You might have guessed but this month's 'Sustainable Me Challenge' is a waste free holiday. Can you believe the average household waste increases by 25% over the Christmas holiday period! Here's some ideas for reducing our gift-giving footprint this Christmas:
- Buy second hand. I often purchased 2nd hand lego for our boys, buying new costs mega bucks, the 2nd hand kits look as good as new, for half the price and it gives another person some extra cash and more space.
- Use alternative wrapping. Fabric is great because it can be used over and over, not like paper that usually gets used once and thrown out. Furoshiki is the Japanese art of wrapping with cloth, check out some great ideas.
- Don't buy over packaged products. It really bugs me how over packaged toys and other items are these days. It pays to think about the waste the gift may create and reduce where you can.
- Make it yourself. If you've got a little bit of spare time it's worth making something from the heart. Check out some ideas online, we've got some recipes for lip balm, perfume, etc.
- Give experiences. These are great, we do this with our parents now. It can be as simple as a movie ticket, theatre performance, concert or sporting event. How about a voucher to go fishing, tramping, a picnic or even a service you could provide like to clean someones house!
- Give consumables. Everyone has to eat so give food, maybe something they wouldn't normally buy for themselves or you could bake them something special. You can't go wrong with local raw honey ;-)
- Give the gift of charity. Make a donation to a charity in the name of your gift recipient, one that they would be happy with.
- Ask before you buy. It's important we buy something the person would like or will use, it's a shame when they just sit in a cupboard unused or thrown out because it was the wrong gift for them.
See the OSOF website to read more tips.
