Go green with the perfect Father's Day gift

Last night I was at my writing workshop and one of the writers handed me this lovely recycled gift bag. She took a medium-sized plain paper bag, folded the top down, punched four holes in it and treaded some recycled yarn through to make two handles. I loved it! Inside was a brown T-shirt she bought me to thank me for leading the group. How sweet. The shirt has an image of a green frog with the words 'It's easy being green!' How cool is that? I feel appreciated and understood. Thanks, Norma!

Anyway, it got me thinking about Father's Day and what kind of green gifts are out there for Dad. So ... if you haven't found the perfect gift for your dad or hubby, consider buying a practical gift that is eco-friendly.

Such as? How about a solar-powered watch? From what I've read, Casio seems to be the leader in this field, with the Casio Solar Atomic Analog Watch considered to be one of the best. Here are the features:

• Durable -- great for all types of sports activities, construction work, even rough-housing with a 6-year-old!
• Accurate -- automatically syncs every night
• Attractive -- looks good when dressing up ... or down
• Water resistant -- perfect for water skiing, swimming, fishing, etc.

Casio has a variety of solar-powered watches, both analog and digital.

Check out the selections at your local retail stores, such as Sears and Target.

Does he already have too much stuff and really doesn't need or want another watch? Well, how about buying him some trees to plant in Brazil? Seriously. At $1/tree, you can choose how many you want to plant in his honor through The Nature Conservancy. There are a lot of other great gift-giving ideas at the Conservatory as well ... for the guy who has everything and cares about the Earth.

Another option is the book Your eco-friendly Yard by Tom Girolamo, "sustainable ideas to help you save time, money and the earth." I haven't seen the book, but it certainly sounds cool to me! If someone wants to buy me a Father's Day gift, I'm thinking this would be a good one!




These are just three suggestions. Feel free to leave comments with more ideas for greener gift giving. And don't forget to wrap responsibly!

Keeping it green,

Hana