In our family, we draw names to find out who we are buying gifts for. We also put a dollar cap on how much we can spend. We did this to eliminate the possibility that anyone in our family might feel like they couldn’t come to Christmas because they couldn’t afford to buy gifts for everyone. We created this tradition years ago to make certain that our Christmas get togethers were first and foremost about enjoying our time together. Thankfully, it has worked for us. We love being together.
Even though we’ve removed the quantity component of gift giving, there remains the quality of the gift giving. Here, I’m going to continue with my theme of shopping awake. But first a few statistics on what Americans spend per year:
- $131 billion on women’s clothing
- $94 billion on men’s apparel
- $33 billion on weight loss products and services (while 65 percent of us remain overweight)
- $13 billion on chocolate
Add up just these four categories and we’ve spent $271 billion a year. To feed every starving person in the world per year? $13 billion. If you and I had a personal budget of $271 billion a year (don’t we wish?), I bet we would think nothing of allocating $13 out of $271 billion to world hunger. I’m thinking we could eke by on the remaining $258 billion.
Now, I know I don’t have a budget anywhere near a billion, a million or even a hundred thousand a year. But corporately, as a country, those are our stats. Each of us and our spending habits play a smaller or larger part in these massive numbers.
A few additional facts:
- Children see 40,000 ads a year, that’s over one hundred a day
- Over $15 billion a year is spent on advertising aimed at children
- The US has 5 percent of the world population, but consumes 30 percent of the world’s resources
- Average time spent shopping per week: six hours. Average time spent playing with children per week: forty minutes.
- Mini storage units are big business. The average American family has 7,262 pounds of stuff.
These are a shopping list, if you will, of reasons to shop awake. So how do we begin to shop awake? The possibilities are as wide and far and creative as each and every one of us. A few suggestions:
1. Alternative Gift Catalogs. The idea in a nutshell—buy/give something in honor of the person you want to give a gift to. For example, at Agros.org … in your honor, I could buy a gift in your honor for $150 that will provide clean water for a village through means such as capping a spring or drilling a well. There are many alternative gift catalogs … find one that means something to you and Happy Gift Giving!
2. Buy Handmade. Have you seen the banners around the blogosphere?
BuyHandmade.org is encouraging everyone to buy handmade. Here’s why:
a. It directly supports an artist or crafter
b. I especially like this one so am cut and pasting it from their site: “The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.”
c. buying from a small-scale, independent artist or crafter reduces mass-production methods that are hard on the environment.
A great place to find handmade gifts is Etsy.com. You’ve likely seen my Etsy banner with my paintings. The wealth of talent and incredible handmade gifts is amazing at Etsy. Take a browse, you are sure to find something you love!
Buy Local. The world has gotten smaller with the advent on online shopping. I’m one who loves online shopping. Being awake about my shopping habits though, I’ve realized that all the shipping and trucking required to get me that product I so easily purchased with a click of my mouse button—may not always be the best choice. Amazon.com is a huge temptation for me with their endless catalog of books that I’ve always wanted to read. When I buy used, I now look to buy my book from the best priced used booksellers that is closest to me. The less travel that my book has to make from there to me … the less environmental impact. Plus, I’m supporting the local and regional economy around me and the small, independent bookseller. If you have the fortune of having a local used bookstore nearby—they just might have what you are looking for too.
Buy International. Wait a minute. Get your recommendations straight here, Janece. First you say buy local and now you are saying “Buy International?!?”
Yup, that’s what I’m saying. We are both a local and global community. Our primary relationship with the world, for most of us, is economic. This is a chance to choose how our dollars will impact the broader global community. Will it support unsafe, unfair, uninspired, mass produced products? Or will it contribute to individuals, build local communities and economies, and make a difference in the quality of life around the world?
A few years ago, I wanted to get something more than just a gift card to a bookstore for my Aunt Karen. While she’s a voracious reader and I know she would love more books—I wanted to buy something unique, something that would have meaning and bring more beauty into her day-to-day life.
I found ceramic birds similar to these by artist Lulli Luca, through Novica.com. Lulli lives in Peru and works full time as a professional artist. Novica’s mission is to provide a connection for and to artisans around the world.
I’m still happy about that purchase.
Recently, I found Ten Thousand Villages. I can’t recommend them highly enough. From their website: “To us, each village in the world represents a unique, distinctive people … offering extraordinary products born of their rich cultures and traditions.” If you are lucky, they may have a local store near you.
In a similar vein, look into buy Fair Trade (learn more about Fair Trade here). Simply search on “fair trade gifts” and you’ll find a treasure trove of gift ideas.
There are far more ideas than I’ve compiled here. In fact, not buying anything at all and giving gifts of time. The possibilities are limitless. In fact, I bet you know of several that I didn’t list here. Please leave a comment and share with us the ideas you know of or have done yourself.
Here’s to all of us waking up this year … ♥