The holidays bring many opportunities to “go green” and think about the impact our traditions and activities can have on our environment. Being green doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, but it often means taking a little extra time to be intentional. Here are four ways to go green over the holidays:

1. Gift Giving
During the holiday season, there is often increased pressure to purchase items that you might normally skip at other times of the year. The social pressure to buy gifts, cards, and miscellaneous “stuff” fuels consumerism and waste. Try to avoid any gifts you purchase from ending up in the landfill. Consider gifting an experience, a homemade consumable product (like bath products or food), a second-hand item, or an eco-friendly product like Swedish dishcloths, reusable water bottles, or glass soap dispensers.

2. Product Packaging
When you purchase an item this holiday season, consider the packaging and challenge yourself to eliminate waste. It turns out, plastic packaging accounts for nearly half of all plastic waste globally, and much of it is thrown away within just a few minutes of its first use. For example, gift cards are popular, but the plastic cards themselves are difficult to reuse or recycle. Go old-school and give cash or checks as a sustainable alternative.

3. Gift Wrap
Did you know that in the United States, an additional five million tons of waste is generated over Christmas, four million of which is wrapping paper and shopping bags? Newspaper, butcher paper, reusable boxes, metal tins, and paper gift bags are creative and sustainable ideas for gift wrap. Choosing these materials helps to keep traditional gift wrap, bows, and ribbons from ending up in the landfill.

4. Holiday Traditions
Holiday cards, party invitations, decorations, hosting, and food can take a serious toll on our environment. Large gatherings can mean single-use plates, utensils, cups, and napkins. Avoid or reduce this waste by choosing reusable products. Uneaten food becomes food waste, so use the interactive guest-imator to plan how much food you really need at your gathering. Finally, if you decorate with a live tree, look for opportunities to reuse or recycle your tree and keep it out of the garbage. Your tree can be used for mulch, to protect fish in lakes, or to provide shelter for birds.

Looking for more green ideas? Visit the OSU Extension Sustainability website to find tip sheets, videos, and a 3-D Sustainable Home Tour.

Written by Laura Stanton, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension, Warren County. Email: [email protected].

Reviewed by Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension, Franklin County.

References:

Garber, M. (2012, December 22). Wrappers’ delight: A brief history of wrapping paper. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/wrappers-delight-a-brief-history-of-wrapping-paper/266599

Mansfield, S. (2022, December 22). Green your holiday this season. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/perspectives/green-your-holiday-season

The National Christmas Tree Association (n.d). How to recycle and give real Christmas trees a second life. https://realchristmastrees.org/all-about-trees/how-to-recycle

Stanton, L. M. (2022, July 19). It’s time to rethink packaging and recycling. Ohio State University Extension. https://livehealthyosu.com/2022/07/19/its-time-to-rethink-packaging-and-recycling

Zee, G. (2022, December 7). Plastic gift cards on climate advocates’ “naughty list” this Christmas. ABC News. https://abc13.com/plastic-gift-cards-christmas-gifts-pvc-toxic/12534016

Photo Credits:Natural wrapping image by rawpixel.com.

Mason jar with bath salts image by Victoria Emerson, pexels.com

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