The Greener Perspective Green Gift Baskets
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 09. 2.08
Image source: Greener Perspective
Wedding season. Holiday season. Birthdays. Baby Showers. You name it, at some point you are going to have to (or want to) give someone a gift, but it sure seems hard to give an eco-friendly gift without it also looking like a fifth-grade arts and crafts project. Not to worry, The Greener Perspective has launched a new line of gift bags that are eco-friendly inside and out.
Currently only 4 options (Green Essentials, Intro to Green, Green Your Kitchen, Green Mom + Eco Baby) are available, but more are on the way. Gifts range in price from $40USD to $115USD and can be used for housewarming, new baby or helping someone get started greening their life. The outside bag is a reusable cloth bag, and it is filled with specially selected eco-gifts, like bamboo cutting boards, biodegradable soaps or non-toxic cleaning products. If you have a 'gift' in mind, you can also customize a bag by contacting Greener Perspective and can find more resources on green and Philly in their "Community" section.
The Greener Perspective includes an entire page devoted to explaining how each of the gift items are green. The company is based in Philadelphia, but can ship all over the US with cradle-to-cradle USPS certified shipping envelopes. The Greener Perspective is also a member of the Greater Philadelphia Sustainable Business Network.
Some of the gift baskets seem like they skimped on the green items, like the ones where they could have included more than one CFL, but its the thought that counts, right?
More on Green Gifts
How to Green Your Gifts
Therapy in a Box Introduces Fair Trade Gift Baskets
Eco-friendly Gift Boxes From Saul Good Gift Co.
Organic Goodies Make Perfect Green Thank-You Gift
Considering I was planning to give only green gifts this year, this is a great resources. Hopefully between now and the holidays there will be more options, but the selection now is pretty decent.
Check out greenlemonaide.com for another green gift option. They sell green starter kits that help others lessen their impact on the environment. Each product (sigg water bottles, smart strip surge protector, CFL's) includes a label explaining its environmental benefit. I gave them last year to my family and they loved them. They also make great business gifts!