The Grinch Was Green, After All

Were you thinking a CFL would make the perfect Christmas gift?

We have to admit: the idea crossed our mind.

But judging from this New York Times article, that may not be the most popular idea.

Still, we think some of the people interviewed in the article are on the right track, like Jenni Skyler, who suggested replacing gift giving with time donated to charity. That idea was nixed by her family. But a growing stream of research shows that people are much happier when they spend time, rather than money. (For the academic perspective, see "To Do or To Have? That is the Question" PDF by Leaf Van Boven and Tom Gilovich and forthcoming research by Wendy Liu and Jennifer Aaker.)

We think a shift towards giving time, rather than money, would benefit not only the earth, but also people.

What are you planning on giving this holiday season: time or money?
Illustration by Gary Hallgren excerpted from NYTimes.

Comments (2)

I'll probably be giving mostly gift cards to my favorite local restraunts - hopefully my friends and family will take me with them! But as a side note, I read that article and thought that it would very nice to recieve a CFL.

posted by JohnnySlimane on November 27th 2007 at 1:17pm
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That article is silly - the Grinch thought he could stop Christmas by taking away everyone's toys and decorations, but people realised they could have Christmas without them. I think greenies are more like the people in the story than the Grinch.

In the past I've given time or experience gifts rather than consumer goods. This year I've chosen a wind-up phone-charger/torch for my dad, organic wine and chocolates for my mum, and toys made from organic materials and little SIGG bottles for my nephews and nieces. My husband will be getting Jamie Oliver's new book, unless I spot something related to Slow Food first. I don't think gifts have to be blatantly green, as long as they follow green principles - I've written about this a bit on my blog recently.

posted by stringy on November 27th 2007 at 3:52pm
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