SMARTER STRATEGIES

7 Tips for Greening Holiday Parties

R. Colin Johnson | Date: 12-21-10 | Comments

Kansas State University has these seven tips for greening your corporate parties over the holidays.

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7 Tips for Greening Holiday Parties
Tis the season, and having a jolly holiday party at the office can be yet another opportunity to go green.

Ben Champion, director of Sustainability at Kansas State University, claims that being nice, not naughty, during the holiday season, means that presents, decorations, and all those party supplies need to meet the same Earth-friendly sustainable goals set during the rest of the year. Conspicuous party consumption does not have to violate sustainability, making it possible to have your cake and eat it too�that is if you follow one little prescription: "Know what you are buying," said Champion.

Ben Champion champions sustainability as the director of Sustainability at Kansas State University.

Here are Champion's seven tips for a merry, yet eco-friendly, holiday season:

Presents Should Honor Whole World

Where and how a present was manufactured can be just as important as how it�s packaged. Make sure to check that ingredients are recyclable. Trusted environmental certifications will ensure that the ingredients are "green," but you still need to check with your local recyclers to make sure they can handle the specific recyclable materials used. Also, it�s a good thing to know where and how the present was manufactured�polluting a foreign country while making a "green" present for the U.S. is unacceptable. "Whatever material a gift is made of," Champion said, "it shouldn't degrade the place that it is coming from."

Paper is Safer�Usually

When wrapping up those presents, pure paper wrappings are best since many plastic wrappings are not biodegradable. Also, the decorations on the paper should not be glossy since those materials are often difficult to recycle. The best wrapping papers will use biodegradable materials for decorations, such as soy inks and natural dyes. And don't forget to put them in the recycle bin after opening.

Cardboard Beats Plastic

Try to use plain-brown corrugated cardboard boxes to contain presents, since those are the easiest to recycle. However, if you must use plastic containers, make sure they are number 1 or 2 types (look for a triangle containing the number).

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