The holiday season has officially arrived! 13 million tons of plastic pollution enter our ocean every year. And global plastic production is set to quadruple by 2050.
With holiday season in full swing, we wanted to end 2022 by spreading some green festive cheer. Using SHiFT.How, we bring you 5 plastic-friendly solutions to brighten up this year’s festivities.
#1 WashedUp Cards
Have you started writing your Christmas cards?
If not, why not kick off the Christmas season by purchasing some WashedUp Cards – greeting cards created with plastic found washed up on rivers and beaches around the UK.
708 million individual greeting cards were bought in the UK in 2020 – just imagine if they all raised awareness!
Purchase a WashedUp card today, and spread some sustainable festival cheer.
#2 The Party Fix
350,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year. Let’s end the year by reducing that number.
Stuck for what to wear for an upcoming party? From renting to clothes swaps, there are lots of sustainable options to help jazz up your wardrobe.
Girl Meets Dress has a whole collection of different outfits – all available to rent and borrow – as a lower-waste alternative to buying a whole new outfit. Don’t fancy renting? Why not club together with your friends, and share your wardrobe showstoppers with one another.
Cheaper, greener, and just as glamorous.
#3 To Tree or Not to Tree
There is lots to think about when it comes to sorting out your Christmas tree.
Plastic trees, if well looked after, can be reused many times over, and provide a good alternative to purchasing a new tree each year.
However, choosing to go with a real tree can still be a green option. According to the Forestry Commission, real trees use ten times fewer materials than fake ones.
If you do opt for a real tree, there are a few things to consider. Try to source a tree from a local farm to reduce carbon emissions from transportation. Also watch out for ‘potted’ and ‘pot grown’. A potted tree has been grown in a forest, dug up and potted. This can mean the roots are too damaged to take hold anywhere else. If you were to plant it in your garden to reuse each year, the chances are, it wouldn’t survive.
If you are feeling especially green fingered, why not buy a box of Christmas tree seeds this year and start growing your own tree!
Beecycle sells Christmas tree seeds that can be started off indoors. When the tree starts to get bigger, plant it outside in a pot and bring it indoors each year. If you have kids or grandkids, you can measure them against the tree each year and see who grows quickest!
#4 Gift Green!
Spending time investigating brands you are buying from! Check out what materials they use and if they are working with any green charities can be good indicators of their sustainability credentials.
The Sea Monkey Project is a favourite of ours here at eXXpedition! Repurposing sails, kites, fishing nets and plastic, The Sea Monkey Project has a whole range of sustainable bags and accessories on offer. Sails are made from high-quality durable materials that can have a useful second-life after they are retired from boat use. In need of some more inspiration? This blog discusses some of our favourite brands, that are all upcycling ocean plastic into wearable items.
Equally, rather than buying material items, why not treat yourself or someone with an experience like a massage, cinema, theatre or a concert. You could even encourage them to get out into the green themselves by gifting a National Trust or National Parks membership? Why purchase a single-use gift, when you could invest in a memory instead?
#5 Wrapping Wisely
227,000 miles of wrapping paper is thrown away in the UK each year.
Wrapping paper can be difficult to recycle and unless you are very careful opening presents, tricky to reuse. Why not try using newspaper this year instead. Not only is it cheaper, and more convenient than wrapping paper, but it’s easier to recycle and re-purpose.
You could even customise your gifts by choosing specific sections of the newspaper to wrap gifts with, from sports to comics!
Christmas may be a time for traditions, but why not get creative this year and try out something new. Help us to make the end of 2022 that little less wasteful, but that little more joyous!
With SHiFT, there are now hundreds of solutions available at just the click of your mouse.
The Platform helps you to understand the crux of a problem and weigh up where your biggest opportunity to make an impact may be.
We do not need everyone to do everything, but we do need everyone to do something.
What will your next SHiFT be?
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