The season for giving is approaching. We here at HarmonyWishes are acutely aware of the wake that the giving cycle leaves behind. Did you know that, “according to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans, on average, increase their garbage amount by 25% between Thanksgiving and Christmas?”

Image courtesy www.insidesocal.com

And wrapping paper, which is commonly made from virgin materials is a large part of that outflow—not to mention greeting cards. The folks over at Recycle Works say “we buy 2.65 billion Christmas cards—enough to fill a 10-story football stadium.” Woah.

Given that, perhaps it’s a good time to consider downsizing what we consume and send on. I can’t think of a better gift to someone this holiday season, than a greener, less-cluttered tomorrow! Of course, we would love to see a lot more people take a second look at HarmonyWishes come this holiday season, and consider how our service can help diminish that 10-story football stadium-sized dent. Afterall, it was a concern for a lighter holiday footprint that propelled our founder to start this business.

What if every holiday season was another chance to reconsider what we buy and what we toss away?

In the spirit of that question, allow me to introduce you all to a worldwide project called Freecycle. We’re not just fond of Freecycle’s initiative because they share a similar slogan to that of HarmonyWishes —we also just plain love what they do. Freecycle is a grassroots, non-profit community of people with the mission to “…build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.” Freecycle has a series of listservs, divided by location, that act as a central place to post items up for grabs. Think Craigslist, but focused on gift giving, and totally free! Freecycle started out in 2003 when a small Arizona non-profit was providing recycling services to downtown businesses. Rather than see perfectly good items get tossed into a recycling truck to be hauled away, the group ended up calling around to local non-profits to see if the items could be of use. Founder Deron Beal thought, “There must be a better way.” And Freecycle was born!

Freecycle now hosts some 4,852 groups with over six million members around the world. It’s a totally volunteer-driven operation. And in the past year alone, Freecycle claims to have saved over 500 tons of garbage a day from landfills—that’s five times the height of Mt. Everest if the garbage trucks were stacked on top of each other. Double woah.

As Freecycle states it, “By giving freely with no strings attached, members of The Freecycle Network help instill a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse.” Not a bad theme for this holiday season, eh? Generosity of spirit, strong local communities, a sustainable environment…sounds like just the kind of thing the holidays are about.

So, go take a look at their site. You can search your own area by zip code.  I was surprised to find a Freecycle Network even down here in Mexico.  And while you’re at it, zip over to our gallery of cards right now and send on with wild abandon! With an unlimited number of card deliveries and a myriad of original combinations, you can make a creative effort towards a green holiday season. Or take a moment to mention our lighter footprint option to your circle. Remember, it’s a conscientious gesture without scrimping on the thoughtfulness of your gift.

May you enjoy a truly green holiday season!

Cheers,

Megan