Gifts to counterbalance CO2

Everyone enjoys a holiday, especially to far flung, exotic destinations, and with the increase in low cost travel there's even greater temptation to pack your passport and go.  However, while more of us are travelling further, and flights are easier on the pocket, the impact on the planet continues to deepen. 

Aviation is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse-gas emissions, already accounting for eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year - more than 10 per cent of the UK total.  By 2050, aviation could contribute 15% of the world's greenhouse gases (figures from Department for Transport).  So, with our insatiable appetite for foreign holidays, city breaks and last minute getaways is there a way to take a trip without the guilt?

Good Gifts has a solution - counterbalance your carbon consuming travels by planting trees in developing countries. The company's website now features a Guilt Trip Carbon Calculator which works out how many trees you need to plant to offset your CO2 emissions.  Good Gifts will then arrange for the trees to be planted in developing countries on your behalf, where they can be used to not only provide oxygen but provide an income for local people.

Trees can also be planted here in the UK - to have a pair of beech trees planted in the UK costs £40 and would cover the carbon emission of a trip to New York - a small price to pay for the benefit of the planet.

For more information on how to help people or to calculate how many trees you'll need to plant to offset your next trip, visit www.goodgifts.org.