The Greening of Gavin

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for the Anti-Consumer

@ By 2 Comments

For those who celebrate Christmas, here are some last minute gift ideas from an article I wrote for the Caroline Springs Community update, that have a fair-trade and anti-consumer bent.

The Festive Season is all about giving, but in this day and age, things seem way too out of control for me, without any end in sight. I know I am stating the bleeding obvious, but when they start bringing out the Christmas decorations in department stores during the month of October, you really know that things have just gone too far. The blatant commercialisation of the holiday season has been getting longer and stronger each year. As you probably know if you have read my blog, I am against consumerism for the sake of it, which I and many others have labelled as Affluenza.
So here are a few ideas that will help get you off the consumeristic treadmill. Kim and I decided that we wanted to buy gifts that last, and gifts that either help others who produced them to get a fair deal, or give to those who really need our generosity.

Firstly, we choose only fair trade products for each other. Yes, I know that there are an incredible amount of transport emissions because mainly these gifts come from overseas, but I wanted to support the fair trade movement and not some giant corporation. We bought some of our gifts at New Internationalist Fair trade shop on-line. Use your favourite search engine to track them down. Not only do you get a great product that is built to last, you guarantee a fair price for products that are not a handout, but also helps encourage self reliance within that community. We have also bought some gifts at the Oxfam shop (www.oxfamshop.org.au) which is also sells fair trade goods. So we bought minimal gifts with all proceeds going to people who most need our money. The quality of the products is outstanding and you know that these handcrafted items have been made with care and attention to detail.  Oxfam also have a program called Oxfam Unwapped, which is kind of like the program that I am about to describe from World Vision.

Secondly, instead of going absolutely crazy with gifts you can give a gift to someone who really needs it. World Vision has a campaign called Smiles, whereby you visit their website and buy a gift for someone else in need! What a fantastic concept. You can buy something as small as water purifications tablets for $5, or a house reconstruction kit for $1345! From mozzie nets to chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, donkeys or cows, the gift ideas are massive.


So how does it work? Do World Vision pack a goat in a box and ship it overseas? NO, that would be cruel. So, if you buy a duck or a market garden starter pack, for example, your contribution will go towards their agriculture and environment work to help communities grow food for families and restore and improve their environments. Or if you buy a mosquito net or a toilet, you’ll be contributing to their work to help communities gain access to basic healthcare, water and sanitation. You also receive a card which you give to the reciepient, to let them know about the gift you have chosen.

So this year, think outside the box you live in, and consider some of these options to help those who, without your help, will probably go without the simplest of life’s necessities, let alone a present this festive season.

The choice is yours alone. You can give socks and jocks to someone who has everything, or a present that really means the world to someone. I reckon they are not only suitable for last minute gifts, but for corporate presents as well! What a great Chris Kringle present to give a work colleague.

Green seasons greetings to one and all,

Gavin, Kim and Family

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Mrs Horty says

    I love the work that Oxfam do so choose to support them financially all year rather than buy gifts that as you stated have incredible transport miles. There are many many wonderful Australian made and owned products available too. I think the whole concept of Fairtrade is great but it must always include Australians just asking to be supported with a fair price that reflects their actual costs too. Unfortunately this year when trying to find something for my grand kids that was within the budget and Aussie made was near impossible (taking into consideration what I knew they would and wouldn’t actually use) so I had to settle for within the budget. Next year I am going to do things differently and just make some home made goodies – if they don’t like it then it will just be ‘the crazy gift from that screaming hippy granny’ LOL

    Reply

  2. Gavin says

    Hi Mrs Horty,

    I agree with you. This year we have already decided that we will be buying no gifts at all, only Smiles or Oxfam unwrapped.

    Christmas has been engulfed by consumerism, and has lost its meaning for many.

    Gav x

    Reply

Comments build lively communities. Let me know your thoughts, but keep it clean and green! Spam is removed instantly.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.