I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Well, it's officially time: the pumpkin spice lattes have been swapped for eggnog, the preview ads for Black Friday are beginning, and it's getting dark at 4pm. I guess that means we're starting to think of holiday gift shopping!

There are lots of ways to think about reducing your footprint this holiday season:

• choose quality items that will have a long life
• choose gifts with reduced packaging
• buy experiences, such as tickets to a concert or gift card to a favorite restaurant
• do a swap: each person in the gift exchange chooses a loved book or movie to pass on
• shop local

Shopping local not only stimulates the local economy, but also reduces the fuel to move goods from place to place. One of my favorite shops is The Handmade Showroom, located at Pacific Place Mall in downtown Seattle. Open 8am-9pm on Black Friday, they are right in the heart of other conventional retail that you may be visiting on Black Friday, and feature dozens of artisans and crafters from the Pacific Northwest. In addition to the shop itself being a small local business, all of the products within are from small local businesses.

They have a bit of something for everyone on your shopping list: sauces and confections for the foodie, cat beds and toys for your fur-babies, jewelry and accessories, kids dress-up costumes, screen-printed t-shirts, housewares... Want to level-up your conscious shopping? Some of the artisans use reclaimed or recycled materials! Top it all off with a letterpress greeting card.

A glimpse into the kids's section: 

Some of your local small businesses may be participating in Black Friday, but keep in mind that many of these business will taking the day to spend with their families. Small Business Saturday was started by American Express in 2010 to encourage shopping small and local and is observed on the day after Black Friday. Search social media for #‎SmallBusinessSaturday or ‪#‎SmallBizSat‬ to find participating businesses.

Finally, if you are crowd-shy and avoid shops this time of the year, consider checking out online marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon Handmade. These marketplaces feature small businesses and artisans, and highlight where the artisan is based from.

Happy holiday shopping, everyone, and may you discover a cool small business near you!