A sustainable Christmas

Just under a month away, the Christmas chaos is closing in.

Presents

Christmas has developed into a consumerist surge, whereby we feel the need to top last year’s presents and deliver our loved one’s extravagant non-necessities. Now, I like presents as much as the next person, but don’t you think it’s time we turned it down a notch?

What happened to homemade gifts? There is something inherently charming about a lovingly homemade present.

If you are not too shoddy in the kitchen, why not put those old jam jars to use and make your loved ones a hamper of their favourite vegan treats. You don’t have to be a kitchen maverick; the internet is jam-packed with easy-to-follow food present ideas and recipes. If you have kids, why not try a homemade gingerbread decorating kit?

You could make use of old mugs, jars, cups, plant pots and make some eco-soy wax candles. Another fun one for the kids is homemade snow globes. The value of these gifts are that they are made from reusable materials, or consumables with little or no waste- plus they don’t feed the commercial machine. If you are crafty, then you have an unfair advantage at the homemade gift proposal.

If making stuff just isn’t your Santa sack, then why not go second-hand? The stigma against second-hand purchases is declining, as vintage revival and savvy op-shopping are increasingly cool.

For your super eco friends, you could even play with the idea of not getting them a material, but an environmentally conscious activity. Things like a workshop on upselling your wardrobe, or an intro to gardening class.

For the truly selfless gift receiver, one might consider a donation on their behalf.

Packaging

So, you want to give someone a gift. You spend time carefully wrapping the present, neatly tying it with a bow and labelling the card with kisses. You do this despite the intermittent flashbacks of mountains of wrapping paper shredded at your feet from past Christmas mornings.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to sustainable gift wrapping. One is to not wrap at all. But if you simply cannot bare the idea of a naked present, there are plenty of options. Cloth-wrapped gifts is common in Japan, and boxes and baskets also present good reusable alternatives. Old packaging, magazine strips and newspaper can also be used to make trendy and savvy choices. Companies like Lush prepare beautifully wrapped gifts in reusable boxes and vintage cloth scarves, with ‘eco-flo chips’ made from potato starch, in place of polystyrene, to protect your purchases.

Decorating

Whilst a lot of people have decorations that they reuse each year, if you are considering purchasing new ones, keep in mind that many are made with plastic, toxic paints and aren’t too hard-wearing.

Firstly, you don’t necessarily have to purchase anything! There are plenty of objects found in nature that you can get craft with. Depending on where you live in the world, you may be able to make use of pinecones, branches, berries, flowers and create your own wreaths or foliage displays.

Why not delight the senses by creating a Christmas atmosphere through smell, with decorations made from oranges, cloves, and cinnamon.

There are plenty of workshops to be found that can assist you in getting in the Christmas spirit. Check a class out and learn how to upcycle regular items into bespoke décor with a story.

Other sustainable ideas include second-hand, recycled materials, FSC- certified wood and natural fabrics.

But if you have decorations already that aren’t made from sustainable materials, don’t throw the toys out with the bathwater. You have them, so use them and take care of them.

Food waste

Holidays are always a time to share and enjoy food, and often to our most luxurious extremes. Most vegans are passionate about food and relish in the plant-based goodness that nourishes our minds, bodies, and souls. Christmas can be a great time to get even more excited about what we put in our bellies.

Unfortunately, Christmas is a catalyst for extravagant food waste and excess to the point of gluttony. The UK has shown shocking rates of food waste in comparison to other European countries, but at Christmas… the stats are heart-breaking. About 7 million tonnes of food is discarded at Christmas in the UK- “2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings, 74 million mince pies get disposed whilst still edible”! It is also estimated that Australian food waste rises by about 30% during the festivities.

Whilst its understandable to get excited about the food of this holiday, take a deep breathe, and start by not buying excessive amounts of perishable goods and try to be realistic about how much food is necessary. The best advice for this is to allow yourself adequate planning, to check what you already have in the fridge or freezer- even if this means being conscious to consume it all to make space for Christmas. Part of the planning can also include ideas for how to use up leftovers in the days leading up to New Year’s.

If you can afford to buy extra food, consider making food donations to those more in need.

New Year’s resolutions

This year has been a difficult year of revelations for the eco-conscious. Wildfires came to Europe and there were tens of thousands of extra deaths related to the heat waves. The floods of Pakistan were a horrific disaster, displacing 7.9 million people. Almost 2000 people died, and over 3000 experienced injury.

We have seen the rise of activists willing to go to jail to protect the environment in the face of governments refusing to put an end to fossil fuel corruption.

COP-27 proved to be a whimper of a response to the devastations already being felt my climate change, with some minor decisions to provide more aid to other countries experiencing disaster, and little plan to prevent worsening catastrophic climate events.

Just this week reports have been released that the UN wants to add the Great Barrier Reef to World Heritage ‘in danger list’… It has been a rough year.

We have some serious turning points on the horizon, and I hope 2023 will be a step in a better direction. Maybe we can use the Christmas holidays to make resolutions to support action on climate change. There is still time for us to reduce catastrophic climate impacts and focus on adaptation to changes already set in place. However, the gap is closing, and complacency is dangerous. So let us rejuvenate and come out even more staunch for January.

Article written by Aisling Geraghty- Australia