7 Tips for a Sustainable Christmas

Did you know that Christmas is one of the most wasteful times of the year? During Christmas alone, Australians throws out 140-150 tonnes (!!!) of purchased food ^[1], check out our 7 easy tips to make this Christmas the most sustainable yet!

1.Fabric Wrapping

Instead of one-use paper wrapping, wrap presents with scarves or old clothes. Click the picture below to find out how to do it yourself!

2.Edible cutlery

Did you know that about 640 billion plastic utensils are discarded worldwide every year? ^[4] And I bet you didn’t know these utensils aren’t even properly recycled when they reach the recycling plant^[5]due to their irregular and varied shapes^[6]^.
Innovator and entrepreneur Narayana Peesapaty, has developed an edible spoon designed to aid our fight against our war on plastics. We love these utensils because they are: made out of millet and rice, have a shelf life of 3 years and are as equally durable as plastics.
If you want to do your bit this Christmas, keep an eye out for these.

Fun fact: You will probably want to get used to them because soon enough we will be baking our own cutlery… don’t believe us? Check out the video below. In the mean-time try and use metal cutlery to reduce landfill during the holiday period.

3.DIY decorations
Want to prove or test your creative side this holiday season? Need a great family activity that everyone can get involved in and enjoy? Or even looking for something to distract the little ones for a few hours? Well, DIY Christmas decorations are just the activity for you…! Making Christmas displays are not only great fun but help reduce your overall waste over the holiday period. If you’re looking for some inspiration check out a couple of the DIY projects below:

20 Minute Projects

10 Minute Projects

4.Solar lights
With energy bills on the rise a great way to save some coin this time of year is reducing your consumption, how? Check out solar LED lights, they’re a great way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Best of all, they can be recharged in almost all weather conditions and can stay bright for up to 8 hours.

Click below to order your Solar LED Christmas lights.

7 Tips for a Sustainable Christmas

5.Plastic to Evergreen

Want to get a head start of the next Christmas trend? Well we’ll let you in on a secret, it’s time to ditch the plastic Christmas tree! Unsurprisingly up to 90% of plastic Christmas trees end up in landfill after a few years of use! Why not buy a potted dwarf evergreen tree instead? Evergreens, can be reused every year and they can even help increase your indoor air quality^[7]. Find out where you can get yours below:

7 Tips for a Sustainable Christmas

6.Plan to reduce waste

Ever heard of the five P’s? Prior preparation prevents poor performance… so plan ahead this Christmas to avoid food waste. Over the Christmas period, more than 20% of food is wasted and goes to landfill^[8]. Yes, Uncle Bill may say he’s so hungry he could eat a horse for lunch after he skipped breakfast on Christmas day, but he can’t so to help avoid throwing out the equivalent to half a horse after lunch check out some of the apps below. They will help you to better prepare and manage recipes/ingredients, create and cook meals, and create shopping lists.

7 Tips for a Sustainable Christmas

If you do happen to have left over food, why not donate it to a local shelter or charity? Although make sure it’s non-perishable!

7.Buy gifts that require no packaging.
How about a gift without packaging? Think experiences like dance lessons, movie passes and adventure experiences! They are unique, thoughtful, memorable and packaging free!

Check out some suggestions below:

7 Tips for a Sustainable Christmas