Green, eco-friendly . . . these are all terms that are bandied about in mainstream media. It's trendy to be environementally conscious. There are even eco-green-recycled-luxury vacations now. Didn't the definition of luxury mean extravagance and therefore exess and waste? How can we reconcile luxury and green? That's the subject of a much bigger debate. What we can do in our daily lives is to conserve, recycle and reduce our impact on the environment. During the holiday season we can do that is by regifting.
What's not debatable is that people don't want to receive carbon credits or cards telling them that a donation has been made in their name to the save the world fund. One small way to save the planet is to regift. Many resources went into manufacturing, transporting and marketing those unwanted presents in your closet. The more resourceful among us save these unwanted items to give away again. Just because a gift is of no interest to you doesn't mean that it has no value to someone else. Like the old saying goes, one person's trash is another person's treasure. Regifting should be done in a way that the recipient doesn't realize that he/she is receiving a recycled present. Some handy tips follow:
1. The item should be new and unused unless it's something like a Stradivarius violin.
2. If there's a gift tag, take it off. Nothing is worse than receiving a gift that was so obviously meant for someone else.
3. As with any other gift, make sure the gift is thoughtful and appropriate for its recipient. For example don't give rollerblades to a wheelchair-bound friend.
4. Obviously, don't regfit to the person that gave you the gift to begin with or to anyone who might be in contact with the original gifter. People talk . . .
