December is a wonderful time of year!
Hopefully you'll be off work soon, the weather is getting warmer and you’re preparing for an enjoyable Christmas to sign off the crazy year that is 2020.
But as an environmentalist, you also want to maintain your commitment to preserving our planet… because we all know that Christmas can be a very wasteful, disposable and single-use filled event.
Not at your house though!
There are so many tips that we can, but here are 5 that we think will be super helpful.
Before we get into it, check out our Christmas gift guide to help give you peace of mind this Christmas.
What We'll Cover
1. Plan Your Feast
2. Furoshiki
3. BYO Reusable Containers
4. Gift Creatively
5. Experience > Gifts
1. Plan Your Feast
Nobody wants to be the host that didn’t cook enough food for everyone, so we tend to go too far the other way and cook excessively...
Find out from your family exactly who is coming… partners, other relatives, even the dogs to feed. Find out how many mouths need food and plan accordingly.
When we guesstimate we tend to overcompensate by cooking too much!
2. Furoshiki
Furoshiki is the mindful art of wrapping clothes, goods and gifts in a cloth - typically with a cute knot at the top.
It is an eco-friendly and thoughtful way to wrap your gifts. Not only is it a nice touch and great for our planet, but the recipient can use the cloth for a myriad of other purposes after you gift it to them
If you need help with the technique, check out the video below!
3. BYO Reusable Containers
You'll probably cook a little bit extra to be safe, or that special dish you spent hours on wasn’t a hit, so you’ll have leftovers!
That’s perfectly, but ask your guests to bring their own reusable containers for the leftovers.
That way, great food doesn’t end up in the bin, and you don’t have to worry about retrieving all the containers back that you lent out to your guests… it’s a win-win!
PS. Have you gotten back all your containers from your family?
4. Gift Creatively
If you don’t have the time or resources for furoshiki, then check out the lovely graphic below for other gift wrapping ideas that you can use from around the house!
Our personal favourite is newspaper! Easy to wrap, accessible and saves the paper from turning into waste.
Unfortunately, just because it's recyclable, doesn't mean that it is recycled.
Did you know that if the average American family wrapped just three presents in re-used materials, this would save 45,000 football fields of paper.
5. Experiences > Gifts
Physical gifts can be great, but memories last a lifetime.
If you know the person well enough, buy them a memorable experience to enrich their lives. Think winery tours, skydiving, cooking classes and everything in between!
Red Balloon is a great website to find the perfect experience voucher for the people you love. They have great deals and packages to help you buy for that impossible person.
PS. You don’t need to rely on shipping for these experiences, which is a big relief with shipping delays for couriers. So if you’ve left your presents to the last minute, a great experience with an e-voucher is the way to go!
Conclusion
5 simple tips that will make a huge impact on your carbon footprint this Christmas!
Our niche commitment may be to sustainable fashion in Australia, but our passion extends to sustainability in every aspect, especially an event that can be as wasteful as Christmas!
And don't forget that nobody expects you to have a zero waste Christmas - our hope that everyone tries their best to minimise their waste this Christmas and continues to do so for years to come.
Small changes x millions of people = a global impact.
Which tip will you be applying this year?
And if you need help with your Christmas presents, be sure to check out Stride's range of sustainable skincare & fashion today! We stock over 100 Australian labels to help you find gifts for women, men and non-binary folk.
Free returns* on all eligible orders placed in December until the 31/12 - shop now!
