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Crop for Newsletter - focused on felt ornament

Crop for Newsletter - focused on felt ornament

Our Holiday Checklist

This can be a busy time of year! Here are the top 5 things on our holiday checklist to integrate sustainability into this season’s festivities and traditions.

This holiday season looks different from years’ past but we can still infuse a bit of sustainability-related holiday cheer! Here is our quick checklist this next month:

    1. Rent a tree through the San Jose Our City Forest program. You can make a tax-deductible donation depending on the size of the tree, take care of it during the holidays, then return it and it’ll go in the ground in the local community or go to someone else next year!
    2. Order holiday cards through Paper Culture, a certified Green Business that plants trees with every purchase and makes their cards with sustainable materials like 100% recycled paper or bamboo. The Bay area business has also teamed up with Shoott to offer mini photo sessions.
    3. Buy from local businesses. To make things easier (avoid the familiar, repetitive task of flattening cardboard boxes and tossing bubble wrap/air bags) and more sustainable, find gifts for family and friends from one retailer. Our favorite shop is The Source Zero, where you can find a variety of items for a reduced waste/ zero-waste lifestyle. And don’t forget about Etsy; you can filter by location!
    4. Go plastic-free with food. Have you heard of Zero Grocery? They’re on a mission to eliminate single-use plastics from the food system. When you’ve received the groceries and cooked your meals, the company will take back the glass containers. If you have leftovers, make sure to store them in the trendy reusable, silicone bags from Stasher (now with holiday prints!) or USA-made Ziptop! 
    5. Make simple new year resolutions/goals. Start a gratitude journal. Say “no” to stuff you don’t really want or need. Pick something off of the weekly Wellness Center newsletter and start meditating with Headspace, Simple Habit, or if you have Kaiser Permanente medical insurance, download the Calm Premium app (usually $69.99!) for free! Opt outside more often, especially after being indoors a lot of this year! 

Want a couple more ideas? Read our past Illuminate articles: Wasteless Wonderland and Dreaming of a Green Christmas.

Nov 30, 2020
Sustainability