Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

A few days ago, we wrote that UPS looks like the greenest shipping choice available. Now there's another reason to choose UPS as your shipper of choice: you can add carbon offsets to your purchase to help aleviate the environmental impact of your package.

Starting immediately, UPS's online customers can purchase optional carbon offsets to accompany their packages. Ground shipping offsets cost an extra five cents, while air shipping costs twenty cents per package. The money will be invested in waste water treatment, reforestation and landfill methane mitigation projects, all of which will help to reduce future greenhouse emissions and fight climate change.

In addition, UPS will match your nickels and dimes, to the tune of up to $1 million for their 2009-2010 fiscal year. That's a lot of packages.

This isn't just for individual packages, either. If your company does a lot of shipping, UPS will work with you to create a customized program to help offset your emissions.

Hey, Christmas is right around the corner (eek!), so keep this in mind when it comes time to send those presents to your friends and family around the world!