As the holiday season approaches, it’s the perfect time to remind ourselves to celebrate in a sustainable manner. From single use plastics for holiday parties to unrecyclable wrapping paper and tape, our household waste can increase by more than 25%.
The statistics surrounding the amount of waste generated from a single holiday is staggering, but there are small changes we can make this holiday season to celebrate in a more sustainable way. I’ve compiled a list of previous posts that will help you easily make eco-friendly choices this holiday season and keep the tradition going for years to come!
My Holiday Tips
• 7 Easy Ways to Enjoy an Eco-Friendly Christmas
• 4 Sustainable Gift Wrap Alternatives for the Holidays
• How to Prepare Your Recyclables in 3 Easy Steps
• 5 Ways to Reduce Your Waste Consumption
Holiday Stats from Zero Waste Canada
• Only 1% of items bought during the Christmas season is used within 6 months, while the other 99% has already been discarded.
• Each year in Canada, 545,000 tonnes of waste is generated from gift-wrapping and shopping bags alone.
Posts Worth Reading
• Zero Waste Christmas by Zero Waste Canada. This helpful guide aims to give you a new perspective on the holidays, while helping you reduce waste this Christmas.
• What is the Environmental Impact of Christmas? by Energym. This article sheds a light on excess food waste from the holidays, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, and more.
• Top Tips for a Sustainable Christmas by WWF. Learn about ways you can reduce your global impact when it comes to gift giving, food, decorations, and more.
Sustainable Holiday Ideas
• If physical cards don’t hold a sentimental value for you, save your money and make a phone call, video chat, and or send an e-greeting instead. You can even record your own personal video greeting and send them to friends and family.
• Reuse gift baskets and gift bags whenever possible. If you don’t have any, buy a reusable bag instead. That way the receiver can reuse it for groceries and shopping.
• If you’re hosting a holiday party, encourage your guests to bring glass containers so they may bring home leftovers at the end of the night to reduce food waste.
I hope this post inspires you to make small yet impactful changes this holiday season. Not only are these changes great for our planet, but they’re great for our wallets too! Have you taken any steps to be more environmentally friendly this holiday season? I’d love to hear your thoughts. For more posts relating to this, visit my tag here.
RELATED POST: Plastic Free July: Small Ways to Make Big Changes
It is kind of depressing how much waste there is in the world. I try to be mindful and I try to reuse boxes when I can and use not go crazy with gift wrap. Great advice and tips here!
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
I agree, reusing what we have makes a huge difference in the long run. Thank you for reading Allie!
I loved your idea to reuse baskets and gift bags. This is such a smart way to save time and money every Christmas. I also try to re-purpose old Christmas decorations instead of buying new items.
Yes, repurposing Christmas decorations is a great idea! It goes to show that we don’t need to spend money on new items each year to celebrate. Thank you for reading Heidi!
These are some great suggestions to try and reduce the amount of waste that Christmas brings! Thank you for sharing.
Lauren – bournemouthgirl
Thank you for reading Lauren!
I do like the idea of e-cards. They work well for me, especially as my mom and stepdad live in Scotland and my dad lives in Preston. Just an all round win-win really. Although saying that, my mom prefers physical cards. She just always feels there’s more of a sentimental value to her. I’m trying to bring her around to the idea lol.
I’m happy to hear that you’ve been using e-cards! I have a few family members who enjoy physical cards too haha. I’ve come across a few that are compostable and contain flower seeds, which is a cool option! Thank you for reading Chloe!
All fantastic ideas for a sustainable holiday season. Not only do they promote echo-friendly practices but also add a meaningful to the celebration. Good for the planet and enhances the spirit of giving
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed these ideas! The holidays are about meaningful connections and it’s nice to get back to that.
I’m working on making sustainable choices and choosing organic products. These are great tips.
That’s great to hear Lux! Thank you for reading.
These are interesting, great ways to celebrate. We could try these with friends this season. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, I hope so! Thank you for reading Fransic.
I love this! Every year my conscience gets to me about all the paper/gift wrap being thrown away, as well as all other disposable plastics that come with holiday festivities. I love your ideas of reusable bags instead of gift bags, and calling someone instead of sending a card. Not only is that more sustainable but also more personal.
I’m so happy you love those ideas! The holidays are about connection, and I know I’d enjoy a phone call or video message much more than a physical card. Thank you for reading Kate!
It’s mad that only 1% of items we buy during the Christmas season are used within 6 months, that’s so unsustainable! These are such great easy ways to celebrate Christmas sustainably! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I agree, especially since a majority of those gifts are pretty much holiday packaging that gets thrown away almost instantly. Thank you for reading Lucy!
Wow! 99% of gifts are discarded! Doesn’t that make you want to buy less this season? We have decreased the number of gifts we buy in our family to decrease the stress (and also the waste!) and use gift bags which we reuse and we no longer send Christmas cards. A very insightful post Winnie!
The statistics are mind blowing! I’m glad to hear you’ve made changes to not only help the environment, but to reduce stress as well. Thank you for reading Jodie!