Jordan
Even though Christmas itself is focused on trees, that does not make it a green holiday. In many cases, it can be quite the opposite because of the wasteful purchases and non-recyclable wrapping paper.
Not to mention a party that can cause high electricity bills. All those things together can take a toll on the environment, although, there are some solutions to that problem. Here are six amazing ways in which you can be green for Christmas and at the same time not lose that holiday spirit and keep the planet safe as possible as well.
Gift Giving
It would be wise when purchasing a gift to have in mind something that is vintage or part of something from an antique store. These unique items that you may find not only are original as an idea but also you will not be the part of the huge burden that seasonal production and shipping may create. To be precise, emissions. When buying gifts, try to avoid items that are made out of plastic for example. The experts at https://www.trvst.world/inspiration/zero-waste-christmas/ would confirm that even if plastic does make it into the recycling bin, there is a good chance that it will not actually be recycled. For that reason alone, it is important to have in mind that when purchasing a gift, you are not only giving someone an item but an experience as well. As a suggestion, you could give someone a ticket to a show or a spa, a museum membership, a workout subscription, and so on. In case you do decide to buy something obtainable, it would be wise to choose standard shipping.
The best option then would be to consolidate all your expenses into one order. That way, you will reduce your carbon footprint.
Gift Wrapping
There is no holiday without a warping paper. Although single paper use of wrapper is fun, it is also wasteful as well. For that reason, it is suggested to unleash your creativity. As an alternative, you could check some tutorials on how to make a cloth wrapping look nice.
By using old maps, posters, sewing your cloth bags into wrapping paper, you will not only be original but will not be as wasteful as well. By avoiding glitter, bows, and extra tape, you will make a smaller footprint which means a great deal for the environment.
Seasonal Lighting
The Center for Global Development found through research that the decorative seasonal lights account for 6 point 6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity consumption. That would be for every year in the United States only.
That date would be the equivalent of running more than 14 million refrigerators in some counties that are still developing. The solution is quite simple though. Over traditional lights, it would be better to use LED ones for Christmas since they use up to 80 percent less energy. And as a plus, they last 25 percent longer as well.
Real Or Fake Tree?
It would be wise to purchase the real tree instead of the artificial one. It may sound absurd, although, even if artificial trees can be reused, the studies have shown that you would have to use one for at least 20 years before it would become more sustainable than the real tree. It is recommended by the vice president of climate change of Conservation International, Shyla Raghav, to buy a real tree from a local farm.
Real trees help in the creation of a habitat for wildlife and cleanse the air itself while growing. By obtaining the tree locally, you can minimize the carbon footprint that can come from the transport of trees. After the season is over, the tree can be reused as mulch as well.
Rich Meals
No Christmas gathering is complete without some food. Even if it doesn’t sound possible, bringing your family and friends together can greatly reduce your footprint. That would be applicable by creating a menu optimized for vegan and vegetarian dishes. A vegan celebration roast can be dressed up on the sides with things like stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. In case you are not able to ditch the meat entirely, it is recommended to eat less of it and to buy the product that has been ethically raised and is organic.
As far as the leftovers go, it would be wise not to let your food go to waste. So the suggestion would be to repurpose it for another meal. An initial Christmas meal can be easily made into a sandwich the next day. Another advice related to food is to throw out all plastic and disposable dinnerware and invite guests to bring their own dishes and cutlery in case you have space for them.
Travel
For the majority of people, holidays mean major travel time in order to see all of their loved ones. In case your family has spread apart from each other, one of the solutions to that problem is agreeing to meet at the destination convenient to everyone.
If that is not really the case, a way to neutralize the carbon footprint that can be created by travel and meals as well is by using the conservation international’s holiday carbon calculator. What it does is calculating the carbon footprint of your travel or the event. That way, it will allow you to directly invest in keeping the carbon footprint low.
In the long run, making some simple environmentally conscious decisions to our long-held traditions can help the planet. As the list would suggest, there is no need to sacrifice the specialness of the Christmas season.
By following these tips, it will remain memorable and will help to ensure you create new memories in future years to come.
