Are you excited for the holidays?

What is a truly memorable gift?

It may make you excited to buy a ton of presents for family and friends, but you might want to consider this.

A significant number of people receive gifts they don't want during the holiday season. According to reports, nearly half of all consumers return at least one to three gifts after Christmas. Clothing is the most commonly returned item, often due to sizing issues. Factors like online shopping and generous holiday return policies also contribute to the high rate of returns.

It's estimated that roughly 5 billion pounds of returned items end up in landfills annually, highlighting the environmental impact of holiday returns. In the U.S. alone, holiday merchandise returns amounted to $428 billion in 2020.

According to Canopy Planet, over 3 billion trees are cut down every year to make paper packaging for consumer products. That’s 20 percent of all trees cut down!

Also, I listened to Apple News: In Conversation. The journalist Amanda Mull, who talks about holiday spending, says that when you are buying a gift, you have to consider whether it is necessary and whether the person really wants this present. You can also buy deadstock products, which are unused products that have already been sold. She also suggested joining the Buy Nothing Group, which is a community group where members list items that they don’t think are good enough to sell but that someone could still use. These items are available for free.

The holidays are an exciting time when everyone gives and receives gifts. Although it may be fun to buy a ton of stuff, we should remember to avoid waste. You want to give them something meaningful and something people can enjoy for a long time. This will reduce the environmental impact of the holiday season.