Christmas is a huge celebration for many around the world. However, it also generates a lot of waste. Here are three top tips for an eco-friendly Christmas and a green New Year.
We all love the thrill of pulling the paper off of presents, but the gift-wrapping paper is actually a huge culprit when it comes to waste around the holidays. According to EcoFreek.com and Her.ie, $7 billion is spent on wrapping paper each year in the US alone. This means that 4.6 billion lbs of paper are produced, with 2.3 million lbs eventually ending up in landfills at the end of the year. This is an astonishing amount of waste.
To avoid adding to this waste, steer clear of shiny wrapping paper – especially if it contains glitter. Instead, try using brown or kraft wrapping paper. There are many different variations of these rolls and plenty of places online and offline stock them. Its easy to dress them up with some plants and twine.
Brown wrapping paper isn’t the only option for sustainable packaging. Anything from pieces of clothing, pillowcases or towels, newspapers, old maps or even pages from books can be used to create the perfect wrapping for your presents without adding to the mass waste left behind from other paper.
2. Make decorations
Everyone wants to have the most perfectly decorated home for the holidays, and this doesn’t have to stop to be eco-friendly. There are many ways to ensure that your home still has its festive charm without causing major damage to the planet. It can also save you some money at the same time.
Most people will keep the same decorations they have every year and this is great. However, sometimes we may want to add something new to our set-up. Making decorations for your house can be really easy, and it can bring an authentic look that plastic can’t. After all, many manufactured decorations are modelled after real things found in nature.
Plastic pinecones are popular decorations, for example. Instead of buying them, why not go out and find some? An excellent way to display them is hanging them off some ribbon or string and tying them to your front door in place of a wreath. Using twigs and branches from the garden can also produce stunning features for around your home. You could make small decorative pieces for the tree with some tape and twine or larger pieces with some leaves and baubles. The possibilities are both endless and eco-friendly!
3. Buy sustainably
Presents are, of course, a huge aspect of the Christmas period and every year we spend weeks wracking our brains for the perfect gift for loved ones. It can be hard to nail it every year, and sometimes we may just buy whatever we see before us. However, there are many gifts that are versatile and sustainable that anyone would love and would get plenty of use out of.
Some examples include stainless steel straws and bottles, beeswax wraps and natural air fresheners. The list goes on. For those in your life that may have already made the eco-switch, choosing brands that are sustainable and ethical over others can make a huge difference when selecting presents. Don’t just buy a certain brand because it’s all that the shop has. There are plenty of options out there if you do your research.
Just like decorations, making gifts can be an inexpensive and sustainable alternative. Check out our list here of the best DIY gifts to give your loved ones this Christmas.
