Look for gifts that just keep on giving

Trade Aid's Christmas toys bring happiness to both the recipients and the makers. Photo / Dean Purcell

The season for giving is here, but the biggest recipient will be the landfills.

"The waste stations get enormous amounts of stuff - all the paper, all the wrapping, just tonnes and tonnes of it. And then all the broken toys," says Jo Knight, CEO of the Zero Waste New Zealand Trust.

But with a little thought and care, the Christmas spend-up this year can be not only kinder on the environment but easier on the budget. It could even make the world a better place.

Mrs Knight urges people to think about the intent of the gift. For those who have it all, a gift that keeps giving could be the ticket. "We've got four goats going to East Timor, and one pig going to Guatemala ... they're gifts for people who when you look on it from the outside have really got everything."

But sponsoring a pig is hardly likely to be on the wishlist to Santa.

"I'm quite sure my 7-year-old nephew would not be pleased with me if I gave him a chicken."

For them, Mrs Knight advises to buy quality - and rechargeable batteries complete with charger.

"It's much better to buy something that's going to last."

Everyone can also benefit from a gift of experiences - one that creates memories without the unnecessary packaging. It could be a year-round family pass to the zoo, music lessons or movie tickets.

Julia Capon, spokeswoman for Trade Aid, urges people to think about the impact of their gift choices on the environment.

The organisation's approach to ethical consumerism starts with a simple first step: consume less. After all, not all gifts are needed.

But when you have to consume, spend it in the right places. That's when the decision to buy fair trade or local products matter.

Miss Capon says fair trade products come with the knowledge that the person who made the product has already benefited from it. "They're not made in factories, so they have their interests at heart because they're working from their own backyard, in a way."

She says Trade Aid products come from communities that have among the smallest carbon footprints in the world but bear the brunt of climate changes. She cites Bangladesh and its floods.

"That's something that we are really conscious of at the moment with all of our Bangladesh partners, in supporting them at Christmas time. They tell us, 'We don't want aid from you, we want you to buy more of our products because it helps us develop our own self-reliance."'