At this time of year, tonnes of packaging, wrapping paper and other holiday-related materials are thrown away. It is hard to stay cautious during the festive rush, but now more than ever it is important that we all try to be as environmentally friendly as possible. To achieve this without the stress, there are a few areas that it helps to be mindful of. You can start by trying out our top tips for an eco-friendly festive season!
1. Avoid mass-produced wrapping paper. Unfortunately, most wrapping paper on the market is not recyclable and ends up in landfill. To make the paper white or colourful, the manufacturers use chemicals that are harmful to the environment. Instead of using mass-produced wrapping paper, try using eco-friendly brown paper that has already been recycled. You can decorate it yourself or write messages on it to make it really special (kids will love it too!). Or you can use eco textile bags or boxes that can be reused every year instead of being thrown into a rubbish dump.
2. Use energy-saving LED fairy lights. Before LED lights became widely available, billions of kilowatts were used each year to power traditional decorative lights. Not only do incandescent lights waste energy at a vast rate, they are also unreliable – if one bulb breaks, the whole string goes out, meaning they have to be thrown away, creating even more Christmas waste! Today, you can choose reliable, energy-saving LED lights, or even fairy lights powered by solar energy, to bring your home one step closer to net-zero during the holiday season.
