In the September 2020 Publishers’ Letter, we wrote about “Home Sweet Home” and the changes we’ve made to become more Earthfriendly and sustainable, especially reducing our plastic consumption. While considering holiday (or any) giftgiving, perhaps we can help the planet AND our friends and family become more ecofriendly.

A paper in Environmental Science & Technology found that going to a physical store actually has a lower carbon footprint than shopping on Amazon because customers tend to buy fewer items at a time online (see Amazon global brief page 8). Local shops need support, and offer unique items and services that might be more apropos.

We’ve continued changing our habits and trying new household items that are better for us and Mother Earth. Here’s what we are doing now:

1 No more chemical-laden, heavily-perfumed soaps, shampoos or laundry detergent going into our waterways, along with plastic. We buy fresh, organic soaps in cardboard boxes. We are trying unscented laundry strips packaged in biodegradable glassine. We love our zero-waste shampoo and conditioner cubes! For dishwashing liquid, we buy only concentrated refills.

2 Regular floss is really bad for the environment. Eco-friendly flosses made out of biodegradable silk work nearly as well and you feel better throwing it away after use. We also bought bamboo toothbrushes. 3 No more deodorants with aluminum and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We went all natural.

4 Sponges and scrubbies: it’s time to ditch those old yellow and green sponges that never break down. There are so many alternatives! We bought loofah scrubbies and natural-hemp, reusable, compostable sponges and so far you can’t tell the difference.

5 We’ve gone through every implement we have in the house – either use it, sell it or give it away. So far, we’ve made one great dish in the underused crockpot and that looks like a keeper. I don’t think we’ll be keeping the waffle iron, and we’ll see if the bread machine and keyboard will gather dust over the winter or not.

We love the idea of asking ourselves this holiday season, “What can I give to Mother Earth?” If you aren’t sure, try one of our ideas from above or check out the ideas in our September PL under Archives on MileHighNaturalAwakenings.com.

We wish you a very happy, healthy, peaceful and hopeful holiday.

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