Make this Christmas a conscious one
A guide to a sustainable Christmas period: decorations, gifts and food
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
By the time December rolls around, Christmas lights line the streets, markets are set up, letters to Santa are being written and carols are being rehearsed.
There is often great excitement for presents and chocolate, large meals and overflowing glasses of mulled wine 🍷
But let’s not get carried away…
Amongst the cheer and beer, December might be sad for some. It also creates a lot of unnecessary waste.
This time of year often sees an extra 30% of rubbish being produced and discarded compared to the rest of the year, most of which can be avoided!
How to be conscious this Christmas?
Celebrating Christmas should not be at any expense. It should not cost your mental health, nor your money, nor the childhood of a factory worker. Certainly not the environment.
The rising and thriving of eco-conscious brands, anti food-waste apps (eg: Too Good To Go) and the influx of support for smaller, local businesses is heart-warming to see and equally completely urgent.
So, let us continue in these steps and not let end-of-year festivities minimise our progress towards a more sustainable future 🤝
We hope this guide inspires you to have an ethically and sustainably conscious Christmas this year and a less stressful one at that.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas trees
Fake trees
It’s often thought that artificial trees are more sustainable than real ones but research suggests that this is not the case…
Artificial trees are typically made of polyvinyl chloride — aka PVC — which Greenpeace calls The Poison Plastic.
In terms of PVC’s impact on human health and the environment, it is the most damaging of all plastics. It might be a blow to hear that your artificial Christmas tree can’t be recycled and will end up in landfill where it will continue to pollute the earth. Fake trees also require transportation from factory to store to home, which, if made in China like the majority, contributes hugely to their carbon-footprint.
Still want a fake tree?
If you still prefer to use an artificial Christmas tree — for fire safety or other reasons — buy one secondhand. You might find unwanted artificial trees on sites such as Wallapop, Olio or Freecycle. If not, your neighbour might even have one!
Real trees
On the other hand, real trees require no manufacturing processes and are 100% recyclable. They also help clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen!
The most sustainable and ecological option would be to buy a living potted tree that can be brought inside in the winter and placed back outside until the following Christmas. Buy this as locally as possible and do note from where the seed is sourced.
⚠️ Sometimes seeds travel far and from fir trade business that do not fairly support their fir climbers with sufficient protective equipment. This makes their work increasingly dangerous and unsafe.
Alternatively, if you are impartial to the classic evergreen Christmas tree and also want to save money: get creative and decorate a tree made from household objects. Think plants, books or beer bottles.
There are so many sustainable alternatives to creating a festive atmosphere at home!
DIY decorations
Do you have Christmas decorations from last year? Reuse them.
Don’t have any decorations? Make them!
Use material scraps, recycled paper, forage for twigs, plants or pine cones, dry out some fruit, make garlands from wine corks and wrap gifts with fabric.
Making decorations with your family is a simple yet lovely lockdown activity.
You will all have fun and your home will look fantastically festive afterwards without costing you money nor the environment.
You can even use them again next year!
Festive lighting
It wouldn’t be Christmas without weeks of excitement, decorations, fairy lights and candles. But, did you know that in the UK roughly 500 tonnes of Christmas lights are discarded each year?
If you’re going to buy new lights to decorate, why not at least plan to use them throughout the rest of the winter months? Wrap them around your bed post, up the staircase or hang them in the garden.
☝️It would be even better to use solar powered lights, a light timer or lights with LED bulbs. And of course, remember to turn them off when you’re not in the room. Your bank account as well as the planet will thank you.
Candles
Eventually the lights get too bright and dusk calls for warm drinks and scented candles.
Most people are unaware that conventional candles are harmful for the environment and for human health when they burn.
This is because the majority are made from paraffin wax, a by-product of the non-renewable source crude oil. It releases harmful chemicals such as alkans, alkenes and toluene.
Alternative eco-friendly and toxic free waxes include: Coconut, soy, rapeseed and bees. They also burn for longer!
How to shop sustainably?
Gifts
When it comes to giving, it is the thought that counts.
Don’t be afraid to buy secondhand. Your gift will still be meaningful even if it’s not brand new.
Buying secondhand will significantly reduce your plastic waste, save you money, extend the life of an item before it ends up in landfill and you will still put a smile on someone’s face.
For a range of fashion items, look for closet sales near you or online through the Closit app. To earn some extra cash for present-buying, sell your unwanted clothes through Closit. See here for tips on using the Closit app.
Otherwise, head to your local charity shop for books, films, cards, household objects and clothes.
Other thoughtful and sustainable gifts include:
Plants 🪴
Whether a large one, a hanging ivy or a small prickly cactus, plants add so much life to bedrooms, living rooms and study spaces.
Plants are known to reduce stress, improve air quality and boost productivity, so how can you go wrong with them?
Tickets 🎟
Gift someone a ticket to a museum, gallery exhibition, theatre show, film at the cinema, afternoon tea, a meal at their favourite restaurant or any other type of experience. Join them or simply wait to hear how much they enjoyed themselves.
This type of gift does not come wrapped in plastic, demands no transport-related emissions and is not an object left lying around and forgotten about.
Gifting an experience also supports the business you bought from which might be struggling amongst the corona-chaos.
Hand made items from small local businesses🎗
Generally inexpensive and always beautiful - buying handmade art, jewellery or other crafted items from small businesses make lovely gifts. You can also sometimes get these personalised.
Show your support for these business by buying items in local stores, on Etsy or Depop!
Gifts that give back 🤝
Buy fair trade items and know that your money is going to a good cause.
Fair trade gift items include coffee, chocolate and hampers but there are so many more!
Some examples of Fair Trade brands: Love your melon, Give Back Goods, LifeStraw, Fair Trade Winds, Who Gives A Crap, Puppies make me happy, Rescue Chocolate, MPowerd, Fair Indigo, Akola, Ten Thousand Villages, Amnesty International
Even better, buy from your local charity shop or simply look out for the Fair Trade mark wherever you are.
Whether you’re buying for a friend, family member, lover or secret Santa, the recipient will always appreciate the thoughts — of them and of the environment.
Food
One of the most exciting parts of the Christmas period are the hearty meals and the abundance of fruit cakes, pretzels, stollen, roasted chestnuts, meats or gingerbread, wherever you might be. But the amount of food wasted each year is heart-breaking.
Shocking statistics: During Christmas time in the UK, approximately 2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince pies are discarded while still edible, causing almost 270,000 tons of food waste.
This year, consume consciously:
DO
- Plan meals wisely
- Compost food scraps
- Freeze leftovers responsibly
- Donate whatever you can’t or won’t use to your local food bank or through Olio
DON’T
- Give in to all the discounts at the supermarket
- Over buy
- Serve unreasonable portions to guests
TIP:
If you’re invited to a Christmas dinner and want to contribute, save money by buying discounted food through Too Good To Go and rescue food from being wasted. Equally, if you’re going to order or pick up food for your Christmas meal, check out Too Good To Go.
Christmas this year will be even better if you keep COVID-friendly, cost-effective and conscious.
Let’s work together to make sure that we waste much less and instead, let’s get creative, be more aware and give back to the wonderful planet.
