The Thursday before Thanksgiving day is Use Less Stuff Day.

In anticipation of some of the year’s biggest and busiest shopping days in the United States – Black Friday and Cyber Moday, the unofficial holiday encourages people to buy and use fewer things in order to reduce environmental waste and lower their energy use.

25% More Trash

The holiday was created as a response to the huge amounts of trash created by people around the U.S. during the holiday season that begins with Thanksgiving day and ends with New Year celebrations. Some estimates show that trash production in the U.S. increases by 25% during the winter holiday season. This means that American families generate about 4 to 5 million ton of extra waste in just a matter of a month!

FYI

…that about 38,000 miles of ribbon is used and discarded around the holidays every year? This is enough ribbon to tie a bow around the Earth!