Incorporating Sustainability in your Holidays

Sustainability During The Holiday Season

Holidays largely impact our Earth in a negative manner due to the multitudinous amount of non-environmentally friendly practices. Below I will be sharing some tips to reduce your waste during the holiday. It is important to remember that no one is perfect and it is close to impossible for man to practice a zero waste life style but we can all make a difference if we work together to live more sustainable lifestyles. Be gentle with yourself during the holiday season because even the smallest of steps to a more environmentally conscious life makes a positive difference in the world.

🎄 Source Gifts Locally

Supporting local business around your area is a wonderful way to be more ecofriendly. Shopping local has other great benefits to the community as well. The Saturday after Thanksgiving around the U.S is recognized for supporting local businesses. This holiday was created with sustainability in mind. Small Business Saturday is not to confused with Black Friday or Cyber Monday, in reality it it quite the opposite. Those days are surrounded by

corporate companies endorsing large purchases which create a huge footprint on our earth. Small business Saturday has the opposite ideas in mind. Giving a gift card is a great was to reduce waste. Many people around the world are giving gifts that are never picked up again. Giving a gift card gives the person control and allows for a smart perchance that will be used. Shopping at your local thrift store, second hand, vintage store is a great place to start eliminating the waste.

Remember when shopping for holidays to think of the backstory of the product. You can ask yourself: is this item fair trade? Where in the world was this product made? What materials were used in the process of creating this product?

🎅🏼 Reuse decorations from previous years

Holiday decorations can easily be altered to be more sustainable. There are many small switches you can make to have a less wasteful holiday. Starting with your Christmas tree.

Purchasing a fake Christmas tree from Walmart can be avoided by cutting a “Charlie Brown” tree in your back yard. Less plastic and great memories! Lots of store bought decorations can be sourced locally or even DIY from home with natural products. If purchasing a decoration in store spending more money on better quality is smart choice because you won’t have to replace as many times a if you went with the cheaper option that has a higher chance of breaking.

🎄 Wrapping paper-newspaper/paper bags

When considering gift wrapping, consider gong with a more reusable option. Stray away from the rolls of gift wrap. Creating gift baskets is a more sustainable option. A basket has other uses after the gift is wrapped in it. Bags like stashers, organic cotton, recycled trader joe lunch boxes, are all great options to “wrap” your gifts in. They are also a great gift in themselves and reusable! Win, Win! Personally I have those days when I forget my reusable bags when going to the grocery store. I am forced to get my items packed in paper bags. I will be using these paper bags to wrap my Christmas gifts this year. Another similar idea to paper bags is newspaper or magazines you find laying around your house. This is a little alter you can make to create a small ripple effect.

A small reminder that sustainability starts with small acts of eco-awareness. Never put pressure on yourself to became completely waste free. The little acts add up and create an impact. Spread your knowledge with others and be gentle with yourself and the earth under you.

Happy Holidays!