New York is set to shutter 12 migrant shelters before the end of the year , marking a significant shift in its response to the city’s ongoing migrant crisis. The closures , announced just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office for a second term, highlight the strain on resources and the political tensions surrounding immigration policies. As Mike Shedlock of MishTalk.com noted in June , 20% of NYC hotels have become migrant shelters, driving up the cost of hotel rooms elsewhere for paying customers. Two hotel-based shelters, the Hotel Merit in Manhattan and the Quality Inn JFK in Queens, have already been closed . An additional 10 facilities across the state - including in Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Orange, and Westchester counties - will cease operations by December 31, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office. The sprawling Randall’s Island shelter, which was designed to accommodate up to 3,000 migrants, is slated to close by February 2025, shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Since the spring of 2022, more than 223,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in New York City - roughly half the population of Albany. The city has struggled to house and support this influx, operating 210 city-run shelter sites across the five boroughs. Currently, 58,000 migrants remain in taxpayer-funded shelters, costing the city an estimated $352 per migrant per night. Only $130 of that amount goes directly to housing costs, with the rest allocated to social services, food, and cleaning. The NYPD has spent $21 million on public safety and security related to the migrants. The eye-popping figures, listed on the city’s online asylum-seeker funding tracker , shows the city overall spent $4.88 billion combined through fiscal years 2023 and ‘24. Based on the rate of spending, the city likely exceeded more than $112 million since the start of the new fiscal year beginning July 1, or will soon, cracking $5 billion. Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has even projected the cost could double, hitting $10 billion over the three year period ending June 30, 2025. -NY Post Without policy changes, the crisis is projected to cost New York taxpayers $12 billion over the next three fiscal years, according to city estimates. Mayor Adams praised efforts to consolidate shelter operations and reduce costs, noting a 19-week decline in the migrant census. " Over the past two years, our teams have accomplished the Herculean task of providing compassionate care for a population twice the size of Albany and saving taxpayers billions of dollars ," Adams said. "The new policies we’re implementing today will build on our successes, save taxpayers millions, and help even more migrants take their next steps towards fulfilling their American Dream." Meanwhile, an audit released in August found that NYC overpaid upstate hotels by millions of dollars for sheltering illegal immigrants. Of the questionable payments, $2.5 million were for unauthorized security, medical, and social services, $1.7 million for vacant rooms, and $230,000 for inflated food bills, according to the audit. In another example, a Newburgh hotel billed a total of $57,000 for hundreds of unoccupied rooms in early May , for which DocGo got an additional $40,000 in commissions. Despite efforts to ease the burden on the system, the city’s shelter eviction policies have sparked controversy. Families issued a second 60-day eviction notice are now allowed to stay in their assigned shelters if they need more time, a move Adams touted as cost-saving and beneficial for children’s schooling continuity. However, adult migrants face stricter rules, with a policy permanently evicting them from city shelters after 30 days . The policy has drawn criticism from activist groups, including Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, which staged a protest at City Hall during a hearing on the issue. "Immigrants are welcome here - Trumpian policy is not!" protesters chanted, accusing the city of violating its decades-old right-to-shelter rule, originally established to address homelessness. Activists called the eviction policy "cruel and destabilizing" before being removed from the chamber. While the flow of migrants into New York has slowed, with fewer arrivals and a reported 101,790 encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in September—the lowest since February 2021—concerns persist about potential surges before Trump’s border policies take effect. A caravan of 1,500 migrants in southern Mexico, near the Guatemala border, is reportedly attempting to cross before Trump’s inauguration. Trump has pledged to implement strict immigration measures, including sealing the southern border, carrying out a large-scale deportation operation, and ending Biden administration parole programs and the CBP One app. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been appointed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, with former ICE Director Tom Homan named "border czar." As New York City consolidates its migrant operations, Adams has a tough road ahead. The closures signal a pivot in the city’s approach but also underscore the broader national debate on immigration policy .
None(The Center Square) – The question before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday was whether a Tennessee law banning gender dysphoria treatment for minors is unconstitutional. Twenty-three other states have similar bans, but the Tennessee case is the first one to have made it to the nation's highest court. Behind the legal questions debated are medical questions that are in dispute. A transgender girl identified as "L Williams" is at the center of the case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and later supported by the Biden administration. In an article posted on the ACLU's website, L said she was emotionally distressed as she began puberty. “You're at a point where not only are you going through puberty, but you're also going through nightmare puberty,” L said. “I mean, obviously, nobody's 100% comfortable with [the changes,] but you're immensely uncomfortable with them.” L's parents sought puberty and hormone blockers in another state when Tennessee lawmakers passed its ban in 2023. They were on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court when the case was argued. Also on the steps was Dr. Jared Ross, a member of Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals who say their mission is to keep identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice. Ross has a story, too, about a blue-haired girl who came into an emergency room one night. She described herself as "gender-confused," Ross said in an interview with The Center Square. "She was cutting herself with a razor blade because voices were telling her to," Ross said. "Can you imagine if I had affirmed these voices, affirming what she was hearing? That would have been malpractice, that would have been criminal. I didn't affirm those voices. I also didn't affirm her gender confusion." Do No Harm filed an amicus brief challenging the medical evidence presented by the ACLU and the Biden administration. It points to a study called the "Cass Review," a multi-year project from the United Kingdom that said studies of the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones were uncontrolled observational studies subject to bias." The ACLU says it also has medical evidence on its side. The American Medical Association and the American College of Pediatrics are among the groups that support gender dysphoria treatment for minors. At least one medical organization is taking a second look at the treatments. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons said in April that it is reviewing the practice. "ASPS currently understands that there is considerable uncertainty as to the long-term efficacy for the use of chest and genital surgical interventions for the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria, and the existing evidence base is viewed as low quality/low certainty. This patient population requires specific considerations," the organization said in a statement. Doctors who don't support treatments for gender dysphoria for minors are accused of discrimination and not caring about the patients. But that's not the case, Ross said. "The other side often plays this as we're neglecting these kids or we're minimizing their suffering that they're going through," Ross said. "I don't doubt that they're suffering. They're suffering tremendously. They need love and compassion and good evidence-based mental health care." Until the Supreme Court rules in 2025, the Tennessee law and others like it will stay on the books.
Dubai to unveil smart rental index in January 2025ENTRUSTED with our readers’ deep secrets, the Dear Deidre team really have a unique insight into what dilemmas the nation is grappling with. Of course, there are some constants — cheating, differing sex drives, low self-esteem and loneliness. Advertisement 3 Sally Land reveals the nation’s most common dilemmas of 2024 But some issues loom larger in certain years as new problems come to the fore. As 2024 nears an end, we take a look at what exactly our readers have been writing in about. Every year, we help thousands of people by answering every single dilemma with a personalised answer, and we’ve kept a record of the issues we’ve tackled. Relationship issues consistently come out on top, with 23 per cent of the emails Dear Deidre receives focused on romantic problems. Advertisement READ MORE DEAR DEIDRE HERE TO HELP Is Something Playing On Your Mind? Our expert-led Dear Deidre team can help HERE TO HELP Do YOU have a dilemma? Dear Deidre can help - confidentially & for free Sex came a close second, with 19 per cent of readers writing in with a sexual dilemma. Interestingly, half of every single relationship message addressed cheating. Sometimes, the unfaithful party would be writing in, otherwise a suspicious or heartbroken partner worried about their relationship. Among the emails about cheating on partners, home surveillance and doorbell cameras featured more prominently, with some partners forgetting to turn off cameras before inviting flings to come back to their homes. Advertisement Most read in The Sun baby joy Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan announce she's pregnant with first baby NEIL BY MOUTH Moment Rangers hero says he needs RESCUED on live TV during Motherwell clash GER OUT Moment raging Rangers fans BOO their own players and say 'go away' at Motherwell Highlights WELL 2 GERS 2 Shambolic display leaves Clement on brink as horror Christmas week continues A growing number of readers also wrote in because, although they were separated, financial constraints meant they could not move out of the marital home. The reluctant house sharers were frustrated at being unable to move on — a trend that reflects economic uncertainty in the UK. I work on Dear Deidre- my tips on what to do if you've lied to your love. Notable developments this year have been new requests for support with quitting vaping. Another new issue came in the form of pensioners worrying about losing their winter fuel allowance. Advertisement Social media has been a common theme in all the categories. It is impossible to quantify but has had a huge impact. So many of the relationship problems relate to partners ogling scantily clad influencers or flirting with others they have met online. Plenty don’t see this as cheating but the feeling of betrayal is real for those on the receiving end. Advertisement And it’s not just cheating that worries people. Time spent watching endless videos encourages weird infatuations, with one woman complaining her husband had become obsessed with the French election. Opportunity for temptation He insisted they spend their family holiday in France watching speeches — and had previously had no interest in politics. The issue of phone addiction came up, particularly for parents fretting about not only what their children were being exposed to, but also how their mobile activity was affecting their own behaviour. Advertisement They asked our team for help on how to manage this. And a huge number of adults wrote in fed up with their partner, who had little interest in them but spent all hours playing online games or scrolling through their socials. It’s clear that while technology enables us to do far more and do it efficiently, left unchecked it threatens our real-world connections and provides more opportunity for temptation. Next year, I will be recording when social media, phone usage and the internet are mentioned as part of the problem, and I predict this will be a huge growth area. Advertisement Below is a reader’s letter about ogling, followed by one about winter fuel allowance. I also break down what percentages of our mail different types of letter make up. Mortified after ex saw me having sex on security cam (Letter from November 14) 3 My ex saw me having sex with a one-night stand after helping me install a security camera system Credit: getty DEAR DEIDRE: MY ex saw me having sex with a one-night stand using the camera security system he’d installed as a favour to me. Advertisement I was completely unaware that he was watching this, until he turned up the next morning and got very upset with me. Originally, I was grateful for his help setting up the system, but now I feel really uncomfortable. He said he’d received an alert on his phone and checked it by chance, but I can’t help worrying he’s keeping an eye on me. He insists he hasn’t been watching and that was a one-off, but the whole experience has really unsettled me. Advertisement I’m 36, my ex is 39, and we were together for eight years before we broke up five months ago. Our split was both mutually agreed, and amicable, and we decided to remain friends. We still met up and sometimes even had sex, but as we didn’t discuss what this meant I thought we were simply friends with benefits. I really appreciated still having him in my life. Advertisement When I was moving house, he offered to help, knowing how useless I am at DIY. He helped put up shelves, and installed security cameras which he set up online so I could view them through an app. I knew he had access to it all while he set it up but assumed he’d log out. So when I brought a man home, I didn’t think twice. Advertisement Now I feel mortified. He says he didn’t mean to breach my privacy, but I feel so conflicted. DEIDRE SAYS: Watching you have sex with another man was a huge breach of your privacy, and you shouldn’t take it lightly. Advertisement As a priority, please ensure that you are the only one with access to your security system. Make sure you’re the primary account holder and change your password so that he doesn’t have access. It’s completely understandable that this experience has made you question the sort of person he is. Unless you decide you can trust him completely, you would be wise to stay away. Advertisement At the very least, it’s clear that the lines are blurred between you and your ex and some boundaries need to be re-established. As for your relationship with him, you need to decide if there’s any hope of a future together. If you decide there’s not, it would be best to step away so you can both move on. My support pack Moving On will help. Advertisement Left freezing since losing fuel payment (Letter from December 18) 3 I’m forced to choose between putting my heating on or buying food Credit: getty DEAR DEIDRE : SINCE the Government cut my Winter Fuel Payment, I’ve been struggling to afford my bills. Now I’m forced to choose between putting my heating on or buying food, and the stress is making me unwell. I’m a 76-year-old pensioner, and live alone. Advertisement Until this year, I was receiving £200 payments to cover the cost of my heating bills, and I heavily relied on it. So when the Government announced the change, I went into a complete panic. My pension is already low as it is, so without the extra payments I knew it was going to be a hard couple of months. When I contacted the council for help, they told me that, while I was eligible to apply, I had missed the deadline so now I’d have to go without. Advertisement Ever since, my life has been an absolute nightmare. Now I wake up every morning to a freezing house – and no matter what I do, I can’t keep warm. The constant dread is getting me down, and I’m now struggling to cope. DEIDRE SAYS: Advertisement I can only imagine how distressing this must be for you. While the qualifying week for this year’s Fuel Payment has now passed, you may still be eligible if you successfully apply for Pension Credit by December 21. Read more on the Scottish Sun GHOST TOWN Former Scots shopping hotspot 'decaying' as multimillion pound revamp ‘failing’ VAX HORROR Striken Scots 'gaslit' by health bosses after complications from Covid vaccine Please note that you only have two days to do this, so please take action today. You may also be eligible for a £150 Warm Home Discount. You can find out more about this on the government website ( gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme ). Advertisement Letters that flooded our mailbox TOP TOPICS: Relationships 23% Sex 19% Family 8% Parenting 7% Friendships 4% Workplace issues 5% Mental health 11% Health 5% Addictions 8% Bereavement 5% Sexuality 4% Other 1% SEX WOES Sex drive 43% Fetishes 16% Threesomes 12% Erection problems 11% Fantasies 7% Climaxing 4% Menopause 3% Other 4% LOVE Cheating 49% Domestic abuse 12% Addictive love 10% Broken heart 14% Online romance 6% Age gaps 5% Other 4% ADDICTION Alcohol 42% Porn 22% Drugs 13% Smoking 8% Vaping 5% Gambling 9% Shopping and spending 1%
Aston Villa handed Manchester City a crushing 2-1 defeat at Villa Park, condemning Pep Guardiola's team to their third loss in a row and their ninth defeat in the last 12 matches in all competitions. This result allowed Villa to leapfrog City into fifth place in the Premier League standings, continuing City's recent struggles. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa came out strong from the start, with Jhon Duran opening the scoring in the 15th minute after converting a brilliant pass from Youri Tielemans. Villa continued to dominate, and Morgan Rogers , who struck against his former club, sealed the victory with a goal on the hour mark. City were unable to respond, with key players like Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish failing to make an impact. Also Read : Luigi Mangione attains cult figure-like status, gets 54 emails, 87 letters and 163 financial deposits in Pennsylvania jail; sparks massive fan following Despite a late goal from Phil Foden in the dying seconds, Manchester City had no answer to Villa's solid defense and energetic play. The loss marks a further setback for Guardiola's team as they struggle to regain form. Meanwhile, Villa’s performance and victory serve as a much-needed boost for their ambitions in the league. This defeat has left Manchester City in a precarious position, dropping to sixth in the Premier League table. Fans and pundits alike will be questioning Guardiola's tactics as City's poor form continues. Soft Skills Cross-Cultural Communication Mastery: Connect with Confidence By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Java 21 Essentials for Beginners: Build Strong Programming Foundations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Analysis Learn Power BI with Microsoft Fabric: Complete Course By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Entrepreneurship Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups: From Concept to Conversion By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Design Microsoft Designer Guide: The Ultimate AI Design Tool By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Intermediate Java Mastery: Method, Collections, and Beyond By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Analysis Animated Visualizations with Flourish Studio: Beginner to Pro By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Learn InVideo AI: Create Videos from Text Easily By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Entrepreneurship Boosting Startup Revenue with 6 AI-Powered Sales Automation Techniques By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Finance AI and Generative AI for Finance By - Hariom Tatsat, Vice President- Quantitative Analytics at Barclays View Program Web Development Master RESTful APIs with Python and Django REST Framework: Web API Development By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Maximizing Developer Productivity: The Pomodoro Technique in Practice By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Also Read : Fire Country Season 3 Episode 9: Date and time | When will new episodes be available? FAQs: Who scored the goals for Aston Villa? Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers scored for Villa. What does this defeat mean for Manchester City’s season? The defeat highlights City’s ongoing struggles and the difficulties faced by Pep Guardiola’s team this season. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Must protect our aquifer If you are reading this letter, there’s a fair chance you live in one of the 14 counties that get their water from the Mahomet Aquifer. Recently, a measure was held up by the Senate Executive Committee in Springfield that would have banned the injection of carbon dioxide through or storage of it under our aquifer. The ban is needed to protect our water supply from heavy-metal contamination, acidification and salinization if stored CO2 were to leak. Several corporations are poised to inject CO2 right through the Mahomet Aquifer for the purpose of storing it deep underground because they stand to gain substantial tax credits/rebates by doing so. But the aquifer was designated as a sole-source aquifer by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015. That means it supplies over 50 percent of the area’s drinking water and there are no other alternative drinking-water sources. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that this technology won’t fail and contaminate our water supply. As proof of the threat, this year, two leaks occurred at Archer Daniels Midland’s sequestration monitoring wells in Decatur. This is all the warning we need. Please contact state Sen. Paul Faraci, D-Champaign, and state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana. Thank them for sponsoring the bill to keep the Mahomet Aquifer safe and urge them to keep fighting for a ban on carbon sequestration to keep our water safe. Talk to your friends and neighbors and make them aware of the threat. Add your voice in opposition to the proposals that threaten public health in our area. CHRISTINE MAIN Champaign
MILAN — Shoppers laden with bags from Fendi, Loewe, Prada and other designer labels clog the narrow sidewalks of Milan's swankiest shopping street, bringing joy to the purveyors of high-end luxury goods this, and every, holiday season. There's even more to celebrate this year: a commercial real estate company crowned Via MonteNapoleone as the world's most expensive retail destination, displacing New York's Fifth Avenue. The latest version of American firm Cushman & Wakefield's annual global index, which ranks shopping areas based on the rent prices they command, is a sign of Via MonteNapoleone's desirability as an address for luxury ready-to-wear, jewelry and even pastry brands. A man walks past a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The average rent on the Milan street surged to $2,047 per square foot, compared with $2,000 per square foot on an 11-block stretch of upper Fifth Avenue. People are also reading... Sex offender arrested for not reporting change in employment New director transitioning to role at community food pantry Beatrice man pleads guilty to receiving child sex abuse images At the courthouse, Dec. 14, 2024 Fresh round of transfer portal targets emerges for Nebraska, including at quarterback Transfer portal clashing with bowl prep makes for unique situations, including at Nebraska Former Beatrice man sentenced for sex assault of runaway Commendations given to Beatrice Police Gage County says board had authority to deny permit for broadband provider Zitel pleads not guilty to sex assault, child abuse charges How former Nebraska quarterback Daniel Kaelin landed with Virginia football Meyn, charged in death of 4-month-old, has case continued to March Perspective is reality Milke pre-trial hearing in Beatrice shooting death continued to March ‘Turn this program around': Jacory Barney thinking big after starring as Nebraska freshman Via MonteNapoleone's small size — less than a quarter-mile long — and walking distance to services and top cultural sites are among the street's key advantages, according to Guglielmo Miani, president of the MonteNapoleone District association. "Not everything can fit, which is a benefit," since the limited space makes the street even more exclusive and dynamic, said Miani, whose group also represents businesses on the intersecting side streets that together with Via MonteNapoleone form an area known as Milan's Fashion Quadrilateral. Women look a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The biggest brands on the street make 50 million euros to 100 million euros in annual sales, Miani said, which goes a long way to paying the rent. Tiffany & Co. is preparing to take up residence on Via Montenapoleone, and longtime tenant Fendi is expanding. The MonteNapoleone District says 11 million people visited the area this year through November, but there's no way to say how many were big spenders vs. window shoppers. The average shopper on Via MonteNapoleone spent 2,500 euros per purchase between August and November — the highest average receipt in the world, according to the tax-free shopping firm Global Blue. The street is a magnet for holiday shoppers who arrive in Maseratis, Porsches and even Ferraris, the sports car's limited trunk space notwithstanding. A mannequin is seen Dec. 12 in a shop in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Lights twinkle overhead, boutique windows feature mannequins engaged in warm scenes of holiday fun, and passersby snap photos of expertly decorated cakes in pastry shop displays. A visitor from China, Chen Xinghan, waited for a taxi with a half-dozen shopping bags lined up next to him on the sidewalk. He said he paid half the price for a luxury Fendi coat that he purchased in Milan than he would have at home. "I got a lot," Chen acknowledged. "It's a fantastic place, a good place for shopping." A man waits for a taxi Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleon street in Milan, Italy. A few store windows down, Franca Da Rold, who was visiting Milan from Belluno, an Italian city in the Dolomites mountain range, marveled at a chunky, yardslong knit scarf priced at 980 euros. "I could knit that in one hour, using 12-gauge knitting needles as thick as my fingers, and thick wool. Maximum two hours," Da Rold said, but acknowledged the brand appeal. Buildings are decorated Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Despite upper Fifth Avenue getting bumped to the No. 2 spot on the Cushman & Wakefield list, the organization that serves as the Manhattan street's guardian and chief promoter had praise for MonteNapoleone's achievement. "Milan's investment in its public realm is paying off, which is a win for their shoppers, businesses and city as a whole," said Madelyn Wils, interim president of the Fifth Avenue Association. She also expressed confidence that with new investments and a record year for sales on Fifth Avenue, "we'll be back on top in no time." Holiday shopping season is upon us. Keep gifting green with sustainable presents for the home. Holiday shopping season is upon us. Keep gifting green with sustainable presents for the home. The holiday season feels a little less jolly considering the amount of waste generated by gift-giving. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year's. After the decorations come down, all that waste heads to landfills, producing a significant contributor to climate change: methane gas. "Greening" the holidays is essential, and one simple tip is to think more about how sustainable the materials are in your decorations, decor, and, of course, gifts. Instead of plastics, you could opt for items that can be reused, are made of renewable materials or natural fibers that boast a smaller environmental impact in both production and durability. Due to consumers' desires for more eco-friendly goods, sustainable materials are among the biggest trends in home decor. Fortunately, there are plenty of affordable—and earth-conscious—home goods that make perfect holiday gifts. Made Trade rounded up a list of sustainable home decor trends in 2025 that offer dozens of creative options for holiday gift-giving. Each trend includes examples of great gifts for the home and advice for ensuring items are sustainably produced or can help create a more eco-friendly space. Indoor gardening In the depths of winter's gray days, it's a real gift to see a little green, which is why indoor gardening gifts are a wonderful idea. Not only are they eco-friendly and promote sustainability—the more food you can grow yourself, the less you have to buy—they also foster an appreciation of nature and bring the natural world indoors to enjoy. Sprouting kits and microgreens require minimal amounts of space and sunlight, but a sunny, south-facing window will permit a small herb garden or leafy greens for salads. If you're not sure what kind of light your recipient has access to, go with gifting indoor grow lamps along with the plants, or pick a hardy, low-water houseplant—some can act as natural air purifiers too. Warm (and undyed) neutrals When buying gifts for the home, consider what materials the items are made from and how far away they come from—not only are natural materials like rattan, jute, palm leaves, clay, organic cotton and linen, and ceramics more sustainable, but if they are being used by a local craftsperson, gifters are also saving on fossil fuels for the transportation. Plus, you're helping the local economy by supporting local craftspeople, so it's a win-win. Natural fiber pillows, sheets, blankets, and even doormats offer comfort and consideration of the environment. Adaptive reuse The most sustainable and eco-friendly gift is one you already have, so get creative about reusing materials already in or around your home (raid the recycling bin, find nice pieces of wood outside, wash out and reuse glass jars) to fashion them into new, thoughtful goods. Similarly, think vintage and secondhand—what items can you give a second life to by passing them along to someone who will find new meaning in them? Some of the most thoughtful gifts are small heirlooms—pieces of jewelry or a beloved ceramic dish—passed along to the next generation that will appreciate them. Smart technology Green technology offers ways to reduce our carbon footprint in everyday life, and smart thermostats, solar lights, smart sprinklers, and smart plugs all make great gifts, saving people money and conserving our valuable resources. For those looking into home renovations or updating decor, try a new light fixture paired with smart blubs, or a new window treatment with smart shades. Even something as simple as a rain barrel can reduce energy use—and while the technology for that isn't very sophisticated, it certainly is, like composting, "smart." Integrated outdoor living Integrated outdoor living is the ultimate gift, allowing us to bring the natural world into our homes. However, doing so sustainably takes a little more effort than simply leaving the doors to the deck open all the time. First, find eco-friendly and sustainable outdoor furniture, perhaps thrifting it or buying it used and fixing it up for a one-of-a-kind gift. If you can't go secondhand, choose furniture made of sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, recycled plastic (great for outdoor rugs), or bamboo. For smaller gifts, consider solar lights, a water feature that recycles water, a rain barrel, or even a set of handmade wind chimes made from seashells. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on Made Trade and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.