The OpEd Project is an initiative to expand the range of voices we hear in the media, with a specific focus on increasing the number of women thought leaders participating and leading the public discussion.

A good friend revealed to me recently that when she first got married, she found herself doing all sorts of “Little Miss Homemaker things.” She was ironing her husband’s shirts, making him lunch, and waiting for him to come home at the end of the day. “I have never ironed in my life!” she said. “I don’t know what came over me.” This was a woman who had been on her own for 15 years, was successful in her career, and was what most would call an “independent woman.”

There is a new trend happening all around us as I am sure you are aware called Green Gift Giving. “Have a Green Christmas!” “Go Green Christmas!” “Give Great Green Gifts!” and other green slogans are permeating our tv commercials, magazine ads, newspaper circulars, and store window displays. But what does all of this actually mean? Is giving a green gift better than giving a gift that is not green?