Pit’s tradition (of Catholic origin) the Christmas tree is made on December 8th, together with the Crib, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Immaculate Conception. But, you know, there are those who tinker with lights and colored balls from early November. Ditto for gifts, everyone has his time: there are those who think about it in August, and those who reduce it to Christmas Eve. Clear is that to experience a sustainable Christmas, i.e. to enjoy the Holidays with an eye to the planet, a little method (and time) is essential. Here then, to make our lives easier, the Ecotips of the WWF, aka the Decalber 2022.
Wwf ecotips for a sustainable Christmas
It will not be easy to put a stop to waste. During the Holidays, every year, we all turn into super-consumers: our waste increases by an average of 30%. Just think of the packaging, wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, which end up in the trash every December 25th. What about food, travel, the energy to light everything up? They risk helping to dramatically raise the environmental footprint of Christmas. So, to start with…
1. Christmas tree: is it more sustainable real or fake?
In home there is already a synthetic tree? The best option is to keep using it for as long as possible. Alternatively, you can buy a fake but used one.
Or a real one in a nursery. Choosing one of those grown locally and sold with bare roots or with clod that ensure the plant a prolonged life. The most suitable species are spruce, silver fir, juniper, strawberry tree, laurel, butcher’s broom, pomegranate or a citrus fruit.
To make it last longer, care must be taken to keep the tree away from heat sources and water it regularly. It would also be best to keep the tree indoors for no more than 10 days and at temperatures that are not too high (so we also save on bills!).
The Christmas tree after the holidays
When the holidays are over, it’s better not to let it go from the 19°C in the living room to the 0°C outside. Better to let him spend a few days in an intermediate area (a veranda or in a lighted garage). If you have outdoor space, the tree can sit in a (very large) pot for a few years, and become a sustainable Christmas tree again. However, it must be considered that, if it is a fir, it does not tolerate the heat and drought of a garden or terrace in the city. It can therefore be returned to the nurseryor to city associations that take care of replanting it in suitable areas.
Attention! The tree should absolutely not be planted autonomously in nature because it risks causing serious damage to the genetic heritage of our forests. If our tree didn’t survive the holidays, let’s remember to take it to the ecological island, where it can be transformed into compost.
2. Decorations: recycled, natural and durable
To decorate the tree or the centerpiece, you generally end up buying a lot, a lot of plastic. The WWF suggests avoiding it and, rather than buying new, swap old ones with friends or buy vintage ones. For those who love do-it-yourself, cards and cardboard to tie with string may be enough. Or twigs, colored leaves, acorns and dried flowers, dried peels of oranges and apples. If kept well, they can last for years. Here are some delicious ideas for Holiday biscuits to decorate the Christmas tree and DIY decorations, such as balls with corals.
3. Light less but better
A Christmas in the dark? It’s not for sure. For the outdoors, it’s time to choose lights equipped with a photovoltaic panel: 4-6 hours of sun are sufficient to have 8-12 hours of light. For tree and crib, to be turned on only in the evening and to be turned off before going to sleep, they are fine the led lights. Instead of traditional batteries, rechargeable ones: typically last 2 to 5 years and can be recharged hundreds of times.
4. Gifts: packages
Most gift cards cannot be recycled (e.g. tissue paper, laminated or glitter cards, foil envelopes). Better to use jute, old newspapers, comics, bags which we don’t use. Or realize reusable gift boxes (in Japan it is a real art called furoshiki) with the use of remnants of fabrics, scarves and dresses which we no longer use. It’s also a way not to waste leftover fabric.
5. DIY gifts
Self-production and creative recycling, focusing on these two concepts is very sustainable. With the peels, stems, leaves and seeds of many products we buy, we can make preserves, sweets, infusions, candied or honeyed fruit, sauces, seeds to nibble on, spices, powders for cooking and vegetables in oil. Recipes to be packaged using the glass jars we have at home, with a nice paper label handwritten. You can compose pretty baskets.
Give an experience
Against the accumulation of objects, live experience to share. Among the ideas proposed by the WWF are birdwatching, walks in parks, oases and naturalistic areas, photographic trekking, waste collection or the planting of a tree to symbolize the value of nature.
Of course, WWF also has its own Christmas showcase. Not only the anti-waste ideas, from shopping bags to water bottles, available on the site c. You can also give an adoption and support for a project to protect endangered species (this is the campaign At Christmas put your heart into it).
6. Christmas holidays
It is not always necessary to go overseas to discover unique and magical places. There are many available soft mobility itineraries to discover the places that can be reached by train, by bike or with beautiful walks for all types of hikers, more or less experienced. The application SEEK by iNaturalist it can be a starting point: it allows you to identify and learn more about local species, helping scientists monitor global biodiversity.
7. From the tablecloth to the glasses: a sustainable Christmas lunch
A cotton or linen tablecloth is preferable to disposable tablecloths paper or, worse, plastic. Don’t we have napkins and crockery for all guests? Nobody forbids to use them one different from the other, from family services. If you can’t avoid disposables, you must use those certified as compostable (to be thrown away in organic waste). For the placeholder we use spices and herbs and for a touch of warm light a few candles certified natural wax.
8. The sustainable menu is local and seasonal
Local, seasonal products and little meat: a sustainable menu is built around these three pillars. For example? Vegetable carpaccio, risotto and fresh pasta with citrus fruits, gnocchi, stuffed cannelloni, many varieties of legumes for soups, salads, meatballs and rolls, tempura, pickles and crunchy dried products to be made with many vegetables, mushrooms or dried fruit.
Fish for the Holidays: how to choose
The fish? That’s fine, but focusing on seasonal and low environmental impact species (they are often cheaper!). For example, no for the moment to swordfish, salmon, tropical prawns, whitebait (small sardines, anchovies and sardines), eel and its larvae, cod, hake or cod, no to sole and grouper. Yes instead to horse mackerel, zerro, small tuna, tuna, dolphinfish, red mullet and sardines and anchovies but only if they come from the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas. Shellfish such as clams, mussels and oysters are also good. For every doubt there is the WWF Guide to Sustainable Seafood.
9. Sustainable Christmas toast
The WWF suggests offering organic wine and bubbles but also trying your hand at cocktails using fruit peels and spices. For water, fill glass bottles at the nearest water house.
10. Clothes and make-up, between recycling and rental
There are so many eco-friendly options, whether it is invest in a sustainable brand, whether buying second hand or vintage. You can also rent a suitwith fashion renting, to create looks with wonderful couture dresses and accessories that everyone, at least once in their life, has desired.
For sustainable make-up, we choose cosmetics from recycled and recyclable materials, e solid and “naked” cosmeticsi.e. sold without a package around it.
Packaging aside, it is also important to choose products based on ingredients of natural origin and with the indispensable colored glitter but of vegetable origin, free of plastic.
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