Every year in Britain over 277,000 miles of Christmas wrapping paper is sent to landfill. This is enough to go round the earth’s equatorial circumference 6.91 times.
Most Christmas wrapping paper isn’t recyclable…. how about using brown paper that is easily recycled and decorate with non-toxic paint? You can then tie with string or you can now get totally recyclable tape to use on your presents as well, no need to peel the tape off before putting the paper in the recycling bin.
On average 6 million Christmas trees are thrown away every single year. 14% of people with an artificial tree throw it out every year.
If you buy a real tree year after year make sure it is one with an FSC Certification. Or you can look at renting your tree. More and more companies are offering tree rental as a real sustainable alternative to a cut tree.
If you have an artificial tree, make sure to use it for as many years as possible. If you buy a good quality artificial tree it should last a minimum of 12 years.
Brits will receive unwanted presents worth a staggering £1.7 billion this Christmas.
Buy time not things! Experience gifts can still be given even in Covid19 times. They provide more happiness than objects according to research. Buy someone a theatre ticket, a Netflix subscription, an annual pass to their favourite attraction.
If you do want to buy physical presents still, opt for consumable presents such as food and drink. These can be shared over the holiday period by all the family.
Organise a family secret Santa where you each only buy for 1 person. It gives you a bigger budget for that person and also saves a lot of wasted Christmas presents. You can also put time and thought into what you want to buy for that person, rather than last minute panic shopping.
Shop locally for your presents. When you buy from a small, independent business you are giving back to the local community. You are keeping a family in business and to be really honest, making them smile!
We chuck out approximately 2 million turkeys, 74 million mince pies, 2 million kilos of cheese and 17.2 million Brussel sprouts every single Christmas.
Shop as locally and organically as you can. There are a lot of markets in the local area that mean the food miles of your meat or vegetables are as low as possible. Yes the price may be slightly higher than at the supermarket but you have a full audit of where your food has come from and trust me it will taste a whole lot better!