Have Yourself a Green Christmas

The holidays are the perfect time to relax with family and friends, but not a time to relax about sustainability. Here are three ways to have a green Christmas this year:

1. Choose a live tree: This might seem backwards as plastic Christmas trees are reusable from year to year but live trees are actually the more sustainable choice. Plastic trees are made of petroleum products (PVC), and use up resources in both the manufacture and shipping. While live trees contribute to air quality when growing, and almost ninety percent are recycled into mulch. They are usually locally grown and sold, saving both transportation costs and added air pollution.

2. Use environmentally friendly wrapping paper: Apparently, half of the paper consumed each year is used to wrap or decorate consumer products, so choose wrapping paper made from hemp fibres, old newspapers or recycled paper. Also, reusing gift-wrap can be another sustainable choice, so unwrap presents with care and reuse the paper for next year or a reusable cloth also does the trick.

3. Eating a sustainable meal: use every bit of that turkey – save the bones, carcass, and any leftover vegetables for the crock pot to cook for 8 hours with lots of water and fresh herbs to make a delicious stock for soup. Save the leftover meat for sandwiches or soup and freeze up to 9 months. And buy in season local produce to cover half your plate.