Ocean Protection Through Plastic-Free Living
New years are the time for a fresh starts and resolutions. Maybe you want to eat better, feel better, be healthier, save more money, or just call your mom more. Whatever your resolutions is, without a plan, your resolutions is just a wish. So, here are four steps to make sure you achieve your New Year’s Resolutions.
I live a generally plastic-free lifestyle but I’m not 100% plastic-free…yet. So, to see where the last 1% of my trash was coming from, I started keeping track of all of it. Here’s what I learned in December.
All the Christmas and Hanukkah gifts are open and there are inevitably one or two gifts that don’t fit, aren’t your style, not the right color, or whatever. Since more shopping has been done online this year, the most common thing would be returning the gift to Amazon.
However, when a news team attached a tracking device to a returned backpack in perfect condition, they found that it ended up in a landfill. Oftentimes, it is more “cost efficient” to toss the product than to staff someone to inspect the condition and put it back into inventory. This happens a lot with clothes that are purchased online and sent back too. So, before you consider shipping it back, try one of these five options for unwanted gifts.
If the gift is something you think a friend or family member would like, give it to them! If you don’t mind storing it, save it for the next birthday or even next Christmas. Hopefully, next Christmas will be closer to normal and we can finally gather with everyone. Maybe save the gift for a white elephant gift exchange?
Text your friends and family to see if they’re willing to trade something for your unwanted gift. Or post it to your local neighborhood Facebook page to see if anyone would be interested in trading.
Another option would be to sell the item. Again you can post it to your local neighborhood Facebook page or local Craig’s List to sell it. If the unwanted gift is a piece of clothing, you can sell it to ThredUp.
If you’re like me and just want to get rid of clutter, you can give away the gift. For me, I’d much rather make sure the item finds a good home and is used than end up in the garbage.
If the unwanted gift came with a gift receipt and you can take it to a physical store, then use this as a last option. It could still end up being discarded but at least bringing it back to the physical store gives it a better chance of it ending up back on the shelf.
What do you think? Can you use one of these options for an unwanted gift?
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