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When it comes to Christmas shopping, many have enough trouble as it is simply finding adequate gifts at all without having to shop green too. However, finding the perfect earth friendly gifts for your friends and loved ones doesn’t have to be a hassle. Consider these top 5 green Christmas presents as you hit the mall this year.

1. Food and Cooking Supplies: Do you have a relative who loves to cook? In this day and age, finding everything from organic snacks to eco-friendly cookware can be quite difficult. Any hardcore chefs or food lovers in your family will love items such as compost kits, seed packets, clay pots and pans, bamboo cutlery, chocolate kits, canning supplies, or solar ovens.

2. Green Fabrics and Cloth Alternatives: Finding organic or recycled cloth can also be tricky as well as expensive. However, there are plenty of ways to find recycled cotton, as a cheaper alternative. However, if cotton proves too expensive, there are plenty of alternative materials for doormats, place mats, throw rugs, sheets, clothing and more made from materials such as recycled plastic, rubber, bamboo, and more. These creative, colorful alternatives are stylish, comfortable, and eye catching alternatives to traditional cloth. Do you have any relatives who enjoy making their own fabrics? Try purchasing handmade llama yarn or recycled cotton for their next project.

3. Health Supplies: There are plenty of alternative health goodies you can consider when shopping for the top five green Christmas presents. Whether you have a relative with a sensitivity to chemicals or simply someone who is health conscious, there are plenty of gifts to consider, from paraben free hand lotion to quality vitamins, supplements, smoothie mixes, essential oils, yoga mats, and much more. Other practical gifts include organic household cleaners, soaps, bath bombs, and many others.

4. Paper Gifts: Whether you’re gifting a relative with personalized business cards, stationary, notebooks, or sketchpads, finding recycled paper products isn’t a difficult endeavor. Contrary to popular belief, not all recycled paper is pulpy or rough, though there are many products that are created that way for a more organic look. There are thousands of elegant paper goods that you wouldn’t be able to tell from original paper products. Along with paper recycled from paper, you can also pick out paper goods recycled from other materials, such as plastic, bamboo, denim, and more. Just be sure to make absolutely sure that the packaging reads 100% recycled before you purchase it. For an additional twist, try buying paper products with soy based inks as well.

5. Donations: If you’re having trouble thinking of what to get a loved one this Christmas, there is always the option of donating money in their name. While this may seem like a simple gift, you would be surprised how touching it can actually be to know that your relatives know what ecological issues you’re passionate about. Out of the top five green Christmas gifts, this may very well be the easiest to give while having the most impact. Whether you donate money toward organizations dealing with world hunger, animal rescue, endangered species, forest restoration, or cleaning up oil spills, you’ll be able to rest easy in the knowledge that you’ve thought of a gift that will affect the earth in a positive way.

As part of any good negotiating knowing the rules is a great place to start, but with China you need extra support. With the economic growth that China has seen more and more companies are negotiating with Chinese businesses it is a good idea to know the top rules for success.

1. Manage the Expectations

Maintaining a public appearance that everything is harmonious and going smooth is a key trait of Chinese business culture. Rarely will they disagree with you or your company in public and look to keep up appearances independent of how the negotiations are actually playing out. When you are treated with a great deal of respect and lavish compliments you may be tempted to believe that the negotiating will be easy or that you have an agreement before it is signed. In China, it is important to understand the difference between the business pleasantries and the negotiating. Understanding the true intention behind the words will get you much further than expecting a cake walk in the board room.

2. Develop a negotiating strategy

Working with a Chinese company through a negotiation period can be a long arduous battle that gets drawn out for much longer than expected. There is no such thing as phone negotiations and business still runs with face to face meetings. As memories can fade or change over time it is important to keep detailed and accurate meeting notes as you work through your strategy. The more that you can detail your notes the better you can leverage them later, especially if you can get the other side to sign off on the notes as well.

3. Chinese Businesses use a team of Negotiators

As with most meetings and business interactions there is a key decision maker even if there are five or more people at the negotiating table. Figuring out which person is the real decision maker can give you a better idea of how to focus your negotiations.

4. Build a negotiating team that incorporates Chinese business people and the Government

Having these people on your side at the negotiation table can give you the edge that you need to effectively compete with the Chinese negotiators across the table. Leveraging any business relationships that you already have in China, such as other businesses or governmental agencies can help support your negotiations.

5. Keep in mind the relativity of money

Most Chinese business people have a lower cost perspective to money than people that have grown up in America or Europe. When you go to China and see a 100 yuan bill you may instinctually covert that to about $15 USD, where as a Chinese person sees a $100 bill in the same note. This may cause a negotiating stumbling block, as they have a fundamentally different cost perspective.

6. Respect Goes a Long Way in China

Making sure that you keep the cultural norms in mind when you are doing business with the Chinese will keep you from embarrassing yourself or ruining a deal before you even get into the negotiation room. Respect is a big part of the way that business is done in China. By taking the extra effort to show the utmost respect to your Chinese counterparts you will be able to get to know them on a more personal level. This will translate into a better deal for both parties and make the whole process more personable. Leaving your ego at the door and just trying to connect with your potential business partners will help to take the negotiations to a more amicable place. Just remember to stay respectful if you end up going out for a session of baijiu drinking.

7. Use your listening skills and Sleep on any big decisions

As previously mentioned the negotiations in China tend to be drawn out in comparison to the speed of business in the Western world. Take full advantage of this slower pace by listening and digesting all of the information that the Chinese negotiation team is willing to present. Truly listening and then taking an extra night to sleep on any big decision will help you to make more informed decisions with a clearer head. The opportunity to take this extra time is a gift that you should definitely take advantage of.

8. Keep cool when they start pressuring about artificial deadlines

As the process takes a longer time you may be tempted to get frustrated and start pushing the process forward. This practice rarely ends with positive results and may be playing into the Chinese’s negotiation team’s strategy. It is far more advantageous for you to take you time and try to cooperate while still sticking to your negotiation strategies.

9. Try to Keep the Negotiations Reasonable

Again if you are getting frustrated or just want to turn up the fire on the negotiations this may bring them to a halt without much discussion on why. The Chinese negotiation team prefers to talk out and discuss with reason all of the decisions, but if you jump to an unreasonable stance without it, the whole process will start to break down. Take advantage of the extra time for communication and fully cooperate within your negotiation strategy.

10. There are plenty of other businesses to negotiate with

Keeping the option for doing business with a competitor of the company that you are negotiating with will allow you to stay more indifferent and less emotional during the negotiations. Using this in conjunction with your outcome strategy will allow you to negotiate in a way that can leverage the situation instead of feeling pressured to agree to disadvantageous terms.