How to go green this Christmas

Posted on 16 November 2010

Christmas has a huge carbon footprint, with all the air miles accumulated by people flying presents to loved ones across the world, the paper used up for wrapping presents and Christmas cards, and the imported food and decorations. You don’t have to become a grinch and boycott Christmas to save the environment though by implementing a few of these tips you can make your Christmas a bit greener (but no less festive).

1. The tree

It’s estimated that each year over 30 million trees are cut down for Christmas trees in the US alone. That’s a lot of wasted trees.

Urban Sprout reckons the greenest Christmas tree is an indigenous South African tree which you plant in your garden after Christmas is over.

You could also buy a funky wire Christmas tree made by the really talented guys who sell their wire wares on the side of the road. I saw an amazing wire tree in the back of a bakkie the other day – it was about 2 metres tall and covered in green and gold beads. That definitely beats a plastic tree imported from China.

Instead of having your own Christmas tree in your lounge, why not give the gift of a tree to someone who really needs it? Donate a tree through Greenpop and they will plant it at an undertreed school in Cape Town.

You’re probably going to laden your tree with twinkling fairy lights. Try and get low energy LED fairy lights and don’t leave them on all day and night, to save a bit of energy.

Decorate your tree with natural decorations (made from recycled materials if at all possible). Best yet, make your own decorations! Popcorn is a good idea (if you manage not to gobble it all before you hang it on the tree).

2. The presents

Instead of buying a load of cheap plastic things from China to fill up Christmas stockings, go for quality instead of quantity. Put some thought into trying to find locally-produced gifts (like art, wooden toys, or foodie treats), cool second-hand finds like books and clothes or get crafty and make your own gifts.

Don’t kill hundreds of trees by wrapping your presents in store-bought wrapping paper – make your own out of newspaper! The wrapping doesn’t have to be boring though – buy some stamps, glitter and paint and tap into the creative self that’s been repressed for years behind an office desk.

Even better, go to Gifts4Good and donate a gift like toys to underpriveleged children, on behalf of your friend or relative. Gifts range in price from R50 to R1000.

One of the best presents I’ve ever received was a gift of money to micro-lending organisation Kiva.org. You choose which entrepreneur in a developing country you want to lend you money to (I chose a woman in Uganda who was starting up a spaza shop) and get emails with details of the progress of the venture. When the person you’ve lent the money to has started making money with his or her business, you’re paid back the money. Since the first lending, I’ve lent the same money from the gift out to three different people. It feels great to help someone out by empowering them, and not just giving them a hand out.

3. The food

As a vegetarian, I would say go veggie this Christmas with a nut roast! However, I’m not about to convert the world to vegetarianism (just yet anyway). If you go for the traditional spread of turkey and ham, make sure it’s organic free-range local meat. The same goes for veggies (organic and local that is, not free-range).

Why not try fish this year though? Check out SASSI’s list of sustainable fish to make the best choice.

4. The cards

Millions of trees are felled each year for the world to out Christmas cards to friends, relatives and colleagues that are inevitably thrown away on December 26th without a second thought. This year, send e-cards or recycled cards.

5. The waste

Ok, so you’re on holiday and you’re probably going to be drinking a lot of beer and/or wine, right? That’s a lot of glasses and bottles that accumulate over the Christmas period. Please recycle your waste. It’s easy to do and costs you nothing.

And, if you want to go for a green break for your Christmas holiday this year, check out our top 10 eco breaks in South Africa.






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