Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Eliminate Excess Packaging

As you begin your holiday shopping, take a good look at your purchases and try to avoid gifts with excessive packaging. Most kid's toys come packaged in plastic, with wire ties, and unnecessary cardboard. You can spend more time freeing your child's toy from it's plastic prison then your child spends playing with it! Look for the many great toys out there that limit their packaging like:

1. Xeko - a unique trading card game in which players learn about endangered ecosystems and the plants and animals found in these hotspots. The cards are made from recycled paper and are printed with soy based inks. There is no extra packaging on the games and kids can recycle the booster pack packages for Green Points.

2. Earthwise Kids - their great earth friendly books and organic tees come in a reusable jute tote

3. Check out Amazon's effort to eliminate excess packaging - "The Frustration-Free Package is recyclable and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic clamshell casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It's designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without an additional shipping box." Unfortunately Amazon only currently offers 20 items in this packaging, but hopefully this is a sign of changes to come.

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