How to Make Your Festive Season More Sustainable
From demolished boxes of chocolates to tossed-away tinsel, the festive season can yield a lot of waste. With all the parties, food and quality family-time going on, co-friendly consumption might not be at the forefront of your mind, but here are some fun and easy ways you can make your holiday season more sustainable.
Sustainable Snacking
It’s not something you easily realise, but once you stop to think about it, you can’t help but notice how everything you buy in a supermarket these days was transported there by boat, plane or truck, and typically wrapped in layers of unnecessary plastic. Thankfully, recently a lot of big super-market chains have been taking steps in the right direction to make sure you can buy ethical and sustainable produce, by stocking more locally grown products and reducing the use of plastic bags.
There are a few mindful choices you can make while doing your festive food shop this year to make sure that you aren’t doing too much damage to the environment.
Shop small - Your local green-grocer, butcher, and wine store will stock locally sourced produce, often at much better prices than big-name supermarkets, support local business and farmers this Christmas by supporting small businesses and checking out the stalls at your local Christmas market
Have a look at your local allotment - People who spend their time growing vegetables often end up with more than they can eat. Many community allotments sell or even give away excess food, check your community’s notice boards or Facebook pages to see if your local allotment have any events on!
Use apps that reduce food-waste - Olio is a wonderful app where people give away and sell anything and everything! Take a look at what people near you are giving away, you can collect anything from vegetables to cakes from kind people who accidentally bought too many. If you are struggling to finish all the chocolate and cookies you acquired this year, you can share them with your neighbours on Olio!
Re-use Wrapping Supplies
After you and your family have opened your gifts on Christmas morning, what happens to all that wrapping paper? How many bags full of wrapping paper did you throw away last year? There must be a more sustainable way to do this!
Save paper, bags, ribbons and boxes- These things that are so often thrown away can actually be re-used! Next time you buy something that comes wrapped in some fancy tissue paper or wrapped in a cute bow, keep the packaging in a safe place, you never know when you will find a good use for it!
Get creative- Even things that weren’t originally meant to be wrapping supplies can make beautiful gifts with a bit of creativity! A brown paper bag you got some shopping in or an old newspaper can be up-cycled into adorable rustic wrapping paper.
Wrap the gift in another gift- Why not skip the disposable gift wrapping all together? A selection of snacks can be gifted in a hamper that can then be used for picnics or storage. Jewellery can be gifted in boxes that will look beautiful on your loved ones dressing table for years to come. If you are thinking of gifting someone a scarf, that can work as a beautiful wrapping for any other gift you’re getting them!
Good Conscience Gifting
One high-quality gift that will last a lifetime is always better than lots of cheap gifts that won’t make it to February!
When shopping for children, it can be tempting to spend 100’s of pounds on brightly coloured plastic toys that will eventually end up in landfill. Green Toys have a wide range of toys all made from 100% recycled plastic.
Socks are a classic stocking-filler, if you want sustainable and organic socks that won’t end-up full of holes after a handful of wears then the Peper Harow Recycled Cotton socks are the way to go.
Or the perfect gift for women, these adorable organic Mary Jane socks made in collaboration with Besma from Curiously Conscious.
One way to make sure that your gift won’t end being forgotten or thrown away in a couple of months is by not gifting a physical object at all. BuyAGift.com have a wonderful selection of experience gift-cards, from spa-days to skydiving, there is an unforgettable day out for everyone!
Recycled decorations
Making decorations with your family is a fun and in-expensive way to spend the holidays, plus it’s not just for children! Gather your friends and some mulled wine for a sophisticated grown-up crafting session!
We all know the classic paperchain and paper snowflakes, but the Moral Fibres blog has some gorgeous zero-waste craft ideas suitable for everyone, no matter your artistic capabilities!
We would love to see how you are making your festive preparations more sustainable this year! If you use any of these ideas or have any of your own, then please tag us on Instagram @peperharowsocks.