Experience a Greener Christmas!
This Christmas is sure to be one to remember, and for all the wrong reasons.
Will we be in full lockdown? Will we be allowed visitors? How can we snog under the mistletoe wearing a face mask? And all that shopping – how on earth to manage it all? Well, maybe the ‘differentness” of this Christmas is a great opportunity to review how to do things, well, differently!
According to a study by waste management company Biffa, the UK creates 30% more waste than usual over Christmas. This includes an estimated
227,000 miles of wrapping paper and 114,000 tonnes of plastic packaging.
Elsewhere it has been estimated that around 60 million unwanted Christmas gifts are exchanged every year. All those miles from wherever they were made. All the energy and resources that went into making them. All the hard-earned cash wasted on them. And frankly, it’s not as though Amazon needs the business!
An alternative to buying more stuff might be to buy an experience. A lovely memory still to be savoured. Better still, if you buy a local experience, you are supporting small local businesses and cutting out all that waste.
How about treating your loved ones to a voucher for a slap up meal at The Tipsy Fox? A delicious afternoon tea voucher or hamper from The Little Teahouse? A little further afield is the Artisan Bakehouse in Ashurst where a voucher will buy a day learning how to make sourdough bread. And for the bread ingredients, plus a huge range of goodies to browse, Zero Waste Bulk Foods offer a free delivery service to your Southwater doorstep or gift vouchers to treat your loved ones.
For family and friends who live out of the area you might consider an ethical gift voucher such as sponsoring a tree or two to be planted (Google Trees For Life), a donkey (Donkey Sanctuary) or how about investing in a micro-loan to help people set up small businesses and lift them out of poverty?(Lendwithcare.org). There are lots of options out there and you will feel good in the knowledge that your hard-earned money will be going to right where it will be most appreciated.
Hope these ideas provide some food for thought for this very different festive season and here’s wishing everyone a merry and safe Christmas!