Simple Gifts

Americans spend more time shopping than the citizens of any other nation, no matter what the time of year. But during the holidays, in particular, many of us find the time we want to spend with our families eaten up by shopping trips. "The push to acquire lots of stuff makes things hard for parents and on the environment -- we generate more trash, per capita, during the holidays than any other time of year," says Betsy Taylor, executive director of Center for a New American Dream. And, "It's overwhelming the amount of garbage that comes into our home as gifts!" says Renée Jackson, a mother of three in Knoxville, Tennessee.

On the bright side, the holiday season gives Americans the perfect opportunity to rethink their consumption habits. Already, instead of buying stuff, many people are doing more reading, hiking, playing and drawing with their kids. A 1995 Merck Family Fund report estimates that millions of Americans have already voluntarily scaled back their salaries and lifestyles to achieve a more balanced, less stressful life.

In addition to simplifying our lives, buying less benefits the environment. The average American consumes at least 222 pounds of materials daily--more than people in any other country. With every purchase we make comes the additional baggage of packaging, energy use, pollution, global emissions and disposal problems. According to the Worldwatch Institute, Americans account for just five percent of the world's population, yet we consume 30 percent of its paper. And, it takes 168 Bangladeshi to use the same amount of energy as one American. In fact, Americans consume so much that it would take three Earths for everybody on the planet to have lifestyles like ours.

Have we bought happiness?

Not really. While per capita income has climbed dramatically since 1970, quality of life indicators like the Index of Social Health have plummeted about 51 percent since then. The number of new products on the market -- many of them claiming to make our lives easier, more portable and time-efficient -- has risen by 63 percent from 1990 to 1997, yet one-third of Americans say they feel more rushed than ever before. "People may be in the rat race, but they want to raise children with meaningful values. Parents are saying they're sick of so much junk," says Carol Holst, program director of Seeds of Simplicity, a non-profit group based in Los Angeles.

The organizations headed by Holst and Taylor are helping burned-out consumers downshift, as part of a movement that gained popularity in the 1980s with Duane Elgin's book, Voluntary Simplicity.

Gerald Celente, director of the Trends Research Institute, predicts that by 2010, more than 25 percent of the population will be practicing voluntary simplicity in one form or another. The trend is already being coopted by mass marketers in Real Simple, Time Warner's biggest magazine launch ever. One can't help but notice the obvious: simple layouts and lean editorial focus attention on the high-end ads. After 20 pages of Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor and Baby Gap, you finally reach the table of contents.

Such glossy simplicity amuses Vicki Robin, president of the New Road Map Foundation in Seattle, Washington and co-author of Your Money or Your Life. "It's not just a matter of simplicity, but frugality--the wisest use of resources for the greatest return," Robin says, noting that many families have decided to rely on just one car or choose smaller housing. Others have given up meat, decided to walk or take public transit, or bought used clothes instead of new. When it comes to buying new, many are rethinking their purchases in light of a fast-depleting planet, and seeking greener, safer products. These range from energy-efficient lightbulbs to nontoxic household cleaners, organic cotton fibers and furniture made of certified sustainably harvested wood. For parents, the premise is simple: The less pollution and garbage released in the making and disposing of consumer products, the healthier the environment and our children, who live in it.

"I feel the simplicity movement is a way to attract a whole new group of people to environmental issues," says Cecile Andrews, author of Circle of Simplicity. Already, groups of likeminded downsizers have made a positive environmental impact. The group Global Action Plan for the Earth is one such example: Some 8,000 neighborhood teams in Europe and 3,000 teams in the U.S. participate, reports Worldwatch. Successful teams cut landfill waste by 42 percent, water use by 25 percent and carbon emissions by 16 percent, while saving $401 a year per household. Holst estimates that there are hundreds of simplicity circles in the U.S., discussing strategies for leaner living the way reading groups talk books.

So, why not get started this holiday season? Frugality will benefit your savings account first, and accrue towards environmental savings down the road. You can also set limits on gifts -- Renée Jackson, for one, has convinced people to stop giving her children plastic toys.