Looking for a perfect gift for Christmas of Hanukkah? How about a front-loading washing machine? A membership to a food co-op? A wheatgrass basket?

Citizens Campaign for the Environment has released its fifth annual guide to gifts that are easy on the ecology. They stress local products, organic foods and other such items.

It includes many items you’d expect: stationery and journals made from recycled materials, for instance.

And some you may not have thought of, including pens made of recycled materials.

Here’s an example: One suggested stocking stuffer is a tire gauge. It may not be on the top of many gift lists (at least not yet), but CCE points out that properly inflated tires last longer and increase the mileage you get from an increasingly exorbitant gallon of gas.

For the full list, click here.

And for more on the CCE’s thoughts, I’ll copy the group’s press release here:

Shop Green, Think Globally, Buy Locally
ECO-SAVVY HOLIDAY GIFTS IDEAS

Lower Hudson Valley Holiday Gift Ideas Provided on CCE Website
www.citizenscampaign.org/holidaygifts

White Plains, NY— Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) announces its fifth annual guide of ecologically-friendly holiday gift ideas.  CCE’s holiday gift guide grows every year, reflecting the increasing diversity for environmentally conscious products. The holiday season is an excellent time to be eco-savvy by choosing gifts for your friends and family that also benefit the earth.  Help spread environmental awareness and start the New Year off green by being inspired by CCE’s 2007 Holiday Gift Guide available at www.citizenscampaign/holidaygifts.

“Being an eco-savvy shopper not only allows the public to avoid toxic toys for the holidays but also allows the public to use our spending dollars to protect our planet and our health. Demand for organic and natural products has dramatically increased over the last few years and this has resulted in a wide variety of great gift choices,� said Adrienne Esposito, CCE Executive Director. “CCE has put together this list to help the consumer with some great choices for gifts that acturally protect the health of our planet and the public.

Shop Green, Think Globally, Buy Locally, is the guiding theme of the 2007 CCE Holiday Gift Ideas Guide.  The Holiday Gift Guide emphasizes choosing environmentally beneficial gifts from local stores and supporting local products.  Avoid crowded malls by supporting quaint used book stores, organic restaurants, natural nail salons and beauty stores, as well as arts & crafts stores offering Fair Trade and local artisan’s products.

Inspired by each CCE regional office, the Green Holiday Gift idea is divided by region: Central New York, Western New York, Long Island, White Plains, and Connecticut. CCE staff members have visited each location and used each gift recommended on our list.

“Supporting Hudson Valley businesses and products is a win-win for the environment and the community.  By shopping locally, shoppers not only keep their dollars in the community but they are also actively fighting global warming pollution by reducing their carbon footprint,� said Emmett Pepper, CCE Hudson Valley Program Director.  “With so many environmentally-friendly companies in the area, consumers can use their purchasing power to protect the environment, support the local economy and reduce their carbon footprint,� Pepper continued.

Supporting local businesses and products this holiday season and purchasing gifts that do not degrade our environment is a terrific way to contribute to your community while helping to protect the health of our planet.  By choosing gifts that have traveled the least, individual decisions can reduce global warming pollution—or carbon footprint—by reducing fossil fuel emissions associated with product manufacturing and shipping.  Additionally, local business owners are important local employers and are invested in the community.

“Consumers vote everyday with their dollars. Cast your vote for the environment and local economy by giving locally-produced environmentally sensitive gifts and supporting local retailers this holiday season,� concluded Dereth Glance, CCE Executive Program Director. 

Visit www.citizenscampaign.org/holidaygifts to view the environmentally-friendly gift ideas.  CCE welcomes your own ideas too!  Send them to us at: whiteplains@citizenscampaign.org

Citizens Campaign for the Environment is an 80,000-member, not-for-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization working for the protection of public health and the natural environment.  For more information, please visit www.citizenscampaign.org