Sometimes the holidays catch us by surprise. Suddenly we’re buying dozens of gifts online and throwing out hundreds of papers and wrappers when they get delivered. Finding peace in all of the overconsumption is nearly impossible. Here’s how to live your life and thrive during the holidays, while keeping sustainability in mind.
Give experiences, not just stuff If you’re on the look out for the perfect gift for someone you love, try giving them the gift of experience. Concert tickets or tickets to a show at a local theatre are just as valuable as the expensive items, and they show the recipient how much you know them.
Gifting a lesson or a masterclass membership can also be meaningful, because you’re gifting them a new skill or hobby.
Shop local Locally-sourced gifts are also great. They are ethically-sourced, quality products from a local vendor. The world is a small town, you can find something amazing right next door.
Regifting While upcycling something from the thrift shop might not be up everyone’s alley, it could certainly be for someone in your life. In this article, Martha Stewart gives plenty of gift ideas that you can make from a second-hand item.
Bowls can become candles, chipped dishes could become a mosaic, even repainting a second-hand frame and putting original artwork inside could work. There are so many possibilities!
Donate The holidays are hard for those that live with less than what they need. Donate your unused foods to shelters or food pantries. Take this time to clean out your own home, as well. We gather so much clutter throughout the year, and we tend to collect more around the holidays, too.
Taking clothes or items you no longer use to a thrift store can feel wonderful. You’ve had a great time with that item, and now someone else can too. Even this feeling is a gift.
Plantable and eco-friendly cards If your family sends holiday cards, consider going an eco-friendly route. Ditch the paper and send someone a plantable card. Companies like Botanical Paperworks allow customers to buy plantable seed paper, or create their own design for a card or invitation.
This way, you’re still sending your loved ones your love, but you’re also planting trees or flowers along the way.
With the cold wind blowing, many people find themselves in search of jackets and coats during the month of October and November. Some jackets and coats are made from non-sustainable materials like petroleum, synthetics and animal-derived products.
With this in mind, finding a winter coat that is warm and environmentally friendly can be hard. But here are my two top jackets and two top coats that might fit the bill – in terms of sustainability and affordability.
Patagonia Fleece Jackets – $80-150
Patagonia fleece jackets use some of the most sustainable fleece because it is made with recycled materials. They are warm, durable and come in many colors. Although it is on the more expensive side, it is still affordable.
These jackets are made of 99% recycled materials and are warm and well-made. The brand prides itself on sustainable-fill in the jackets and their use of no toxic chemicals.
“Fast fashion” refers to a section of the fashion industry that produces cheap clothing or accessories. These products are typically not made well and are sold quickly for a fraction of the cost. Although these products are inexpensive, they actually are costly in the long run.
The fast fashion industry is built on the trend cycle. As trends emerge, fast fashion companies are able to quickly produce product and sell it. But when trends fall, those products are no longer relevant and are thrown out or donated.
Much of what we see in thrift stores now is from Shein, Temu, Fashion Nova and other fast fashion companies. But these products so often end up in the landfills even when they are donated.
Although the fast fashion industry is making clothing more accessible and affordable, it is still problematic because companies are cutting costs and quality.
What can I do?
Instead of ordering from fast fashion companies, purchase quality basics that can be reused over and over again. Basics are a great start for a unique outfit even though they are “basic” in nature.
If you’re on a budget, purchasing clothes second-hand is also a good choice. Thrifting clothing is more sustainable and may help you get more quality pieces. If thrift stores are overwhelming, second-hand websites like Depop and Ebay may help you narrow your search.
Ari Collins: Who are you? Where are you from? What has the art in our community done for you?
Parker King: My name’s Parker. I guess my art name is Rhetorical Soapbox and I’m from Ohio, Northwest, Ohio.
PK: I think the art scene in Toledo has just given me like a chance to get out of the bubble that I’ve been in and given me a space to like connect with the community and figure out where my place is.
AC: Why do you think it’s important for others to have these experiences? Whether it’s through YAAW, like you did, or just art education?
PK: I think art education just on all age levels is important because like, art is a part of your self expression. That’s how you kind of find your place, figure out who you are. And it’s a way to like articulate your thoughts and feelings.
PK: So just showing that, like this is an outlet for you to like really be yourself and connect with other people is important.
Natalie Gray: “My name is Natalie Gray, I’m the director of youth services at the Arts Commission in Toledo, Ohio.”
AC: “Amazing. How are you involved with the art scene in Toledo?”
NG: “Through my work at the Arts Commission, I get to be involved with the young creatives in Toledo. I also get to go to a bunch of free family events that are put together through the arts. In general, I like to support local artists. I go see live music and live theatre. I work with Issue Box Theatre, Toledo Streets Newspaper. I think that the arts are the culture of the community, so for me it’s always so fascinating.
Of course, I went to Toledo School for the Arts 6-12. My brother went there, my parents are artists. So it’s just something I’ve grown up with. Going to Toledo School for the Arts made me appreciate all of the work that people put into doing art. I learned, I got to train for free. I got to take dance classes, poetry classes, photography classes and theatre. That kind of instilled in me the value of having those tools, so I kinda ended up staying in the arts world for my career.”
AC: “Cool! So how has the art in Toledo impacted you personally?”
NG: “Well it has mainly impacted me because it’s my job, but growing up and being able to learn what my body can do through dance; and, learn empathy through theatre; and, expression through poetry was just really helpful. I think art is everything. Art is just trying to process what life is. It’s a really important part of bringing people together and helping each other understand things that we go through.
Natalie Gray poses with YAAW apprentice Liz Kirby at the Art Loop: Young Artists festival 2024.
Gray told me: “My personal favorite part about Young Artists at Work is I’ve been able to watch young people grow over their whole high school career. That, to me, is such a privilege.”
It also just makes everything more palatable. It’s much easier to listen to a song or watch a play that deals with real issues than it is to just open up to somebody and be vulnerable. Personally I think it’s helpful to people for healing. And of course it’s just fun. It’s fun, it makes our city more beautiful and vibrant. It brings people together.
I don’t think everyone interacts so intentionally with art everyday–and I would like people to one, have more access to it and make it more accessible–but people unintentionally interact with art every single day. We’re wearing clothes, we’re putting stickers on our water bottles, we’re eating food. That’s all creative.”
AC: “Why is it important to create these communities and why or how does art help do that?”
NG: “Humans need to have community. Social cohesion and interaction is a social determination of health. Why is it important to have community? It’s so important to move your body and connect with other people intergenerationally. I always say this: the only thing that cultures have in common is art and God. When we’re studying an ancient culture or another part of the world, that’s what we look at. We look at their religion and their art, and oftentimes they go hand in hand. There is architecture and stained glass and music and sculptures that are sacred. It’s a part of religion, people know how important that is. And vise versa, art is sacred. It’s honoring your body, your expression and your time here on Earth.”
AC: “Yeah, definitely.”
NG: “I like to create opportunities to sing with your community and dance with your community and come together regularly outside of the religious context. Because it is quite spiritual but it doesn’t have to be, and we can do that through these organizations. Art is another way to bring people together that’s healthy and safe, hopefully.”
AC: “So, the Arts Commission helps foster community. I guess why or how do you, within that organization, do that?”
NG: “I think the Arts Commission prompts people to come together through creativity and meet other people and that’s the really important part of creating a community. When I was in high school in 2014, I got to read one of my poems at an Arts Commission event and I got to meet all these different artists and see all these different installations and stages. It really inspired me. Oh, Toledo has cool stuff going on. And then I started volunteering for the organization for the art loops. And in 2015 they had another Art-O-Matic event and I got to meet a lot of the people I know.
Why do they do it? You almost don’t know why until ten years later and you’re talking to a young person who is asking you about how the arts impacted you because clearly it impacted them. You know, that’s why they do it. Because one day, you know, we have all these young people. You know, we create community through Young Artists at Work and for thirty years these teens have been getting paid to meet each other and make art together and come together that would’ve never — you know, urban kids and suburban kids, poor kids [and] rich kids all care about art and come together. That’s why we keep doing it.
That’s a little bit of how and a little bit of why and some examples. But I mean, superficially, it’s fun. More emotionally, you see the impact over time. I didn’t that when I was reading my poem when I was 17 that I would then work at the organization when I was 27. It’s really hard to measure that kind of impact because it’s so widespread and we don’t know how people are going to remember these things.
The First Art-O-Matic I went to was in 2004, and now it’s 2024. One thing that’s special about the Arts Commission is it’s not a museum and it’s not a school. You don’t have to pay to participate. In fact, we’re really focused on paying artists because we believe that art is work and we should value that in the economy.”
Ari Collins: Who are you? Where are you from? What has the art in our community done for you?
Andrea Jackson: I’m Andrea, I’m from the Old West End in Toledo. Art, for me, has been an outlet to express myself and connect with people and really come out of my shell both as a person and as an artist.
AC: So cool. So what do you think about the involvement of young people in the arts? Do you think it is important?
Andrea with other YAAW apprentices at Art Loop 2023.One of Andrea’s pieces sold in the 2024 Art Loop event.
AJ: I think getting young people involved with art is really important. It really helped me, personally. Like I said, it helped me come out of my shell and learn more about myself. I think it’s really important for education and community-building to incorporate art at a young age.
AC: What are your thoughts on the Toledo art scene?
AJ: The Toledo art scene is really good. It’s really slept on by a lot of people. Toledo and Ohio are really seen as like places with nothing to do, but if you really explore and go outside you can see all the opportunities that are waiting for you.
Reclamation 