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Damage we are causing
- Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, Americans produce an extra two billion pounds of garbage per week, much of which is gift packaging.
- Annual trash from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals about 4 million tons.
What can we do about this?
- Skip gift wrapping, reuse ribbons, or use old newspapers.
- Shop online to save packaging waste, time and stress.
- Make gifts.
- Consider nonmaterial gifts, like events.
- Shop with reusable bags.
- Look for items made with recycled content.
- Avoid over-packaged items.
What are the benefits in changing my ways?
- If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon each year, 38,000 miles worth would be saved.
- If 50% of households replaced just 2 packaged presents with gifts that could slide inside an envelope, 50 million pounds or more of waste could be saved.
- Americans send 2 billion holiday cards each year, so just a 1% reduction could save 15,000 trees.
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