Environmental gift buying

It''s impossible to open a newspaper or turn on the TV without being bombarded with adverts insisting on how important it is to be environmentally friendly. That problem is only exacerbated when it comes to buying gifts for people.

That bouquet of flowers? Grown in greenhouses which chuck out hundreds of tonnes of CO2. Some smellies? Lots of tissue paper packaging, destroying the environment. However, it is possible to do eco-friendly gifts. Here is out guide to how.

Flowers: Flowers are often lauded as being one of the biggest culprits in environmental damage. Artificial greenhouses, exotic flowers being flown in from abroad, the wrapping paper and packaging used to keep them all together.... The first step when it comes to being more environmentally friendly is to buy local, seasonal flowers. Don''t buy Lilies in December, try Christmas Roses instead. You can also minimise on packaging by using recyclable paper, or even old wrapping paper.

Another often over-looked option is to pick the flowers yourself. Whilst this may seem obvious people often forget that choosing flowers from the garden means no energy is being wasted in transporting them or growing them out of season. When it comes to choosing and arranging them the key word is simplicity: don''t have too many different colours, species, or sizes of flower. It''s also often a good idea to get a bit of greenery in the form of ferns in the bouquet, just to make it something a bit special.

Skincare: Here, the key is minimising packaging. Everyone has bought a new moisturiser, only to trawl through cardboard boxes, tissue paper and plastic wrapping for a little tub you could just as easily have bought loose. Shops like Lush are great for using minimal packaging ? their gift-boxes, for example, are filled with bio-degradable popcorn instead of tissue paper and they make fantastic presents in their own right.

There are also several companies and websites catering to people who want organic products which haven''t been tested on animals. Websites likes Nigel''s Eco Store, for example, sell products like his ''bath bag'' range. These bags are tea bags filled with all sorts of delicious, moisturising herbs; they are bio-degradable and made with 100% recyclable products.

Hampers: Hampers make a fantastic gift-option, especially because of the range of options they come in. A major problem with them, however, is that it can be

If you decide to buy from a bigger company then you could also check their environmental credentials. Interflora is a good example; they have a wide range of hampers and detailed information about their environmental policy.

Checking the environmental credentials of the company you buy from can also help. Interflora, for example, has a huge range of hampers. The company has carbon-neutral commitments, meaning that they aim to make sure any unavoidable carbon emissions will be off-set by their donating to carbon reduction projects.

Article Source: http://www.casinoarticlessite.com

Nita Hannibal is a freelance writer and horicultural expert. They recommend Interflora for flower delivery Nottingham.

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