Have yourself a sustainable Christmas

Gift giving tips

• Choose a gift that that you know the person wants and that lasts, like a house plant.
• Shop local – supporting small business helps boost your local economy, plus you’re more likely to find unique and well-crafted gifts. Saturday, 3 December, is Small Business Saturday – you can use their website to find your local businesses: Small Business Saturday UK.
• Give a handmade gift – you could bake, sew or paint, get creative to add that personal touch to your gifts this year.
• Choose eco-friendly wrapping paper - on average, Brits use around 227,000 miles of wrapping paper. In fact, Defra estimates that enough wrapping paper is used each year to gift wrap the island of Guernsey. Sticky tape, ribbons and paper covered in glitter can't be recycled, so switch to an eco-friendly roll or, alternatively, use brown paper for a vintage look.
• Try fabric wrapping – fabric can be reused year after year or, if you are gifting a scarf, you could use that to wrap up another gift.
• Send Christmas e-cards – a staggering 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thrown away by UK households each year, according to Imperial College researchers. So, what can we do to stop this figure escalating? Friends of the Earth explains: 'You can cut your resource use when it comes to Christmas cards – you can send e-cards instead. Try using a free design app like Canva if you want to get creative. If a card is needed, try to find ones made from recycled materials and not containing plastics such as glitter.'
• Buy plantable Christmas cards - when the biodegradable paper is planted in a pot of soil, the seeds will grow and eventually the paper will decompose.

Decorations

Use handcrafted decorations

Small businesses will make beautiful, handcrafted decorations, but you can get creative and make some yourself. There are plenty of ideas online, check out Pinterest for inspiration.

Re-use Christmas tree decorations or go second-hand

Unless your decorations are damaged or broken, do your best to reuse them each year – and it doesn't even have to be on your tree. You could use baubles as table decorations or place names, or you could use string to hang them on door handles. If you need new decorations, try second-hand shops to find some pre-loved styles.

Christmas trees

If you already own an artificial tree, continue to use it for as long as possible to reduce its environmental impact. In order, here are the most sustainable ways to enjoy a tree (according to Friends of the Earth).

1. No tree at all – this is probably not an option for most people, but if you are short on space or decorate your home with other things instead, this might not be such a bad idea. You could even decorate a house plant with fairy lights for a modern take on the traditional tree.
2. Rent a real Christmas tree.
3. Purchase a pot grown living Christmas tree, you can reuse this year after year if you take good care of it.
4. Cut Christmas tree - choose sustainably grown trees that carry the FSC label and remember to recycle your tree afterwards. The Council website has details of where your tree can be dropped off across the borough to be reused as mulch by our StreetCare service.
5. Artificial tree – artificial trees have the most environmental impact, so you will need to use it for over 10 years for the impact to be comparable with a real tree option.

Christmas dinner

Switch to eco-friendly crackers

Try creating your own crackers for a personalised touch to your Christmas décor this year. Use recycled Kraft brown paper or DIY Kraft crackers and fill with plastic-free surprises for a stylish, eco alternative.

Introduce more plant-based foods

If meat-free isn’t an option for you, perhaps you could make just small changes to your Christmas dinner menu. 'Go for a festive spread with mainly plant based ingredients and try to make sure any meat or dairy products you’re keen to have don’t come from intensive farms. When it comes to the vegetables, look out for products that have been grown nearby so you can cut down on transport emissions,' advises Friends of the Earth.

Cut food waste

Try and choose things that are light on packaging or buy loose items. Transform your leftovers to create new meals, save money and cut waste. If you have packaged food left over, that you no longer need, donate it to your local food bank.

Re-wear your Christmas jumper

Environmental charity Hubbub warns against buying new Christmas jumpers after finding that up to 95 per cent of them are made using plastic. The most common plastic fibre used is acrylic, which was found in three quarters of the jumpers tested. 'We'd urge people to swap, buy second-hand or re-wear, and remember a jumper is for life, not just for Christmas,' says Hubbub. You can always clip a Christmas decoration to a favourite jumper for a homemade approach.

Sources

• Friends of the Earth
• Love Food Hate Waste
• GOV.UK – shop local
• Hubbub
• Wrag Wrap – wrapping paper facts

Every effort has been made to that ensure the information used in all climate emergency articles is accurate. All information used to inform the articles has been taken from reputable sources and those sources are given at the end of each article.

We are aware, however, that data will change over time and that some information across the internet and printed matters can be contradictory.