas Tree! 

But alas dear readers I sit her writing with a bag over my head (canvas, of course) because I have a plastic tree!!  I’ve had it for YEARS.  I NOW know that real trees come from sustainable forests, but I didn’t know back then.  I thought I was doing the right thing by buying a plastic (oh the horror) tree, plus it really came down to economics with me.  I just couldn’t afford a real tree on a student’s budget, so I knew a fake tree would pay for itself over time (and it has).

But for those of us who inherited a fake one, take heart in knowing that you are at the very least reusing and recycling.  Even Jim Motavalli, the editor of E, The Environmental Magazine, brings out his fake tree he inherited from his grandparents. (source: Washingtonpost.com 11.29.07-The Greening of Christmas)

If you do not already own a fake tree, don’t go buy one.  I strongly advocate for the real thing.  Unfortunately here in America fake trees are gaining in popularity!  Good grief people, did you not learn anything from A Charlie Brown Christmas, besides you just can’t replicate that real tree scent and that actually is the best part about the tree anyway!

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