Your Guide To Green

I have a secret…I can’t park my car in my garage.  I mean it’s not like I don’t have the driving skills, but in my new two-car garage, there just isn’t room for an automobile.  Between my husband and me, we have accumulated so much stuff in our four years together that it has now taken over the garage.  And I swore it would never be that way.

But I just found out that I may not be alone. I came across a great documentary called The Story of Stuff  and it turns out that we Americans have a penchant for accumulating gadgets, gizmos and thingamabobs. It isn’t just about greed but it also has a lot to do with the media and our government’s plan to improve the economy after World War II.  Turns out that most of what we buy is actually manufactured to break and/or go out of style long before necessary.  It’s based on economic strategies known as perceived and planned obsolescence.  I won’t give the whole documentary away, but let me share with you the statistic that won’t leave me alone: only 1% of the stuff we buy (and give for the holidays might I add) survives after just six months.  That means that 99% of what we will give and receive this holiday season will be trashed by June.

As someone who takes a lot of pride in living a green, eco-friendly lifestyle, I cannot contribute to this kind of waste with a healthy conscience. I am not protesting retail outlets or shopping for gifts, but I am determined to outsmart the system this year and give gifts that won’t wind up in someone’s garage or be destined for the dump.  This year I am looking for gifts that will accomplish three things:

1. Environmental awareness.  This means a gift that will improve the environment in some way.
2. The true spirit of giving.  I want my friends and family to really enjoy their gifts.
3. Cost-efficiency.  I can’t spend as much I’d like this year and I have to be realistic about my goals. Solar panels just won’t make the list this year.

As I looked around my house at things I use regularly and appreciate, I noticed my stainless steel water bottle. I literally use this every day and love it. It replaces plastic water bottles, saves money, eliminates the health concerns around plastic and actually benefits the environment by not producing yet another plastic bottle for the landfill.

YourGuideToGreen.com offers an incredible line of stainless steel bottles, accessories, bottle your own water bundles and will even do custom imprinting on the bottles. They come in a variety of colors (blue, red, green, gold, turquoise or silver) and also come in gift-sets.

If simplicity is your style, you can buy two of the 20oz colored bottles for the price of 1 right now (that’s $15.99 for two bottles). At $8 a head it’s the kind of math I can afford, and a gift that benefits the environment and my family and friends’ lifestyles, is something I just can’t pass up.

Do yourself, your family and the environment a favor this year:  lose the plastic bottles and make a gift out of it at the same time.