2022 climate-conscious gift guide

December 18, 2022 / activist360

A selection of gift ideas to show love for your people and your planet

By Daisy Simmons, Yale Climate Connections

‘Tis the season for conundrums — at least for the climate-conscious who find themselves torn between reducing carbon emissions and holiday gift-giving. So take heart: It IS possible to indulge in your generous nature while keeping a lighter carbon footprint.

Read on for three categories of climate-conscious gifts.

For those equally climate-virtuous

Some people on your list may be just as climate-conscious as you. As such they may be happiest with a present that’s climate-conscious and that combats emissions — whether through direct action or educating more people about the problem, and the solutions.

The World Economic Forum has a few tips that might appeal to your recipients, such as planting a tree or buying a piece of coral in their name.
Or consider a Climeworks gift certificate for direct-air carbon capture. The group says a $30 gift, for example, will remove and store 25 kg CO₂in your recipient’s name.
Looking for an emissions-reducing gift for the whole household? Yale Climate Connections regular contributor Dana Nuccitelli suggests taking advantage of the tax credits and rebates available in the Inflation Reduction Act. “Now’s the time to upgrade your gas water heater or stove to a cleaner heat pump or induction version,” he says. “What better gift for your family than cleaner indoor air, plus lower monthly energy bills?”
Want something a little more budget-friendly that also helps improve your home efficiency? Make a draft dodger snake — Bob Vila has some simple and cool DIY ideas here.
Your fellow climate-oriented friends and family may also appreciate catching up on their related reading. For these folks, check out Michael Svoboda’s YCC review of 12 new titles for climate activists and academics.
For those who prefer to learn through cinema, find out if the Wild and Scenic Film Festival On Tour is heading to your neck of the woods.
For more emissions-busting gift tips, check out our 2021 gift guide for tips on Buy Nothing communities, climate action vouchers, and renewable energy credits.

Memorably material-free: Experiences and homemade treats

Material-free gifts like tickets to games or shows, babysitting vouchers, and memberships mean good times — and generally low to no planet-warming emissions compared with the impacts of producing and transporting material goods.

Here are a few for your giving inspiration:

Got a kayaking enthusiast on your list? Turn to a local outfit for guided kayaking, snowshoeing, and other fun treks. Or head to Airbnb to scout for unique locally hosted experiences, from beginner surfing lessons in Santa Cruz to mountain e-bike touring in Asheville, North Carolina.
Check out classes based on your recipients’ interests, like in-person cooking classes at a local co-op or kitchen store, a knitting class, or perhaps a belly-dancing class.

Quality online options are seemingly endless now, too, thanks to Masterclass (think intentional eating with author Michael Pollan or conservation with Jane Goodall) and Udemy (explore a range of courses on climate change plus hundreds of lessons in gardening, among many others.)
For your 21-plus set, book a tour to a carbon-neutral provider convenient to them. For example at the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, your gift recipient can learn all about Fat Tire, America’s first certified carbon-neutral beer.
Look into local museum and performing art center memberships for the culture-oriented people on your list. Or consider a subscription you know they’ll love, like New York Times Cooking ($5/month).
Give the priceless gift of time in nature in the form of an America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass — an annual pass that gets one vehicle into any national park or forest ($80). Many states also offer annual state park passes: California, Florida, Maryland, and more.
Got something you’re really good at? Offer up services for friends and family, like a bike repair, massage, oil change, or even tax prep.

There’s also still time to make something that wins over loved ones’ hearts … and appetites. You might whip up a batch of seasonal salted pecan caramel popcorn or glögg using organic ingredients and a reusable container.

Or, really please your crowd and take a cue from YCC contributor Karin Kirk’s holiday playbook. She gifts bread kits — “Put the dry ingredients for a no-knead bread in a silicone or plant-based/non-plastic bag, and send it off with instructions for mixing, rising, and baking. Instant treat.”

Her other holiday hit? “Boozey treats,” she says. “We’ve put our garden to proper use making plum gin and raspberry vodka. And honestly, it’s hard to go wrong with this theme!”

Material goods you can feel good about gifting

While other categories of gifts may be even more climate-friendly, a growing number of retailers are ramping up their own carbon neutrality efforts. Many shops are brimming with sustainable gift options, from solar gadgets to recycled jackets and shoes.

First, a few rules of thumb to help make any shopping expedition a little climate-friendlier:

Consider who you’re buying FOR. Retail returns in 2021 accounted for 16.6 percent of total U.S. sales, according to the National Retail Federation. And with an “estimated 10 percent of all returns ending in a landfill, the environmental impact is not trivial,” per McKinsey analysis.

Avert returns with a gut check before making any purchase. Is your prospective gift something they need or want? And is there actually room for it in their home? Also consider asking about and honoring people’s wish lists.
Consider who you’re buying FROM. Some retailers are climate-friendlier than others — find out who they are and favor them in your shopping choices. Small, local businesses may be a good place to start. Also look for retailers with reputable, relevant certifications, like Climate Neutral, Corporation B, EWG-Verified, or 1% for the Planet.
Consider what materials are used. Look for renewable/reused/recycled materials wherever possible and avoid plastic gifts — unless they’re made with recycled or ocean-bound plastic. According to Beyond Plastics research, the U.S. plastics industry contributes roughly 232 million tons of CO2e gas emissions per year — equivalent to the average emissions from 116 coal-fired power plants. Plus, just under 9% of plastic in the U.S. is actually recycled, according to Environmental Protection Agency data.

Enough with the don’ts, let’s get to the do’s. Here are a few low-impact physical gifts for the recipient archetypes on your list:

The clean energy buffs

EV owner in your life? Check out Clean Technica’s gift picks for Tesla drivers.
Solar enthusiast? Consider a solar phone charger, solar backpack, or solar stove they can take camping.

The foodies

Inspire their love of plant-based fare with a vegetable-centric cookbook. Food & Wine’s list has 16 contenders, from easy weeknight wins to James Beard-winning chef creations.
Help them store their delectables with pretty beeswax food wraps, and then clean up the mess with biodegradable, reusable Swedish cloths.
Food writers from a range of publications swear by the reBoard cutting board, made from recycled kitchen scraps.
Score intrigue points with a novel — and climate-friendly ingredient — like kelp. Atlantic Sea Greens offers foodie fare like cranberry kelp cubes perfect for making smoothies, or try the Ginger Sesame Sea-Veggie Burger.

The musically minded

Look for instruments with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. Martin and DeMars are examples of companies prioritizing FSC-compliant renewable wood in their guitars.
The House of Marley offers headphones and earbuds made with FSC-certified wood and recyclable aluminum — in addition to supporting global reforestation via One Tree Planted, and ocean conservation via the Surfrider Foundation.

The gardeners

Gather an assortment of pollinator-friendly and heirloom seeds appropriate for your recipient’s zone and make a theme basket. Potential add-ins include biodegradable CowPots (Karin’s go-to) and a sturdy and sustainable hand tool.
Splurge on a Haws watering can (also Karin-approved), handmade in England by a socially and environmentally responsible company that’s been around for 100+ years. These are hard to find in the U.S., but this Canadian retailer sells them and is Black-owned, certified B-Corp and donates 1% of profits to environmental projects.
Another splurge? Borrow Dana’s plan for his mom (spoiler alert, Dana’s mom!) and gift a bird feeder with a camera powered by solar panels.

The ones who appreciate your keen fashion sense

If you’re shopping for jewelry, opt for baubles made with recycled gold and silver, responsibly mined stones, and conflict-free diamonds. Treehugger has more tips here.
For toiletries, head to Henry Rose Fragrance, billed as the first fine fragrance line to be both EWG Verified and Cradle to Cradle Certified; Good Time’s low-waste shampoo, conditioner and body soaps; and/or Carbon-Neutral-certified Leaf’s plastic-free razors.
Need socks? A few climate-conscious contenders out there include Bare Kind’s Rainforest Trust bamboo socks made at a third-generation family-run factory and The Giving Socks, where every pair you buy supports tree restoration in Africa.
For outerwear, check out Patagonia’s “recrafted” line of garments made from old clothes. Climate-neutral, B-certified TenTree also offers a wide range of stylish jackets and coats.
Shoes offer a world of climate-conscious opportunity, from Thousand Fell’s fully recyclable sneakers and Cariuma’s National Geographic Gecko canvas shoes made with organic cotton, sustainably sourced rubber, cork and recycled plastics to Rothy’s ballet flats, knit from single-use plastics and available in 21 colors.

For the kids—and kids at heart

From stackables to push cars, little ones love the sustainable wooden toys from PlanToys.
For school-age kids, try plantable pencils they can use now, plant later.
Your young Lorax lover will love the “I speak for the trees” hoodie at tentree.
The rainforest-guardian doll, aka “Lottie,” is made with recycled cardboard, soy ink, and bio-degradable string — and a portion of your goes to the Rainforest Trust.
Check out Eco-bricks for budding engineers. Any of these FSC-certified wood building sets is ready to please, but the Wanderlust collection’s architectural builds may especially delight kids who live in featured cities like Chicago.
Help older kids learn about climate change — and action — with video games that bring climate issues front and center, like one of these.

Check the climate-conscious off your gift list

By thinking outside the gift box and exploring new ways to bring climate consciousness to gift-giving, you can unlock the next level of holiday spirit: to act generously and responsibly.

This is how Japanese youth view climate change today

November 27, 2022 / activist360

By Naoko Kutty, World Economic Forum

Pressure to act on the climate crisis is building among Japanese youth.
They are beginning to exert influence domestically and at international forums like COP27.
Japan’s younger generation must be fully integrated into climate policy-making decisions.
Read the blog in Japanese here.

As the world becomes increasingly aware of climate change, there is growing interest in sustainability, especially among the younger generation who will live to face the challenges in the next part of the 21st century. A survey of 6,800 consumers aged 15-69 in Japan about attitudes toward sustainability found that many consumers of all generations are open to paying a premium for sustainable products. What is noteworthy, however, is the flexibility on price. Generation Z have the highest tolerance for paying more, with 20% that would consider paying double – which is 2.5 to 10 times more than other generations.

Japanese about attitudes paying a premium for sustainable products.

Japanese youth mobilizing

Youth activism to demand more concrete action on climate change from the government and business is also gaining momentum. Youth Climate Conference Japan, which provides a forum for young people to talk about the climate crisis, has exchanged views with the government, major political parties, Japan Business Foundation, and has made the voices of young people visible in the form of policy proposals such as the regulation of plastic packaging and compulsory emissions labelling on food by 2025. The fact that the new generation will be the most affected by climate change, yet policy decision-makers are much older, creates a huge gap in society’s ability to address the crisis, according to one of the steering members of Youth Climate Conference Japan.

In addition, Global Climate Action, in which young people from around the world appealed for stronger measures against global warming, was organized around Japan to coincide with the UN General Assembly in September, with about 400 young people participating in demonstrations in the streets. At this protest, the first youth climate one in three years due to the spread of COVID-19, young people expressed their urgent desire to address the climate crisis, saying: “It is now or never to stop climate change” and “We can reshape our future.” One university student who is part of the Fridays For Future‘s movement in Japan, which was inspired to take action by Greta Thunberg’s school strike in Sweden, said she hopes the Japanese government will take more concrete action against its stance of maintaining coal-fired power production.

Next-generation leaders at COP27

With young people around the world speaking out against climate change more than ever before, global youth are taking a seat at COP27 in Egypt for the first time ever. Designed to amplify children and youth voices within global climate policy-making, the COP27 Children and Youth Pavilion in Egypt is positioned front and centre in the Blue Zone and is entirely led by young people.

Japanese high school and university students also participated in COP27. Suzuka Nakamura and Daiki Yamamoto, who have also been involved in Fridays For Future, are making a film at the conference, saying: “We now want to not only appeal, but also listen to people from various standpoints and send out messages.” The two students, who have continued to raise their voices on the streets and in the National Diet, admit that: “We feel weighed down by the fact that we were expected to play a role in solving climate change simply because we are young.” Their new project, entitled record 1.5, is a documentary that will chronicle the voices and actions of young people, environmental activists and local people from around the world gathering at COP27. Through these recordings, they hope to share the sense of urgency that those affected by climate change victims have for creating a foundation for dialogue toward essential solutions.

Involving children and youth in decision-making

As our planet faces a critical situation due to climate change, the world needs to take seriously the fact that young people are speaking out and taking action to challenge adults’ response to climate change.

Japan is on the path to carbon neutrality, with an interim goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to 2013 levels by 2030. According to the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 797 local governments and more than 200 companies have declared their commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, and the public and private sectors are working together to achieve this goal. As the voices of children and youth are incorporated into these efforts, change will accelerate. Given that young people are powerful agents of change, it is hoped that a system will soon be in place to enable their participation in all decision-making processes related to climate change.

What is wishcycling? Two waste experts explain

January 16, 2022 / activist360 / Leave a comment

By Jessica Heiges and Kate O’Neill, The Conversation (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Wishcycling is putting something in the recycling bin and hoping it will be recycled, even if there is little evidence to confirm this assumption.

Hope is central to wishcycling. People may not be sure the system works, but they choose to believe that if they recycle an object, it will become a new product rather than being buried in a landfill, burned or dumped.

The U.S. recycling industry was launched in the 1970s in response to public concern over litter and waste. The growth of recycling and collection programs changed consumers’ view of waste: It didn’t seem entirely bad if it could lead to the creation of new products via recycling.

Pro-recycling messaging from governments, corporations and environmentalists promoted and reinforced recycling behavior. This was especially true for plastics that had resin identification codes inside a triangle of “chasing arrows,” indicating that the item was recyclable – even though that was usually far from the truth. In fact, only resins #1 (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET) and #2 (high-density polyethylene, or HDPE) are relatively easy to recycle and have viable markets. The others are hard to recycle, so some jurisdictions don’t even collect them.

The SPI resin identification coding system is a set of symbols placed on plastics to identify the polymer type. Bonus Unicode & Green Dot Symbol. SourceL Open Clipart Library. — *The SPI resin identification coding system is a set of symbols placed on plastics to identify the polymer type. Bonus Unicode & Green Dot Symbol. Source: Open Clipart Library.*

Wishcycling entered public consciousness in 2018 when China launched Operation National Sword, a sweeping set of restrictions on imports of most waste materials from abroad. Over the preceding 20 years, China had purchased millions of tons of scrap metal, paper and plastic from wealthy nations for recycling, giving those countries an easy and cheap option for managing waste materials.

The China scrap restrictions created enormous waste backups in the U.S., where governments had under-invested in recycling systems. Consumers saw that recycling was not as reliable or environmentally friendly as previously believed.

An unlikely coalition of actors in the recycling sector coined the term “wishcycling” in an effort to educate the public about effective recycling. As they emphasize, wishcycling can be harmful.

Contaminating the waste stream with material that is not actually recyclable makes the sorting process more costly because it requires extra labor. Wishcycling also damages sorting systems and equipment and depresses an already fragile trading market.

Know Your No’s Recycling Informative Postcard – PDF, City of Asheville, N.C. — *Know Your No’s Recycling Informative Postcard,* City of Asheville, N.C.

Huge waste management companies and small cities and towns have launched educational campaigns on this issue. Their mantra is “When in doubt, throw it out.” In other words, only place material that truly can be recycled in your bin. This message is hard for many environmentalists to hear, but it cuts costs for recyclers and local governments.

When in doubt, throw it out.

We also believe it’s important to understand that the global waste crisis wasn’t created by consumers who failed to wash mayonnaise jars or separate out plastic bags. The biggest drivers are global. They include capitalistic reliance on consumption, strong international waste trade incentives, a lack of standardized recycling policies and the devaluation of used resources. To make further progress, governments and businesses will have to think more about designing products with disposal and reuse in mind, reducing consumption of single-use products and making massive investments in recycling infrastructure.