Going Green this Holiday Season
Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay has been seeing something new at its stores this holiday season – green shoppers. No, not folks looking a tinge green after too much eggnog the night before, but people who are looking for a holiday bargain and want to give something back to their environment while getting gifts for loved ones. Goodwill even has holiday decorations to help make your home festive for the season.
“I’ve always been a Goodwill shopper throughout the year,” one customer recently said. “Then for Christmas I would go to department stores. Last year I got a vintage leather jacket from my sister, and I realized that I could find gifts at Goodwill for the holidays as well. I save money, support my own community, and help protect the environment just a bit more.” he added. “I even bought my fake tree and ornaments here last year. What more could I want?”
Another customer at a local Goodwill echoed her concern for the environment. “For me, I feel like I need to try to make the things I do in my life more in tune with my environment. I am always looking for green, more sustainable ways of living – buying local organic produce, driving less often, and thinking of ways to cut down on being a consumer. People don’t often realize what goes into making a new pair of jeans, and that it isn’t just the material and labor, but transportation and a host of other concerns,” she said.
“Shopping at Goodwill isn’t just about saving money, but it keeps all of the material we get rid of from going to trash dumps. Recycling is great, but reuse is even better. Why would I go to a new store when I can find something unique at Goodwill? It might take more hunting around sometimes, but that really is the fun of it,” the customer added.
Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay, which serves Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties, reuses and recycles more than 10 tons of goods every year. With 179 affiliate Goodwill agencies throughout North America, that means that Goodwill Industries on an international level has the capacity to divert thousands of tons of goods from landfill every year. Given the resources needed for recycling, Goodwill first attempts reuse through the sale of donations in the stores and views reuse as its premier means of helping protect the environment.
“Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay has been reusing and recycling material goods in the Bay Area for nearly 90 years. The green movement might be new to some folks, but we really have been doing the work of diverting material from waste streams since we started,” said Kimberly Scrafano, spokesperson for the agency. “Goodwill’s mission is to help individuals and families become self-sufficient through job training and support services, spending 91 cents of every dollar we earn on our programs. Since we run socially-responsible donation and retail businesses to support our mission, recycling and reuse work plays an enormous role at our agency, and is an area in which we continuously try to expand our scope of work, always looking for new ways to divert different materials.” she added.
One Goodwill employee feels so strongly about the “green” mission and giving back to the community that she started a “Green Gift Christmas” with her family and friends. “Basically, everyone gets at least one green gift from Goodwill,” she said. “Then the money that I save by buying that gift at Goodwill instead of new at another store is put into a pot of funds for a donation. I send a ballot with several different community-based organizations and let everyone who gets a green gift vote for whichever charity they would like for the contribution. Not only does this support Goodwill’s mission, but it helps teach younger folks in my family the importance of giving back to their communities, especially during such trying economic times. I spend the same amount of money, but I feel like it is doing much more than adding to someone’s closet full of sweaters.”
Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay has 24 retail stores in its East Bay locations. For more information on where you can find your holiday deals, please visit our retail store page, email us at info@eastbaygoodwill.org or call our headquarters at (510) 698-7200 for more information. Happy Holidays from everyone at your local Goodwill!