Season’s Greening’s

For many, as the 25^th of December draws ever closer, bringing the splurge of seasonal spending with it. The pursuit of being green goes out the window in favour of a tangle of fairy lights and a “Heston Blumenthal Hidden Orange Christmas pudding”. If Father Christmas really did exist (what am I saying!) he would be frowning on the 16.32kg of CO₂ a home produces daily in the winter; more than double the amount in summer. The truth is, behind all those presents is a staggering 83km of paper that ends up in UK bins alone. Along with one billion Christmas cards that will probably end up on top of them, according to waste online. Luckily, there is now a plethora of green, eco-friendly and recyclable products available to buy up and down the country. I have selected a few essential items we all use, each with a twist green enough to ease that materialistic guilt. So drop your polyester stockings and PVC baubles and check out these brilliant alternatives.

Designer Kat Boon has created lots of beautiful bags, brooches and cushions made almost of entirely recycled materials. Her stockings made from re-used felted woollen jumpers are perfect for Christmas and come in a variety of colours and patterns. But I think the real winner is her recycled wrapping paper. With its cute little Christmas tree design, surprisingly printed with vegetable based ink, it will brighten up parcels and packages no end. It’s also great for kids who like to colour in, and will keep them occupied while you struggle to find the end of the Sellotape. At 100% made from recycled materials, this is not one to miss. You can order it on her online store www.katboondesign.co.uk - £6.75 will buy you 5 sheets and £13 will buy you 10.

The short lived novelty of the Christmas cracker certainly deserves a sustainable stamp, and a box of eco crackers will keep everyone happy with their handmade wooden gifts.

 

 

With not a crummy joke or silly paper hat in sight, you can preserve the planet along with your sanity! www.classic-crackers.co.uk - a box of 6 will set you back the rather princely sum of £29.95. For a cheaper alternative, try Biome Eco play crackers. Each cracker has a board game printed on the inside and the wooden decoration on the front even doubles up as an addition to the Christmas tree after dinner’s over. Order 6 crackers for £8.75 online at www.biomelifestyle.com

The lights this time of year may seem jolly and bright, but behind them lurks a unnecessarily huge amount of wasted electricity. I love these Outdoor Solar Powered Christmas Fairy lights from www.nigelsecostore.com.

 

 

Available in a variety of lengths and colours starting from under £30 these will brighten up a garden or outside of a house. Perfect for the lazy person in all of us; you won’t even have to turn these off as the intelligent light sensor does all the work. And it won’t even make a slight dent in your energy bills. 

Christmas trees have become a rather prickly issue. Although reusable plastic affairs may seem more eco-friendly, they are likely to be made of un-recyclable polyvinyl chloride. A Christmas tree you can keep happily in the garden is a much better bet; mine is now in its 6^th year and has become somewhat part of the family. There are many companies such as the “Christmas Tree Company” - www.christmas-tree-company.com selling potted firs that you can nurture through the coming years. If this seems like too much hassle, Londoners can buy UK sourced trees from eight city locations from ‘The Christmas Forest’. This company really epitomises “good will to all men” by making a donation to Tree Aid for every one sold, initiating the planting of a brand new tree in Ethiopia.

Try doing something different this year by ditching the supermarket puds and heading for a fairtrade version. With every ingredient from the sugar right down to the raisins carrying the fairtrade mark, the Traidcraft Traditional Fair Trade Christmas Pudding can be bought from the Fairtrade website and is sure to leave a sweet taste in your mouth.

Author Ruby Elliot