his Q&A blog is open for all to participate. Feel free to ask your own questions and answer questions posted by others. I know all of you have a wealth of information and experience on healthy living and you are welcome to share it here. 
Holiday
Lead-free Christmas Lights
Hello,
As a grandmother of two small children I am much more aware of all the terrible toxins we have around us. I have been searching daily for lead-free Christmas tree lights. Does anyone know where they can be purchased? I have heard that they are available outside the US, in Great Britain? I certainly do not want to subject the children to any more toxins.
Susan Webb
What you want to look for are lights that are "RoHS compliant".
RoHS stands for "Restriction of Hazardous Substances." RoHS originated in the European Union and restricts the use of six hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products.
The substances restricted under the RoHS directive include lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (CrVI), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). All products in the entire electronics industry in the EU market after July 1, 2006 must pass RoHS compliance. .
Here is a website that in Yorkshire England that "loves Christmas lights." They are all RoHS compliant:
Christmas Tree without Pesticides
Most Christmas tree farms spray their trees with pesticides right before the
season starts so that the trees are pest free for harvest.
There are numerous articles about migrant workers getting sick from
pesticides on tree farms.
Also, some trees (in Florida and from up-north) are sprayed with dye so that
they do not turn yellow while sitting in the lot or at home. (I never knew
this until a farmer set me aside and told me!)
Before you visit a tree farm, be sure to ask if they spray with pesticides
and/or dyes.
The following farm in Dade City, Florida sprays their trees with dye but
does not spray with pesticides (the only one that is pesticide free that I
could find in Dade City or anywhere near Tampa). Florida Christmas Trees are
not as nice as Northern trees, but it is worth the try if you want pesticide
free trees.
Lazy Lay Acres
Choose-and-Cut, Retail Lot, Potted, Gift/Craft Shop, Petting Farm/Zoo,
Wreaths
Sand Pine Red Cedar Leyland Cypress
(352) 567-6808
The moral of this story is...call around and check your local Christmas tree
farms. You may find one that is pesticide-free. If not, at least they will
get the idea a potential customer doesn't want pesticides.
Holiday Gift Giving
I come from a family where the giving and receiving of gifts was a big part of Christmas. But as I have become more aware of the environment and what is really important in life, my ideas about what makes a gift great have changed.
I've put some of my thoughts in an article at ABOUT: Gift-Giving, but I'd like to hear from all of you. What are your suggestions for gifts that do good beyond the tangible gift itself? What is your favorite green gift you've given? And your favorite green gift you've received? Do you give gifts at all?
Christmas Trees and Ornaments
With the holiday season approaching and trying to live non-toxic for the first time, how do you feel about live christmas trees? And if they are OK, how to decorate them?
I always get a fresh-cut tree myself, though a live tree is even better as you can plant it after the holiday. For nontoxic ornaments, you can use regular glass ornaments, home baked gingerbread cookies, popcorn strings, wood ornaments, fabric ornaments, paper chains--anything natural. I would just stay away from plastic ornaments.
Personally, I just decorate my tree with white lights and put a metal gold star on the top. It's very simple, but always magical for me.
That's the short answer. But there are many details to consider about the health and environmental effects of a Christmas tree.
A good place to start is with my Christmas Trees excerpt from the new revised edition of Home Safe Home. It discusses the basic health issues and gives some suggestions on how to enjoy an "allergy-free" Christmas tree.
Then you need to decide what type of tree you want. Choosing a Tree outlines the environmental benefits and harm of the different options. Fresh Cut Trees and Living Trees have more details on these two choices. Make Your Own Recycled Tree tells how you can make a "tree" by recycling scrap evergreen boughs.
I've got lots of suggestions for nontoxic and earthwise Tree Ornaments and instructions for decorating my favorite holiday tree--a Tree of Life.
And finally, How To Recycle Your Holiday Tree and, if you're interested The History of Holiday Trees celebrating the season with evergreens is a lot older than Christmas!.
