Eco-conscious Christmas gifts

Christmas trees are set up at shopping malls, bars, restaurants and offices. And these Christmas trees, though not from forests, are mostly made of plastic foam board and metal frames.

In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, Christmas dinners are normally booked from the beginning of December, with prices ranging from 800 yuan ($130) to 2,000 yuan.

In this electronic age, new shiny gadgets and gizmos top many people’s Christmas wish lists, such as the latest iPad or iPhone. But the risk of electronic waste can not be ignored. By 2016, the world is expected to have generated 93.5 million tons of electronic waste, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets. There are more active SIM cards—7.2 billion, to be precise—than people in the world. Currently, 70 to 80 percent of all that goes straight to landfill.

Environmental protection organizations have continued calls for a green holiday. During Christmas 2011, iearth, a non-governmental organization in China, launched a campaign to simplify holiday gifts wrapping.

According to iearth, about 750,000 tons of extra waste is created every Christmas and 40 percent of it is from wrapping.

Eco-friendly websites are also encouraging gift givers to offer time and services instead of stuff. Material-free gifts, such as membership to a gym or sports center, or tickets to a game or the theater are often the most environmentally conscious presents. People can also consider buying fair trade products, bio-friendly goods and recycled items.

Here are some ideas that might inspire those who want to give gifts that friends and family will love while still caring about the environment. Many can be purchased online all the while eliminating emissions from driving around and the stress of parking and large crowds.