5WAYS TOMAKE YOUR HOLIDAY EXTRA ECO-FRIENDLY THIS YEAR
Sustainability is the gift that keeps on giving, so if you’d like to give a gift to the environment this December, make your holidays anti-plastic! Here are five ways that you can use the latest eco-friendly technology to make sure your Christmas is just as convenient as ever. SET UP RECYCLING BINS. Nobody wants to sort through trash on their holiday, especially if you’re hosting all the parties! To avoid dealing with the waste, set up recycling and composting bins before any home holiday festivities. It’ll make your next trip to a local recycling center so much faster because everything will be organized and easier to manage. USE PAPER CONTAINERS FOR LEFTOVERS. Give your celebration a restaurant-from-home feel by storing and giving away leftovers in paper containers rather than plastic. Paper will dissolve and leave behind much less chemical residue than plastic. Want to make it look extra posh? Stamp the exterior with the family initials! CHANGE UP YOUR GIFT WRAP. Why use wrapping paper every year when you can make your packaging extra interesting, colorful, and creative? Use newspapers, magazines, comics, posters, maps, or even art by your kids to conceal your gifts this year. RENT, BORROW, OR RETHINK YOUR TABLEWARE. If you’re missing proper tableware for your holiday celebration, don’t despair — some companies will actually let you rent out their dishes for your special evening! You can also borrow tableware from friends and family. But you don’t have to use metal tableware. Try following another culture’s customs and serve your food on local ingredients, like palm leaves, coconuts, or wood. LOCALIZE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. If you can buy ingredients like fresh meat or vegetables from local farms, you won’t use as much plastic packaging and you’ll support small businesses at the same time! Never buy one-use plastics if you don’t have to. For every holiday tradition, ask yourself: Can I reduce, reuse, or recycle any components to this? We hope you have a happy, eco-friendly holiday!
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colors together … My main focus at school was color theory. I learned how to place colors and designs together.”
I’m always impressed by Derrick’s ability to put different textures and patterns side by side and make everything work. He’s well-known for that skill at Franco’s, and it has made him the consultant of choice for all kinds of people. “The clientele I have is just about everyone, from your local delivery guy to the CEOs of a lot of companies in Richmond. I’ve also had the presidents of universities come in, as well as doctors, lawyers — everyone who wants to be helped,” he says.
Derrick and the other sales people at Franco’s even make house calls.
“As far as that’s concerned, there are several different reasons for it,” Derrick explains. “No. 1 is to revamp the closet. I go in, purge things, and decide what needs to be replaced. I’ll also go over for a fitting or to talk to a client about what they need before they come into the store.” That level of personal service isn’t something you see every day, and I know I’d never get it at most other chain stores. There’s no way they’d mark a blazer down by 30% for a kid lawyer off the street. Franco’s is something special. Franco, Derrick, and the rest of the team really care about their customers, and you only find that kind of passion and attention to detail in local, family-run shops. This Christmas, I’m going to do as much of my shopping as possible at places like Franco’s, and I hope you will too. 2020 has been a really tough year for Richmond’s small businesses, and I know they’re counting on us to come through for the holiday season. As Derrick put it, “You can take away Halloween, you can take away Thanksgiving, but for some reason, you’re just not going to take away Christmas.”
From my family to yours, happy holidays and happy shopping!
Kevin Mottley
2 | (804) 823-2011
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