Twitter Buying Trends: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Holiday shopping is increasingly being influenced by social media platforms like Twitter, this is particularly true of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As indicated in a 2013 poll, those who use Twitter spend more and use the portal as a strategy resource that informs their buying decisions.

According to a DB5 survey of 1,000 US adults 7 out of 10 of our users will rely on Twitter to enhance their Black Friday and Cyber Monday experiences. A total of 85 percent of Twitter users shop on Black Friday and 81 percent shop on Cyber Monday. Unsurprisingly, Twitter uses are bigger online shoppers than non-Twitter users. While 54 percent of all adults plan to shop on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday days, that number jumps to 68 percent among Twitter users.

A Green Christmas and a Sustainable State of Mind

The holiday season is here and many of us are making more responsible choices, however, while personal actions are critical, this time of year is also a wonderful opportunity to green our consciousnesses. While we all must strive to reduce our energy consumption and eliminate the waste we produce, there is a psychological dimension to environmental stewardship that may not be so obvious.

People who are interested in being more environmentally and socially responsible do a host of things at Christmas time and throughout the year. 

Decorations

When it comes to decorations, they use natural materials like organic cotton and sustainable wood. They avoid plastic containing PVC and toxic chemicals like phthalates, as well as decorations that contain lead and mercury.

Video - Unsustainable Christmas Statistics and How to Make Christmas Greener

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Video - How Sustainable is your Christmas?

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Electronic Receipts are Convenient and Save Trees

Electronic Receipts are Convenient and Save Trees

Instead of printing out a paper receipt, many stores you now give you the option of sending your receipt by email instead. This is both convenient for consumers and it saves a precious resource. Around ten million trees are cut down each year to make receipts in the US. Trees both provide oxygen and sequester CO2. 

In addition to being better for the environment it also is a great way to organize your records. They can be kept in a separate folder for future reference. This is ideal in the event that you need to return an item or for filing tax returns.

Green Market Oracle's Gift Guide: A Summary of More Responsible Gifts

Are you someone with a green conscience looking for a last minute gift idea? Look no further than the Green Market Oracle's summary of green gift ideas that are sure to please everyone on your holiday list. These gifts are not only more environmentally responsible they also communicate something about your own ecological attitudes.

Here is a quick review of 18 gift recommendations as well as a dozen catalogs each full of green gift ideas.

Event - Creating a GMO-Free Holiday

Creating a GMO-Free Holiday will take place on December 19, 2013, from 6:30 pm - 8 pm at Collingswood Library, 771 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, New Jersey. GMO Free NJ meets to explore ways to avoid the genetically modified organisms that are in our food supply.

From 7-8, they will discuss creating a GMO free holiday, the latest on GMO labeling legislation and other projects.

Event - Halton Halton Environmental Network (HEN) Holiday Social & Enviro Guide Release

Halton Environmental Network (HEN) Holiday Social and 2014 Enviro Guide Release will take place on Thursday December 12, 2013, at Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre in Oakville Ontario. The gathering will start at 5 pm in the multi-purpose room, C-094, near the front entrance. It's also the launch of HEN's 10th anniversary year! They will be sharing some holiday enviro tips and doing a re-gift exchange! Bring a new unwanted gift you've received, leave it on our table, and take one you want. (Participation is optional.) They will donate any leftover gifts to a local charity. If you haven't seen their new office yet, they will be happy to take you on a tour. All are welcome. Light refreshments provided.

Green Tuesday: The Best of Thanksgiving Consumerism Strives to be Both Sustainable and Profitable

In 2011 Green America launched Green Tuesday to promote sustainable products and services during the period of rampant holiday consumerism. Green Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend, it is designed to inspire consumers to make "thoughtful, purposeful, eco-minded choices." Green Tuesday has a lot of competition from other sustainability initiatives including those associated with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. The day is also being claimed by another event called "Giving Tuesday," which encourages Americans to donate to charity.

Video - Small Business Saturday Contributes to Sustainability

Small Business Saturday has been around for three years and in that time people are increasingly seeing the value of shopping at mom and pops instead of the big boxes. As explained in a Treehugger article,

"[T]he best tool for greening our lives is Urbanity- building communities that you can get around in without a car. Where you can get what you need within walking or biking distance. That's where small businesses come in to play. They are local, they support the community, and they make our main streets come alive."

Waste is an Unfortunate Thanksgiving Tradition

The holiday season represents a high point for retailers and a low point for the environment. There are two major things we can do to help minimize our impacts. The first is to be more mindful of purchasing behaviors and second is to do a better job of managing our waste. Waste is one of the biggest problems associated with the holidays. Waste is highly detrimental to the environment and according to the EPA, 32 million tons of plastic waste are generated yearly, 14 million tons of which are used in packaging. During the period from Thanksgiving to the New Year, Americans generate 25 percent more waste than average. This includes

Black Friday Purchasing Behaviors: Shopping Locally and Learning from the Great Recession of 2008

What can the environmentally conscious consumer do to be a more responsible shopper? One obvious thing we can do to help offset environmental impacts is to buy local. We may also benefit from reflecting on the implications of the economic meltdown of 2008. Black Friday is a fascinating conflagration of consumerism kicking off a spending frenzy worth more than $59 billion in 2012, which was up from $52.5 billion in 2011. To capitalize on this orgy of consumerism, retail outlets are opening earlier every year. This year many big box stores opened their doors on the Thursday prior to Black Friday. Just five years after the start of the Great Recession, consumers are battling each other in retail outlets to save a few dollars. This may be a good time of year to remember what happened in 2008 and why.

The Days of Overconsumption

Everyone is well acquainted with the twelve days of Christmas, in the modern era, that is being replaced by 6 days of overconsumption. The period around Thanksgiving is the busiest U.S. shopping period of the year. Thanksgiving has long been a spectacle of consumer overindulgence, but now this rampant consumerism extends well beyond Black Friday. Marketers are finding more ways to entice consumers, but they ignore the fact that we cannot sustain our current rate of consumption.

Seven Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Greener

To help make this holiday greener a growing number of people are looking at better more ecologically sensitive alternatives. Thanksgiving takes a tremdous toll on the environment. Here are seven ways that people are enjoying the Thanksgiving Holiday while lessening their impacts on the Earth:

1) Reduce Food Waste: To help minimize waste create a detailed, organized plan to reduce waste and eliminate excess. Make what you need and no more. The Love Food Hate Waste organization, offers convenient tips for reducing food waste, they even provide a handy "Perfect portions" planner to calculate meal sizes for parties as well as everyday meals. Use leftovers by storing them safely. Make sure to compost all vegetable waste. Donate excess to food banks and shelters. To find a food bank near you, visit Feeding America's Food Bank Locator.

The Environmental Toll of Thanksgiving

The amount of waste and emissions generated during the holidays is staggering and shameful. Being conscious of the ways that we are wasteful can help us to seek more environmentally responsible solutions. Here is a brief summary of the waste and carbon emissions generated during the holdiay period.

Non-Food Waste

According to the EPA, the period from Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent in the US. That amounts to an extra 5 million tons of household waste each year. Shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons create an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills.

A Thanksgiving Infused with Environmental Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States and people across the nation are celebrating by coming together to give thanks. Traditionally Thanksgiving is the holiday long weekend when people get together to celebrate the bounty of the fall harvest. The Thanksgiving tradition takes us back to the early days when European settlers were first making North America home. They were welcomed by Native peoples who showed them how to live in harmony with the Earth.

With our environment in crisis we need to cultivate the spirit of thankfulness that helps us to rekindle a harmonious relationship to nature. Gratitude of this kind may be difficult but it is essential if we are to find the motivation and the courage to advance ecological action.

Environmentally Friendly Alternatives to Traditional Christmas Lighting

Millions of lights are used to decorate and illuminate the Christmas season, but traditional light bulbs are a huge drain on energy. Thankfully there are more environmentally friendly alternatives to the traditional Christmas light bulb. LED Christmas lighting uses significantly less electricity and lasts much longer than traditional bulbs. A large number of retailers are offering LED Christmas lighting this holiday season.

Environmentally Friendly Alternatives to the Traditional Christmas Tree

There are over two billion Christians in the world and many in North America and Europe are following the time honoured tradition of decorating a Christmas tree. This Christmas millions of Christmas trees have been bought around the world. The question is what type of tree is best for the environment? Here is a review of some of the options available today.

Global Warming and the Shortage of Mistletoe

The effects of climate change are ubiquitous, and this year it is even impacting the availability of mistletoe. Droughts, one of the corollaries of global warming, is behind the shortage. The small parasitic plant grows on trees in humid climates in Europe and the US. Because of dry conditions in the southern US, and Texas in particular, most of this years crop comes from Europe.

All Indications Suggest a Banner Year for Cyber Monday Shopping

By all indications, Cyber Monday is likely to set records this year. Buying online is a greener form of consumption because it reduces the amount of fuel used to find, price and purchase an item. Online shopping is also a greener way to shop due to the fact that trucks can deliver goods more efficiently and it takes a lot less energy to run a warehouse for boxes of goods than a mall. Online shopping can be a more beneficial option for the planet particularly when it is paired with more responsible purchasing (ie: purchasing items with smaller footprints).