Rstart celebrating? There’s no talking about it. But, without losing the pleasure of the holidays, there is a lot that everyone can do to make the holidays more and Christmas sustainable. WWF Italy has released its Dectree: a handbook in 10 actions to do good (or less harm) for the environment, even in this period.
From the tree to the decorations, from gifts to the foods on our tables, from travel to barrels: our family celebrations have a variable impact on the planet, depending on the choices we make.
The intensive use of energy for lights, the increase in waste and emissions related to transport and the production of goods, together with the increased consumption of food, have a significant impact, which however can be reduced without reducing the celebration.
Here then is the advice from WWF Italia’s Decarancio, created as part of the Our Future campaign.
1. Sustainable Christmas? With a tree for many Christmases
The golden rule? Use what you already have. If you have to buy one, the ideal is to choose a second hand artificial treewhich extends the life of an existing product. The alternative? A real tree but of local species such as spruce, juniper or laurel, thus we contribute to supporting the biodiversity of the area.
After the holidays we can take it back to the nursery, place it on the terrace (in the cooler areas) or entrust it to associations that take care of replanting it in suitable areas. A key caveat: never plant the tree yourself in nature. There is a risk of compromising the genetic heritage of the forests and altering local ecosystems.
If the tree doesn’t make it through the holidays, let’s take it to the ecological island, where it will be transformed into compost, avoiding waste and reducing the environmental impact.
As for artificial trees, they are a sustainable choice only if used for at least 10 years. Today they are replaced on average after about 6 years, thus increasing non-recyclable plastic waste. In fact, they are generally made of PVC, and have a high environmental footprint: over time they can release microplastics and generate over 40 kg of CO2 during production and transport.
2. Recycled, natural and durable decorations
Christmas decorations are often a riot of plastic, destined for landfill after a year or two. The alternative to new purchases is to give new life to what we already have at home. New original decorations and zero cost they can be created using old newspapers, corks, fabric scraps, mismatched buttons.
Another idea is to take a walk in gardens, city parks or woods: collecting twigs, pine cones, colored leaves, acorns and dried flowers from the ground allows you to create completely natural decorations. We can combine them with dried orange or apple peels which, in addition to being beautiful, make the house smell festive.
With these materials we can create not only decorations for the tree, but also garlands, centerpieces and small place cards for the holiday table. These natural decorations, if preserved well, can last for years.
3. Gifts to experience (in nature)
The refrain is well known: beautiful experiences are worth more than material things. This is because the emotion is tripled: there is the one linked to receiving the gift, the one that gives living it and finally the gift that represents remembering it, a memory that lasts longer than anything material.
The possibilities are endless, just choose based on the recipient’s tastes. From a concert ticket to entry to a museum. The most sustainable idea is to give away an experience of contact with nature. Like a birdwatching lesson, a phytoalimurgy course (to learn about and use wild edible plants), entry to a natural park or an oasis, a photographic trek.
4. Give clothes as gifts? Yes but sustainable
The first step is read the labels: we prefer garments made with natural fibres, limiting synthetic materials which, with each wash, release invisible but very harmful plastic microfibres for life in the seas and oceans. Natural fibers must also be chosen carefully. Cotton, for example, requires large quantities of water for the growth of the plant and in intensive cultivation many fertilizers and pesticides are used: we therefore choose organic cotton. With certifications such as Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) or Organic Content Standard (OCS). The Oeko-Tex certification ensures the absence of toxic substances for humans and the environment in textile products (Wwf also has its own shop, naturally with environmentally friendly garments).
Do you need a dress for a special occasion? Buying new clothes is not the only option. The fashion rental allows you to rent an elegant dress, extending the life of garments and objects.
5. Alternative gifts for a sustainable Christmas: long distance adoptions of wolves, pandas, bears
WWF offers the possibility of giving as gifts the symbolic adoption of an endangered species (on wwf.it/adozioni). With adoption you can receive as a gift a plush toy of the chosen species and an information kit full of curiosities and details about its world.
Female hands decorates Christmas gift box with dried orange and Christmas tree branch. Overhead view. Eco friendly Christmas package for holiday gifts.
6. Gift packages, creative and reused
Classic gift cards cannot be recycled: laminated, glittery, or metallic, they all end up in unsorted waste. There is an alternative. Just choose reused materials: jute, old newspapers, comics, bags or scraps of fabric that we don’t use.
You can be inspired by the art of Japanese gift wrapping: with scraps of fabric or scarves. It’s called furoshiki and allows you to obtain unique, elegant and completely sustainable packages.
Another idea? Hide unwrapped gifts at home and organize a real “gift hunt”.
7. No barrels, to avoid stress to animals (domestic and otherwise)
Many city ordinances now prohibit them. Nevertheless the custom of firing barrels is still widespread. But let’s consider that every year in Italy at least 5,000 animals die because of this costume: about 80% of these are wild animals.
It happens because animals (such as nocturnal birds of prey, foxes, bats and others, large and small) have a much more developed auditory system than ours: the noise of close explosions terrifies and disorientates them and makes them vulnerable to danger. But even domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, suffer bangs: frightened, they can flee, putting themselves in danger.
8. Fewer cars, more sustainable vehicles
The cities clogged with traffic during the Christmas period, the queues on the roads, the choice of flying even for routes that can be tackled by train. Transportation during the holidays is another sore point. For a more sustainable Christmas, just choose train or public transport for long journeys, feet, bicycles, shared cars or electric vehicles for short ones.
Gift shipments can also be greener by relying on local shops or e-commerce that use eco-friendly packaging and low-impact transport such as cargo bikes or electric vans.
9. What if sustainable Christmas was unplugged, by candlelight?
During the Christmas period, energy consumption increases on average by 30%, especially due to the use of light decorations. Even a small gesture, suggests WWF, “like turning off the artificial lights for an evening, allows you to find a simpler, slower and more authentic rhythm”.
10. From Christmas lunch to New Year’s toast: tasty and sustainable choices
Organic, local, seasonal products and little meat: this is the ideal sustainable menu. If you want to remain faithful to traditions and cook fish, we choose seasonal species (often even cheaper!).
We therefore avoid species such as swordfish, tropical prawns, whitebait, eel, cod, hake, red mullet and grouper and all species of sharks and rays. Yes, instead to: horse mackerel, zerro, tuna, tombarello, dolphin fish, and bonito. Shellfish such as clams, mussels and oysters are also a choice that can be brought to the table. (Here is the WWF guide on sustainable seafood).
For the toast, we offer organic wine and bubbles. And we can use the “waste”, such as fruit and vegetable peels, to flavour, with spices, water and alcohol.