How to Have a Sustainable, Cruelty Free Holiday Celebration
The holiday season should be a time to relax and celebrate, but it should also be a pause for reflection about our habits throughout the year. Holiday cheer can have unfortunate environmental consequences due to overconsumption at the holiday season. Holiday celebrations create an enormous amount of waste. Estimates suggest that Americans use 25% more stuff at the holiday season, leading to 25% more waste. Switching up your holiday habits reduces the environmental impact of the holiday season. A few sustainable choices can help to make the difference.
If you are searching for tips for how to reduce your environmental impact and have a cruelty-free, non-toxic holiday season, look no further. We have assembled a list of some ways to create beautiful holiday decorations and give gifts without harming the environment.
Gift wrap with recycled materials
Most of the stuff we buy comes with so much packaging, there is no need to buy new gift-wrap. There is no shortage of recycled materials in the home that can be used instead. You can even use gift-wrap saved from previous years. Gift wrapping with recycled materials allows for creativity and color. Old twine or ribbon can be used in gift wrapping, and many products come wrapped in tissue paper that can be upcycled as gift wrap.
Buy Experiences Instead of “Stuff”
Instead of buying more stuff that will be thrown away, you can ask your friends and family members if they’d prefer to receive experiences instead of gifts. Research consistently shows that experiences bring more happiness than “things.” You can buy your friends and family vouchers for local restaurants, adult education courses, spas and massages. You can also gift to charity on their behalf.
Buy Local and Sustainable Gifts
Buying your holiday gifts and food from local stores instead of ordering online or buying from big stores cuts down on the carbon footprint of our consumer choices and it supports local businesses and agriculture.
Skip the Tree
Holiday trees are usually not the most sustainable choice, whether they are fake trees made of toxic, synthetic materials, or forestry trees which are cut down as part of an industrial monoculture that does not support biodiversity. You can buy a holiday tree in a pot that will survive from year to year, or you can create alternative natural decorations from branches and greenery found outdoors.
Craft Sustainable Decorations
Crafting sustainable decorations can be a fun way to get ready for the holiday season, especially if you have kids. Creating sustainable decorations from recycled paper, dried orange peel, cinnamon and baked goods are starting points for beautiful, creative decorations that can make your home look good. The benefit to using fragrant biodegradable materials like orange peel, garden herbs, evergreen leaves and spices, is that your home will smell good too.
Choose Alternatives to the “Shiny” Stuff: Candles, Glitter and Tinsel
Unfortunately some of our favorite holiday centerpieces such as candles, glitter and tinsel are not vegan, environmentally friendly or cruelty free. Make sure to buy holiday candles that don’t have animal products such as stearic acid, derived from animal fats, beeswax and palm wax, which destroys habitat biodiversity. Some cruelty free alternative ingredients include soy wax and coconut wax. Most glitter that you can buy off the shelves of craft stores is a microplastic, so it should be avoided. Tinsel is most often made from fossil fuel derived PVC, which is so harmful to human health, the US has considered banning it. Tinsel should almost certainly be avoided, but garlands using felt, fabric, paper and other materials can be a beautiful alternative.
A sustainable, cruelty-free holiday is definitely within reach, but many people are not sure where to start. Our sustainable design consultants help people reimagine a more sustainable lifestyle, from the smaller details to larger projects involving interior design, external design and sustainable home building. We work with people nationally and internationally, or we can meet with you at our offices in San Diego, CA, NYC, and Paris, Francis. Contact us to start a conversation about sustainable living with our helpful, experienced green interior design team.
Happy Holidays from all at the Earth Science Design Team!
