Your guide to enjoying 12 days of a more sustainable eco-Christmas.

Christmas might be a time of giving and sharing but this doesn’t mean that environmental considerations should be ignored. Today in a guest post, the folks at sustainability activator Anthesis are offering us a guide into some ideas into staying green this festive period. It’s a timely set of insights if you consider all the packaging that ends up as waste, old items thrown out when replaced with new gifts, unconsumed food, and the amount of energy used by non-LED Christmas lights, consumerism at Christmas can be very harmful to the planet. However, there are many eco-friendly gifts and tips that can help reduce your environmental impact at this time of year. Anthesis ( @anthesis_group ) has recreated the 12 Days of Christmas for to guide you to a more sustainable eco-Christmas with inputs from fellow eco-advocates with supporting comments from their in-house experts.

Stay away from plastic straws, use metal straws instead

“Every year in England, it is estimated that we use 4.7 million straws while the US population use more than 500 million a day, unfortunately they are often littered after use which has devastating environmental impacts,” said Debbie Hitchen, Director at Anthesis Group. “We like the fact that metal straws can be reused, and they are really convenient to pop in your handbag when you’re out and about.”

Consider using metal straws instead as they are washable and reusable, decreasing the waste in the natural environment and landfill sites, resulting in less chemical pollutants in the soil.

Make the most of leftovers, keep them fresh with some colourful beeswax wraps

“Although piles of wrapping paper and packaging around products might grab our attention at Christmas, food waste is actually one of our most significant environmental impacts during the festive season,” according to Dr Julian Parfitt, Technical Director at Anthesis Group. “Due to all of the impacts associated with producing and processing foods, from farm to the Christmas dinner table, it is important not to overstock with provisions and, where possible, to use leftovers from one meal as ingredients for the next!”

Opt for eco-friendly beeswax food coverings to keep your leftovers fresh this Christmas. Reusable, water-tight and able to lock in moisture, they are ideal for protecting and covering leftover food at Christmas. These wraps usually come in colourful designs, so they are ideal as an eco-gift!

Reusable Cleansing Pads: Clean Face, Clean Environment

It is time to swap disposable cotton pads to reusable ones to cleanse, tone and remove makeup. Single-use cotton pads adds to landfills and pollute the environment. Reusable face pads are not only are they better for the environment, but they also sometimes come with added skincare benefits as they can come with exfoliating qualities.

Collect your fruit and vegetables in a produce net

When shopping for your Christmas dinner vegetables, step away from the single-use plastic bags and use your own mesh or net bags to collect your loose produce. Keep your grocery shopping and the planet healthier by switching to washable, breathable and reusable produce nets.

Avoid glitter, wrap your gifts in kraft paper

Glittery paper may look nice, but it is a no-no for the environment as it contains microplastics. Always check that the paper you are buying is recyclable. Why not chose kraft wrapping paper instead and some colourful ribbon (kept from a previous present) to ensure that come Christmas Day, you or your loved ones can dispose of as much wrapping paper as possible in a sustainable way.

“It is estimated that switching glittery wrapping for paper could result in being able to recycle the paper from as many as 1.5 billion Christmas presents and if you reuse your Christmas cards as tags for next year’s presents you could also reduce their environmental impact; did you know that if we recycled all the cards in the UK it would save enough energy to light up 340 Blackpool illuminations?” said Debbie Hitchen, Director at Anthesis Group.

Shopping has just got greener and trendier with jute bags

We used an estimated one trillion plastic bags a year at our worst when it came to using them for grocery shopping. “Biodegradable materials are, usually, preferable to plastic materials – jute is one of those biodegradable materials. Amongst other additional qualities like lasting for a long time, being able to carry more by weight and being washable, they are also aesthetically much nicer,” commented Honor Cowen, Principal Consultant & Retail Sector Lead at Anthesis Group.

There are so many great designs available now, one to suit every recipient and to help them be a little bit more sustainable.

Refillable soap pumps for washing

It is now very easy to refill your soap containers rather than replacing them with the exact replica. The refillable trend is seeing a wave of companies developing innovative concepts in this market with the idea of eliminating waste.

Honor Cowen, Principal Consultant & Retail Sector Lead Anthesis Group said, “Scrap the heavily branded plastic dispensers and find a colourful ceramic or glass version instead. Solid shampoos and conditioners are also entering the market too and they have zero packaging.”

Holiday E-Cards vs Christmas Cards

The environmental footprint of a Christmas card can be broken down into distinct life cycles: paper production, postage, and decomposition. Every year on average, 33% of cards are not recycled and end up on landfill. Don’t get us started on the glittery ones!

“In the age of the mobile phone, funny Christmas themed photos are a great idea – and they keep forever with virtually no impact.” Honor Cowen, Principal Consultant & Retail Sector Lead suggested. Consider E-cards instead as they save on deforestation, carbon emissions and waste.

Bring your leftovers in with a lunch box

To reduce food waste, consider a new year’s resolution of bringing in a packed lunch to work. Giving lunch boxes as gifts to make it easier for people to transport their lunches to work, or to use at their local takeaway place rather than their single-use plastic alternative.

Keep your beverages warm with thermal mugs

As we approach the winter season, refillable thermal mugs are a great way to keep warm beverages from going cold, even when working from home!

Debbie Hitchen, Director at Anthesis Group suggested, “There are now so many choices of reusable cups on the market that they have become like the latest must-have fashion accessory. I wouldn’t go anywhere without mine. Bamboo coffee cups get top marks for their overall life cycle carbon footprint if you use them regularly throughout the year when you’re getting a coffee to go. And in lots of retailers, you qualify for a discount if you bring your own cup which feels like a nice reward at any time of the year.”

They are a great Christmas present for those who enjoy having a hot drink on the go. Not only are they cost-effective; it is also a good way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Bamboo cutlery sets are great for those who are always on the go

“Bamboo provides a reusable, sustainable, plastic-free solution to single-use cutlery when eating from home” said Debbie Hitchen, Director at Anthesis Group. “As a result of impending bans on plastic cutlery in Europe and around the world, there has been an increase in bamboo cutlery in food-to-go facilities this year.”

Bamboo cutlery cuts down on plastic pollution as disposable plastic knives and forks can damage our ecosystem and accumulate large amounts of waste.

Light up the room with a LED star or other decorations

Light up Christmas trees with an energy efficient LED star this year. Amy Dartington, Principal Consultant at Anthesis Group said, “LED lights use a tenth of the energy than traditional bulbs. They are also safer as they don’t get as hot as incandescent lights.” Gift yourself a LED star to brighten up your Christmas, your tree, and the environment.

Interested in this look at a more sustainable eco-Christmas, then read on…