Christmas is approaching fast, and with it, a whole lot of stress — and a whole lot of rubbish.
The festive season is one of the most wasteful times of the year. There’s the discarded trees and the mountains of wrapping paper that come with the mass unboxing of presents on the Big Day. It can be hard to know where to start when it comes to doing your bit for the planet.
Fortunately, it’s possible to be green without going out of your way to make it happen — all it takes is a bit of preparation. Here’s how.
Re-use your wrapping paper
Traditional Christmas wrapping is on the way out — and rightly so. Most of it isn’t even recyclable, which means that tonnes of the stuff ends up in landfill every year.
Fortunately, the internet abounds with eco-friendly alternative wrapping, to suit every taste. First of all, consider using simple brown wrapping paper: paired with coloured string or a bow, it’s minimalist and surprisingly chic.
In terms of reusability, Bags of Ethics do adorable, British-designed fabric wrapping bags that can be used again, and again, and they’re affordable (packs of bags start from £15, bagsofethics.org). Etsy also has chic options, including Furoshiki fabric wraps that can be re-used again and again — we like the star-themed ones (from £5.50, etsy.com).
Ditch the tinsel
We know this already, but somehow it’s easy to forget at Christmas: plastic decorations are bad for the planet. That includes baubles (which we’re forever buying more of; how do they manage to break every year?), lights, and of course, tinsel. Often made using non-recyclable plastic or filmed paper, it ends up in people’s rubbish bins once it’s past its best: a tragedy.
Consider investing in some eco-friendly festive décor instead. Why not use solar-powered LED lights for the tree, and traditional wooden decorations? Etsy is a treasure trove of these, or if you wanted to go DIY, why not make your own? Dried orange slices can be repurposed into hanging ornaments, as can holly, cinnamon sticks and even acorns. The only limit is your imagination.
Rent your festive dress
Typical festivewear has a very particular aesthetic that makes it hard to bring out at other times of year: think plush velvets, rich colours and of course, lashings of sparkles. For people who like dressing up for (and in advance of) the big day, skip the endless stress about what to wear and change things up by renting your Christmas outfit.
Sites like Hurr (hurrcollective.com) and By Rotation (byrotation.com) stock a massive and ever-changing line-up of mostly designer clothes that can be shopped and ordered online (so easy!), but if you’re more of a traditionalist, then even John Lewis does clothes rentals now: prices start from as little as £21 and include both men’s and women’s clothes, as well as eveningwear, partywear and modest clothing (johnlewis.com).
Invest in eco-friendly Christmas crackers
Yes, they do exist. It might not be a surprise to find out that Christmas crackers aren’t eco-friendly – for one, they often contain tiny plastic toys. For another, the laminated cardboard wrappers often aren’t recyclable.
So why not get some more sustainable ones instead? Nancy and Betty sell gorgeous, fully-recyclable versions with no plastic from £28 (nancyandbetty.com), while the Little Green Cracker Company sells versions from £35 (littlegreencrackercompany.co.uk) but if you’re searching for something a little cheaper, then the RSPB sells crackers made from recycled materials from £18 – plus you get brownie points for helping the birds (shopping.rspb.org.uk).
Rent your Christmas tree
Yes, plastic trees have a long shelf life, but you still need to use them for at least twenty years to make them greener then getting an actual tree. And what’s even greener than an actual tree? Renting it, of course.
London has become a bit of a hotspot for renting potted trees, and it’s simple to do: simply go online, choose the tree you want and either collect it or have it delivered to your door. Remember to water it and give it light, and at the end of the season, the tree will be returned to the farm for some R&R ahead of the next festive season.
Check out Green Elf, London Christmas Tree Rental and Christmas on the Hill to start your journey.
Shop smarter
Christmas present buying can be a nightmare: that last minute rush! Those expensive panic-splurges on Amazon! That £100 dressing gown, doomed to sit in the back of somebody’s wardrobe, forever!
Sidestep that by shopping secondhand. Charity shops are really having a moment right now, and rightly so: they’re Aladdin’s caves, and you can get excellent bargains. This year, why not check those out before buying new? Not only will it end up being cheaper (a blessing during a cost of living crisis) but it’s more circular and better for the planet. Plus, there’s also the extra bonus of not knowing exactly what you’re going to find: let it spark inspiration.
That includes food
Britain has a food waste problem and especially at Christmas. According to Business Waste, Brits end up cooking 80 per cent more food during Christmas than at other times of the year — of which 230,000 tonnes ends up in the bin, including around 7M pigs in blankets.
Save those tiny sausages and remember to buy and cook only what you need. Meal planning often helps with this: deciding what to make, and how many people will be eating, is a good way of safeguarding against panicked last-minute food shopping and a trolley full of soon-to-be-uneaten nibbles.
And, to off-set the issue of food waste, remember to compost too. Every little helps.
Make your own cards
Aka, how to be both cute and green. Most cards incorporate plastic in some capacity, so sitting down with the family and making your own — either printed, or by drawing your own.
If that feels like too much in the frantic run-up to the big day, then there are alternatives. Holly & Co sell a Christmas card pack that can be planted afterwards and will grow bee-friendly wildflowers (£13.95; holly.co), or the Eco-Friendly Cards shop is always a good bet (ecofriendlycards.shop).
