I can't imagine how many posts you are going to see this year telling you about all the sustainable things you can do to respect the planet and still have a good time. Well, we thought we would also put together a list of the easiest things you can do too, except our list will be bare bones and only give you the "greenest" options. No razzle, no dazzle, all killer, no filler. Sorry that these suggestions are pretty christian focused.
Don't use wrapping paper, put your gift in a reusable bag instead.
I have honestly been doing this for years. I throw my gifts in a sack and present them to my friends and family each year. Nobody cares that the gift is in a reusable bag, and if they want they can even keep the bag afterwards (I mean who doesn't have a 1000 of these things all about anyways).
I think I might even be as bold as to say that some people are relieved that they don't have to deal with that paper afterwards. It might seem innocuous but wrapping paper is becoming a real problem. In the U.K. alone, 108 million rolls of wrapping paper were thrown away in 2020. And as wrapping paper incorporates more elaborate materials (like glitter and foil) it becomes less and less recyclable afterwards.
Don't give physical objects. Give gift certificates for restaurants or tickets to an event.
You've heard this before I am sure. Give an experience, not a thing. Well... yeah, you really should. You see, dealing with the waste created by things (like having to recycle or throw them out - which is called downstream waste impacts) is really just a small fraction of the issue. Upstream waste is a much larger problem that most of us never think about.
It used to be that for every pound of garbage people generate, seven pounds of waste are produced upstream. But some items like cellphones and televisions create far more upstream waste. This comes from the mining, extraction, refining, and transportation involved with getting the raw materials to make the things you buy.
So instead, invite your friends or family members out to lunch. Or take them to see a movie. The memory of the happiness created by hanging out with them will last so much longer then a bobblehead.
Just go to a second hand store.
Okay, I know that there is huge social pressure to get someone a physical gift. So in that case, go to some second-hand stores and wander the aisles until you find something that you really think the person you are buying for is going to like. Second-hand items have a much lower environmental footprint and you can create a fun "back-story" about how you think it ended up in your hands... I mean every thing has a story right?
Don't buy a christmas tree, just decorate a house plant.
I can't tell you how hard it is to get people to stop buying Christmas Trees. It is so hard! It is like the thought of not having a tree in your house will mean that you will have 7 years of bad luck. And there are so many alternatives that exist out there that are just elaborate ways to get a tree into your house. They include buying a fake tree, composting your tree afterwards, getting a potted tree, renting a tree, sharing a tree... you get the point.
But the thing is, these are all things that still have a big environmental footprint. And should we really be cutting down trees at a time when the climate crisis is causing more and more problems? Here is a simple proposal - decorate a house plant. The plant can act as a surrogate tree and it will help clean the air in your home.
Well that's it. There are a bunch of other tips we could loop in here about travel and lights and whose family should you visit... blah blah blah. But let's just focus in on these simple things first and once we have them locked down we can move on to other things.
Just remember that this holiday season to stay safe and stay mentally healthy. Even if you can't do something for the environment right now, you will have more time in the future. The holidays are about connecting and that is probably the best way for us to recontextualize our relationships to make them more about enjoying the people you are with rather than the stuff you bought them.
