Where can I find green-friendly gifts for friends and family this holiday season?                -- A.L. Burger, via e-mail

For those of you who prefer moderation in gift giving but still have to show up at a half-dozen holiday parties with something for under the tree, there are now more green-friendly (and affordable) options than ever before:

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Steer your Web browser to any number of online merchants offering items from clothes, bed-and-bath and organic baby products to food, the latest books and “gifts that give back,” such as tree-planting kits and “fair trade” crafts that support economically disadvantaged communities in developing countries. A few popular sites include the Green Home Environmental Store, Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Online Store, The Eco-Store, Abundant Earth, and Gaiam, among others. A visit to Co-Op America’s National Green Pages Online is one quick path to a treasure trove of such options.

Brick ‘n’ Mortar

Many environmentally concerned consumers still buy from mainstream retailers but want to feel confident their money is going to companies that are “good corporate citizens.” Pay a visit to Alonovo.com, which provides information on companies’ social and environmental records alongside thousands of products for sale in partnership with Amazon.com. The Web site also can simply be used as a research tool to get the lowdown on companies before heading downtown or to the mall. Alonovo rates companies in five different areas: social responsibility, workplace fairness, environmental issues, customer relations and overall business ethics. The company shares from 20 to 40 percent of its profits with environmental and other nonprofits that customers themselves can choose.

Do Your Homework

Other options include Consumer Reports’ Greenerchoices.org, which rates mainstream products from cars to electronics based on environmental criteria, and Co-op America’s Responsible Shopper, which features detailed reports on various companies that market “green” consumer products. Of course, you need not buy anything if you have a little more time (and items to re-use and recycle) on your hands than money. Sherri Osborn, the family crafts guide at About.com, offers up a healthy listing of “101 Great Gifts to Make” for any season, complete with links to instructions and materials needed.

Contacts: National Green Pages Online, coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages; Responsible Shopper, www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs;

Earth Talk

By the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine