I love that being "green" is getting so much attention lately; I think that when environmentally-friendly items are readily available, then even people who don't really care can live a little more responsibly. Buying items that are recycled, organic, or just all-around take less of a toll on the earth are better; however, buying less is still the best option. There's absolutely no waste if you skip buying something you don't really need.
That being said, I'm not very good about buying less. I'm fascinated by all the things I see in the world around me -- I want to try the various gadgets, have the cute clothes I like, etc., etc. And then of course, you get to the holidays, when everyone wants to know what you want. You can ask for all of those things you restrained yourself from buying throughout the year. In my family, asking for specific items is actual doing people a favor, because we don't like having to figure out what someone else wants.
So I was excited about finding a couple of cool online gift registries. The first is the Alternative Gift Registry. It allows you to create a wedding or baby registry with both tangible and intangible objects - anything you want. The samples show people asking for, yes, a DVD player or some place settings, but also for recipe cards with people's favorite recipes or used books or cleaning advice. It allows for people to ask for the things they think they really need for their lives and not just things to fill up a registry. It emphasizes the relationships between people instead of the presents, can cost significantly less, and can have positive environmental impact.
A less altruistic option but still something that I find really cool is TheThingsIWant.com. It's a "universal" wish list, meaning that you can add items from any Web site to your list. I see this being particularly useful for family Christmas and birthday lists. I tend to make an amazon.com wish list with books and movies on it, then have to send around e-mail lists with in-depth descriptions of the exact bag I want or the color and size of these shoes from REI. If I only want one item from a store, then there's no point in creating a wish list on its site. This option can be a one-stop-shop for all those material things I can't help from wanting.
