Subject: Time Out Chicago Blog Placement
From: "Merilee:::Kern Communications" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:54:17 -0800

http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2009/11/2009-holiday-gift-guide-good-and-green-gift-ideas/

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2009 Holiday Gift Guide - Good and green gift ideas 
Posted in Shopping and style by John Dugan on November 18th, 2009 at 11:15 am

For many of us, the holidays are a source of anxiety, and not only because you have to explain your alternative lifestyle to Aunt Flo, but because you feel pressured to buy a bunch of crap for people who already have homes overflowing with consumer goods that are unlikely to disintegrate between now and Ragnarok. If buying gifts gives you the sweats and makes you feel bad about yourself and American society, what can you do? Perhaps working some good or green gifts into the mix is a step in the right direction. You'll feel less guilty in terms of your contribution to a landfill, for one. Here are a few ideas to jog through before setting out on a holiday shopping spree-all good or green to a degree, except maybe the chocolate. 

I dig giving gifts from Oxfam America Unwrapped to friends or family, for several reasons. One, they're a pretty great conversation starter-as in, "Guess what? I got Grandma a goat for Christmas." And for folks who have everything, or don't have much and don't want more, giving something from Unwrapped helps us thoughtfully acknowledge how much we mean to each other without a trip to the mall for a return or an awkward what-happened-to-that-sweater moment. What's the deal? Basically, you're making a targeted donation in the loved one's name to one of Oxfam's programs around the globe addressing poverty, hunger and social injustice. Your friend gets a card-someone else gets something he or she needs. You can choose from more than 60 gifts: Donate $30 toward a vegetable garden, $30 for miracle trees, $12 for manure (throw in a gift of soap for $12) or $1,500 toward rebuilding a primary school. Oxfam has an unparalleled reputation for getting money to the right places. The New York Times Bucks Blog has more charitable giving ideas. If you've given from Unwrapped before, you'll be pleased to find that there are more gift options this year.

Nau is so green it hurts. The company is 100% sustainable, uses the labor watchdog group Verité to monitor all of its overseas factories, purchases carbon offsets for shipping actions, and every single item it produces is fully recyclable. Two percent of each Nau purchase is donated to a charity of the consumer's choice. This season, it came out with Nau bags for commuters, like this one, 100% sustainable and available for $225 at Connect and Uncle Dan's stores in Chicago. Perfect for your yuppie cousin in Frisco.

The cell-phone charger your brother left hooked up is stealing electricity and doing nothing with it. Get him the JuiceBar Multi-Device Pocket Solar Charger, $40.21 through cableorganizer.com, which is basically a battery that you can charge with the sun or from your computer's USB. It taps into a clean energy source-as in, the sun-but it takes about 12 hours to fully charge that way. It comes with 12 of the most commonly used adapters for cell phones, iPods, MP3 players and gaming systems. There are some cheaper solar-charging batteries out there-dig around online.

If you want to help loved ones slay the power vampires around their computer or home entertainment center, help them hook up to an intuitive surge protector (it cuts off the juice to idle current-sucking electronics when they are not in use) like Bits Limited's Smart Strip, $28.59 at cableorganizer.com. It could save you more than 260 watts per hour.

Some of the organic bars I've bought lately tasted like five dollars worth of dirt (Newman's Own Dark, wha'happen?). But Green & Black's Organic Chocolate just released a peanut flavor that satisfies my habit with its caramelized Valencia peanuts and hint of sea salt. Consider it a little reward for you just being you. $3.95 at Whole Foods and Kramer's.

Developed in Brazil by Espirito Brasilis, an ecologically and socially conscious organization that supports independent Brazilian artists, designer Carla Tennebaum's compressed recycled paper "puff" can be used as a stool or table-or simply to make your guests feel like inadequate, uncouth consumers. $185 at MCA.