Happy holidays!

I'm off on holiday until mid-January, so you won't hear anything from Sustainability and the City for a while. Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season. I look forward to communicating with you again in the new year!

Rethinking Giving

Image by nosheep

What do you want for Christmas?

I usually find this question quite difficult to answer. I'd like a solution to all the problems facing the world, but the people asking me aren't in a position to give that. I'd like a round the world air ticket and some ski gear, but I'm pretty sure the people asking me aren't planning to spend quite that much money. I'd like a worm farm or bokashi system, but most people don't perceive things like that as suitable items for Christmas gifts. I'll always appreciate cash, but some people don't feel comfortable giving it as a gift. The thing is, I'm not a fan of stuff. You know, the kind of stuff you see advertised on TV and in junk mail at Christmas time, often labelled with a helpful caption like "Great gift idea!"  I don't consider something a great gift idea if I have to find somewhere in my apartment to put it, dust it regularly, and it doesn't give me any tangible benefit in return. Nor is it a great gift idea if I have to wear it and pretend to like it. And it's definitely not a great gift idea if it's labelled "As seen on TV!"

I don't disagree with the concept of giving gifts, but I think that our attitude to gift-giving has gone awry. You still hear the phrase "It's the thought that counts" often, but it doesn't seem that many people actually believe it. Most people seem to feel that there's a minimum amount of money they ought to spend on a gift, which depends on the occasion and the closeness of their relationship with the recipient, and they will tailor the gift they give to reflect that amount. It seems more important to me to focus on the value of the gift to the recipient, rather than its dollar cost to the giver. If the recipient is concerned about world issues, they'll probably be much happier with a gift that doesn't contribute to the problems they are concerned  about. If you and/or your intended recipients are concerned about the ethical implications of the gifts you give this Christmas, here are some options (for New Zealanders).

Ethical gifts

If you want to give a tangible, physical gift, but want it to have minimal negative impacts on the world, check out these sources:

• Trade Aid is a wonderful source of beautiful, exotic, fair trade gifts. You can preview their products online and find your nearest shop location on their website.
• Ecostore stocks environmentally friendly body products, cosmetics and other nice things.
• There's a wealth of options in The Good Shopping Handbook, compiled by Good magazine.

Charity gifts

There are a number of easy ways to give directly to needy recipients. Some of these options are intended to operate in lieu of a gift for your loved ones, and offer to send a gift card telling the recipient about the donation you've made on their behalf. Others are simply ways to share some Christmas cheer with people less fortunate than yourself.

• Until December 24th, you can donate gifts by placing them under the Wishing Tree at any Kmart store.
• Give a miracle of sight via the Fred Hollows Foundation. For just $25 you can restore the sight of someone who can't afford to pay for a cataract operation.
• The now well-established Oxfam Unwrapped lets you gift things like goats and toilets (perfect for the workplace Secret Santa), and categorises suggestions by price and intended recipient.
• In a similar vein is Wish List, run by Save the Children.
• Greenpeace Giving offers diverse options, from fertility kits for tuataras to GE-free Christmas cakes. 

Re-gifting
Not everyone will see eye-to-eye on Christmas gift giving. You're bound to receive something that you don't want or need. If you'd prefer that it benefitted someone else rather than gathered dust in the spare room, here are some options for re-gifting. Just make sure you don't offend Great-Aunt Maude!

• If you think it might be useful to someone else, list it on DonateNZ. You might provide a Happy New Year for a not-for-profit organisation.
• For dud clothing, trade it for something you actually like on iSwish.
• Save it up to put under the Kmart Wishing Tree next Christmas.

Have any other suggestions you'd like to share? Please do by posting a comment below.

Planet A March for the Climate

Yesterday hundreds, possibly thousands, of Aucklanders met in Albert Park in the CBD for the Sign On Planet A March for the Climate. Families, groups of teens, young professionals, middle-aged couples and seniors gathered together and donned placards with hand-painted messages requesting real commitment to tackling climate change at next week's COP15 summit in Copenhagen.

Fabulous frontwoman Robyn Malcolm addressed the crowd with the message that this was a positive march - a step to show our leaders that they have support to push for an ambitious target in Copenhagen. And the atmosphere was incredibly positive. This was a march where people chanted with smiles on their faces; and the message was 'we can'. The march up Queen St, Auckland's main street, ended in Myers Park with a free concert for supporters by some of New Zealand's favourite local acts (including hilarious Sign On poster-boy and MC, Rhys Darby).

Robyn Malcolm keeping the crowd positive

Next week is an incredibly exciting time for the world. Will our leaders come together in Copenhagen and commit to taking action to avert the potentially catastrophic consequences of global warming?

Friday round-up: 4 December 2009

Here's some exciting and inspiring things I've discovered this week, and some upcoming events to add to your diaries.


Places to visit online:

I may be a bit slow off the mark, but I just discovered The Elders, a group of eminent global leaders with a formidable amount of life experience between them, who have joined forces with their grandchildren to spread awareness about the catastophic risk of climate change to future generations. With such powerful and respected members as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter, let's hope they have what it takes to inspire our leaders!

Last week I raved about fab clothes-trading site iSwish. This week I have cause to rave about it again, because they're giving away some great prizes to people who join up and contribute to their Christmas Wish List forum.

Fellow Aucklanders, get yourself to:

• Tomorrow, Saturday December 5, is the Planet A March + Concert for the Climate. The march starts at 1pm in Albert Park and goes up Queen St to Myers Park, where the concert will go off. Organised by the Sign On folks, Rhys Darby will be the concert MC and Opshop, Don McGlashan, Midnight Youth and others will rock Myers Park. 
• If you're of the pedal-powered persuasion, the Auckland chapter of Ride Planet Earth have organised a mass bike ride as a warm-up to the March + Concert. It starts at 11 am from the Auckland Domain's Winter Gardens. More info here. 
• The Grey Lynn Twilight Farmers Market on Saturday 19 December from 6-9 pm at the Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Road. A great opportunity to stock up on produce for Christmas Day or edible gifts.