42: Give Consciously
At this time of year, a lot of people are preparing for Christmas by buying gifts for loved ones. So, for this weeks’ #52climatesolutions, we ask you to give consciously.
Humans are generally awesome at celebrating. We celebrate people, events, anniversaries and triumphs, and in many different ways. Celebrating is often viewed as a time to let go and indulge. But even seemingly trivial celebratory practices can contribute to the growing problems of pollution and environmental harm. Waste quantities and the use of fossil fuels in the production, transportation and consumption of goods, consistently increases around Christmas time. But there is no need for our celebrations to exacerbate climate change, given these are activities completely of our choosing.
At this time of year, a lot of people are preparing for Christmas by buying gifts for loved ones. So, for this weeks’ #52climatesolutions, we ask you to give consciously. Rather than buying into the latest fad or buying expensive new, wasteful gifts that your loved ones could live without, consider alternatives. Make a gift, upcycle something broken into something useful and beautiful, or buy secondhand. If you buy something new, consider how long it will last and whether it benefits the artist or maker. Think about the needs and principles of the person receiving your gift, and aim to support their way of living. Perhaps they asked you not to buy plastic toys, or asked for no plastic or paper wrap so try to do that – wrap gifts in fabric or recycled paper, instead. Consider re-gifting - giving away something that you don’t need, but that others may find useful. Source handmade (whether made by you or someone else) and locally made. Consider making them something delicious or luxurious to eat or pamper themselves with.
One of our favourite approaches is to adopt the four-gift rule as a guide – giving something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. You might like to give experiences over things - time spent together doing something special, or a workshop in something they’d like to learn.
We don’t need to overload people's lives with unnecessary stuff, otherwise, is that a gift or a burden? Think about the longevity of your gifts. What purpose do they serve, for how long, and what will happen at the end of your gift’s life – will it go to landfill, or be composted, providing a ‘final’ gift of nutrients to the soil?
More about Christmas…
I (Lauren) was interviewed by Koren Helbig for her article in The Guardian recently, with a specific focus on decorations. Just a small part of that interview was used, but it covered all manner of Christmas-related stuff, so I thought I’d share my answers with you here!
The end of the year can be such a busy and frenetic time. It’s really easy to lean towards pre-packaged, cheap and mass-produced ‘convenience' products when you’re feeling under pressure. We live waste-free year-round because we feel it’s a meaningful and practical way to reduce and take responsibility for the impact we have on our local environment. It’d feel pretty unnatural for us to throw it all out the window at Christmas time!
There’s no waste in nature, so it’s a great starting point for thinking about food, decorations, gifts and how we spend time. Our approach is to simplify our celebrations as much as possible. We focus on spending time relaxing together and enjoying the season we’re in. Gifts are practical, much-wanted, pre-loved, long-lasting, or will compost after they’re no-longer useful. Gift wrap is made from fabric and re-used each year. Food is local and seasonal, with some things (like cherries) that we wait all year to enjoy, so they’ve become festive treats. Leftovers are eaten in the restful post-Christmas days. We’ve found approaching Christmas in this way also saves hundreds of dollars, making it more financially sustainable.
Look for decorations that can be re-used year after year, creating your own traditions rather than following fashion. Seek out decorations made from natural materials that can compost at their end of life (eg. wool, cotton, wood, paper, clay). Make your own decorations in the lead-up to Christmas, or look for second-hand decorations you can use for years to come. Use eucalyptus leaves and blossoms, plants, flowers from the garden to decorate your home and your dining table and compost them when you’re finished with them.
We’ve used the same decorations for years and years, adding to them occasionally as the kids have grown. Some are plastic baubles we used on our first tree when our eldest daughter was a baby and well before we lived waste-free. Some are felt or hessian hearts we’ve stitched by hand. Some are wooden decorations we’ve chosen or were given to us by family members. The kids love seeing our old decorations year after year, especially the ones we made together when they were small. Some have hilarious back-stories that we re-share each year. Sometimes the tree is a little wonky and the decorations are eclectic, but that’s life and nature for you. We all have a little laugh about it and we love it! This year’s tree is looking quite symmetrical and we’re all a bit amazed with it - haha!
Our wreath on the door is made from old scraps of fabric and the kids usually add to it with leaves and gum nuts or bells and ribbons. In previous years we’ve made a wreath from cones of re-used paper or flowers and leaves from the garden. Christmas crackers are made from old toilet rolls and filled with useful things or plant seeds, paper hats and terrible jokes!
Usually, if we reach an impasse with kids/family members around something that doesn’t match with our views, we explain why we make the choices we make, explore suitable alternatives and respect their choices if they choose differently for themselves.
Christmas decorations are commonly discarded which can be damaging to wildlife, and even when thoughtfully discarded can overwhelm charity shops. Your local op-shop is a great place to look for something sparkly to add to your tree. Christmas lights can use a startling amount of energy each year, commonly left on for an average of ten hours a day. LED lights use 95% less energy, so look for sturdy LED lights and rechargeable batteries. Millions of plastic Christmas trees are bought and discarded each year and will eventually sit in landfill for thousands of years. They travel long distances to get to your home and have a carbon footprint equivalent to 40kg of greenhouse gases. A real or living tree has a much smaller environmental impact and can even have a positive impact if managed correctly.
We choose a freshly-cut tree each year. We realised many years ago that the fresh pine-tree smell is an important part of our family’s christmassy vibes, so a perfectly-shaped plastic tree wouldn’t do (even a thrifted one). We’ve had a couple of living trees in pots but we’ve not had great luck in keeping them alive year-round. In some years our trees have been grown on a farm, but usually we’ll stop by a roadside and cut down a weedy pine tree sapling that shouldn’t be growing in the bush anyway. We’ll compost or use it in the garden in later months. Our kids love taking part in the tree-foraging and we have a great time decorating the tree with our favourite Christmas albums playing.
We like to give gifts that are practical, wearable, edible, heirloom and where possible, thrifted. We wrap them in fabric and ribbons we use year after year, which makes them super special. It also eliminates the huge amounts of gift wrap that is commonly discarded at Christmas time in most households.
Have a wonderful Christmas/solstice!
Much love,
Lauren & Oberon.
Happy Christmas/Solstice Lauren & Oberon!