Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate the holiday season and take part in a lot of festivities. When you can be eco-friendly about other things in your life, why should this festival be left out?
An eco-friendly Christmas
Real or fake ? – Christmas is all about the Christmas tree. Families look forward to bringing out all their shelved up and away decorations year after year and decorating the tree. It is one of the things symbolic of things that a family should do together as a unit. When you decide to go eco-friendly with this aspect, you have to weigh the pros and cons of a real Christmas tree against a fake one.It is hard to decide which tree is greener, a real one or a fake one. While a real Christmas tree is actually green and not harmful and toxic plastic, the fact remains that it is a harvested product grown in a farm . A lot of fuels are burnt in getting these trees from the farm and to the place where you purchase them and then back to your home. Eventually most Christmas trees end up in the garbage. The best way to go eco-friendly on this one is to recycle the timber and use it to make other items of use instead of just wasting it and throwing it away, year after year adding to the landfill.
Fake Trees are better than real trees in the sense that just like your other Christmas tree decorations, you can also use the tree year after year. It might seem ironic that we are calling a fake tree made of plastic more environment friendly than a real tree but having just one tree saves up on so many real trees being cut . Plus you save additionally on all the fuel- burning too. Try extending the use of the tree to as long as possible, avoid getting new ones.
Eco-gifting – Christmas is a time to exchange gifts with your near and dear ones. Eco-aware people have a lot of options to choose from, whether it be gifts for their spouses, lovers, family ,friends or relatives . Gift children wooden toys instead of toxic plastic ones or gift them a voucher to a fun place like a movie show or a theatre performance for kids. In case you are looking for clothing as a gift, choose eco-friendly fabrics like organic cotton, bamboo or recycled materials. Choose your packaging carefully, try to recycle gift-wrapping paper and materials. Christmas is also a time to increase your chocolate intake. Try to go for the organic, fair-trade ones. Above all, try to purchase all things locally.