12 (Sustainable) Days of Christmas!
The Christmas traditions we love can sometimes have a less than joyful impact on our environment. To help you usher in a greener holiday season, we’ve come up with tips for 12 Sustainable Days of Christmas. And we hope this way of thinking will catch-on even quicker than the carol we’ve taken inspiration from does at Christmas!
- Inspire Collective Action: Foster more of the togetherness of Christmas by getting family and friends involved in taking steps to reduce your household waste.
- Eco-Friendly Decorations: Before you splurge on the festive trimmings, consider re-using, recycling and upcycling with DIY Christmas decorations. Get involved in one of our Christmas Craft Workshops on December 2 to create upcycled decorations, perfect for kids or adults.
- Save the trees!: If you dream all season of the scent of a real pine tree in your home for Christmas, choose a potted one that can be planted after the gifts have all been ripped open! Or fashion your own from natural materials, like a stick-tree you can return to nature come the new year, adorned with recycled or DIY decorations.
- Thrifty Gift-Giving: Hit the op-shops or upcycle gifts. Screenings on sustainable living such as the War on Waste series can get you thinking twice about succumbing to things like fast fashion. Check it out on December 6 at Empire Cinema for a free screening and share in a Q&A after with legend Craig Reucassel!
- Don’t go Disposable: Opt for classy cloth napkins and your pretty dinnerware to reduce waste and demand for tree resources.
- Wrap it wisely: Re-usable gift boxes, bags, recycled paper or even tea towels are sustainably-savvy gift wrapping options. Wrapping paper with foil, glitter or a plastic coating cannot be recycled.
- Forage Locally for Feasts: Keep it organic, sustainably grown and locally sourced this Christmas to minimise carbon footprints and refuse unnecessary packaging.
- Thoughtful Gift-Giving: Hunt around for local artisans and ethically produced products that don’t require fancy packaging. Treat someone you love to an experience, subscription or make a charitable donation on their behalf.
- Digital Invitations and Cards: Do your bit to curtail paper waste by surprising your tribe with e-cards and invites this festive season.
- Recycling Stations and Composting: Get these set up at home ahead of the extended family rocking up for Christmas and get them involved in your eco-conscious approach to celebrations.
- Use solar powered lights for outdoors: There is a wide variety of lights now available to adorn your home or garden.
- Declutter ahead of the new year: Re-gifted presents don’t have to feel as though less effort has gone into them. Re-gifted presents can be personalised and still be thoughtful. Research on clutter in the home estimates that the average home may have clutter to the value $6623.