Regifting: The ultimate holiday sin or a green way to recycle an unloved present that would otherwise sit forlornly on a shelf, gathering dust? Discuss among yourselves.
Personally, I have no problem with regifting, as long as it’s done right. For example, did your friends give you way more Allison’s Gourmet Peppermint Bark than you could ever possibly eat? Feel free to send some my way. Have you received two copies of the new book about The Smiths? Here, let me give you my address. Even if Santa slipped something truly hideous under the tree—such as a shaggy fur vest or scarf—you can find a new home for it. Just send those unwanted furs to PETA.
Over the years, PETA has received numerous furs from former fur-wearers—including Mariah Carey, Mary Tyler Moore, Kim Cattrall, and Sharon Osbourne—who have had a change of heart after learning that furbearing animals are often caught in bone-crushing steel-jaw traps or spend their lives in filthy wire cages encrusted with urine and feces. PETA uses unwanted furs in educational displays, as bedding for injured or orphaned wildlife and in giveaways to homeless people who can’t afford to buy their own coats—the only people who have any excuse for wearing real fur. Recently, PETA’s affiliate PETA U.K. delivered a bundle of such coats to The Fox Project, which annually takes in and nurtures hundreds of red foxes and kits who have been injured or orphaned because of hunting, traffic accidents, and “pest” control.
See the awww-inspiring results for yourself:
If you have any unwanted furs from your less-enlightened days hanging in the back of your closet or know someone who does, consider regifting the fur … to PETA. You’ll feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that you have helped animals in desperate need, and as a bonus, you’ll receive a tax deduction to boot.
Written by Paula Moore
Cover photo of Lady Gaga