Give the gift that gives twice

Long lines, hyper-consumption and cold weather will, as expected, trademark the 2010 holiday shopping season. Consumer spending is projected to be significantly higher than in 2008 and 2009, according to the New York Times. However, as gift-seeking consumers flock to hectic shopping centers for too-good-to-pass-up deals, more and more people will spread holiday cheer through charitable donations.

According to Deborah Mitchell, director, Wisconsin School of Business Center for Brand and Product Management, an interesting trend is emerging across the United States. Instead of traditional gift giving, an increasing number of consumers are giving the gift that gives twice, Mitchell says. Donating to charities in someone else’s name is an innovative idea that parallels a larger cultural shift toward simplicity.

In Juliet Schor’s book, the Overspent American, she encourages American’s to downshift. Decreasing consumption yields higher levels of happiness and decreases waste, Schor says.

According to Mitchell, American’s are indeed downshifting to some extent in 2010. American’s are adopting simpler lifestyles by sticking to the basics, Mitchell says. Donating to charities supports this emerging trend and also reduces the negative impacts of hyper-consumption during the holiday season. This innovative gift obviously helps those in need, too.

There really is no better way to spread holiday cheer. Donating to a charity that a relative, friend or significant other believes in, on their behalf, decreases consumption. Shop less, do more and re-examine the gift-giving tradition in 2010.

Does that special person you’re buying for really need another pair of mittens? Another purse? A tie? Donate to a charity this holiday season as your gift to whoever it is that you’re shopping for. Donate to a charity this holiday season as your gift to the world. It is, after all, the gift that gives twice.

Swashion supports giving the gift that gives twice this holiday season because it decreases waste and helps exploit the over-consumption practices we as a society have become accustomed to.

Holiday Shopping

With Thanksgiving out of the way, it's officially holiday season. But does "holiday season" simply refer to "shopping season"? Our mailboxes are flocked with magazines filled with the latest products, the perfect holiday gifts, and of course - the best savings of the season.

The days following our turkey feasts have been dubbed "black Friday weekend," a time in which the LA times reports that 212 million people hit the stores to shop, spending $45 billion. That's a whole lot of consumption - and probably not so much of it being environmentally friendly.

How can we avoid indulging in hyper-consumption during the time of year that begs us to shop?
1) Homemade crafts. It may sound lame, but some of the best gifts are those that are hand-crafted. Hit up your local arts and crafts stores for inspiration - a few dollars can take you a long way.
2) If you are purchasing clothing, keep in mind eco-friendly alternatives like organic clothing. Even better, skip buying new clothes and instead make a New Years Resolution to participate in 10 Swashion Swaps this winter. That's 10 new outfits for free!
3) Bake! What could be a better gift than a batch of delicious baked goods, straight from the oven?

For more tips and inspiration, check out this 2010 TreeHugger gift guide.

The Story of Stuff

Calculating Carbon Footprint

It has become commonplace for legislators, producers and environmental conservationists to speak about our "Carbon Footprint." They make claims like "Buying this kind of lightbulb will lower your carbon footprint" or "We have to consider how this new plan will effect our carbon footprint."

But have you ever asked yourself what exactly is a carbon footprint, or how much you can affect it by something as small as changing your lightbulbs?

If you don't know that much about your carbon footprint or how things like your clothing purchases and the packaging of those items can affect, check out this Carbon Footprint Calculator (http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx) and the information on the website as a whole.

While the calculator can tell you how harmful your automobile travel is, you should check out the tab labeled "Secondary." Here you can find just how much your lifestyle choices and preferences affect your carbon footprint.

After you see just how large of a carbon footprint you currently have, test how much it would change if changed your fashion or recycling habits.

Together we can make this change a reality. By swashing and adopting greener clothing and purchasing habits, we can make a difference.

Swash today.