According to CNN, Americans will throw away 1 million tons of extra trash per WEEK from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. That is a 25% increase from our usual amount of trash, and it mostly consists of holiday cards, gift boxes, wrapping paper, food waste, and decorations. It begs the question, can the holidays be sustainable? The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) has stated that the world is not on track to limit global warming to at or below a 1.5 degree increase. And our massive consumption culture is not helping. While we should be cognizant of our personal consumption, the BIGGEST polluters are corporations that don’t care about anything other than money and the governments that allow decisions that directly harm the people they represent. That’s gonna be a long shot since politics and money always go hand in hand. So while we can protest Line3 and the continued colonization and destruction of Indigenous lands, we can also take small steps at home to ensure we are doing the best we can with what we can.
1. Rent or buy a real tree
Last holiday season, 38.2 million real Christmas trees were sold in America. While there are still plenty of fake trees manufactured, it has been determined that the most sustainable means of getting your tree has been to either buy a cut tree locally, rent a tree, or buy a potted tree that you can continue to use for several years until it is too tall to fit in your home.
To break down the real vs fake debate, it takes approximately 20 years of keeping a fake tree to offset the resources and carbon emissions to create the tree. Additionally, the plastic used to make those trees will never biodegrade. Real trees cut those carbon emissions down though not entirely. And the real trees are biodegradable as long as they have not been coated in flocking, fire retardant, or colorant. You can also break the tree down after the holiday season to create filler for raised beds, turn it into mulch, or compost it. Here in the PNW, our waste center accepts trees for a couple weeks to place into their compost/yard waste section. To further decrease the environmental impact, buy a tree from a local farm. For the last three years, my son and I have gotten our yearly tree from the local Lions Club. They purchase trees from a local farm in Rochester, WA and sell them in a shopping center about a mile from our home. The Lion Club uses the money from their tree sales to fund their scholarships for graduating HS seniors, pay for eye exams and glasses for Union Gospel Mission participants, provide financial assistance for children with diabetes, and provide Homeless Backpacks for school age children that ensures they have food over the weekend. These are all programs that have impacted so many students I worked with as a teacher as well as young adult participants I now work with in housing. And oddly enough, when I was a manager at Zumiez I used to give organizations plastic bags for the Homeless Backpack program when they didn’t have enough backpacks. They filled the bags with nonperishable foods for students to take home on Friday afternoon.
You can also look at alternatives to both of these options. Living trees and tree rentals are becoming more popular as people are taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Organizations sell living, potted trees that you can keep in your living room and water just like a houseplant. You can continue to keep the tree until it is too big to fit in your home. At that point, the organization will take the tree back and plant it in a permanent location.
2. Use natural decorations
Christmas decor has always felt like an extension of my creativity. I remember wondering what type of “theme” I wanted for our tree and what colors would best complement my home. Now, I avoid diving into the bins and shelves of decorations so that I don’t buy items I don’t need – mostly plastic items that I know will eventually end up in a landfill. Last year I donated my ornaments and decorations when I thought I was moving. Starting from scratch forced me to think about how to use what I already had to create sustainable ornaments. Stone and I created a few options for our tree that turned out beautifully. You can read more about these DIY ornaments on this blog post.
If you already have ornaments in your collection, keep using them! I have friends that have ornaments they have kept from their parents and grandparents. Each year they add another ornament into their collection as an eventual heirloom. There’s no sense in tossing out items that you will continue to use for generations.
3. Cut your electricity
When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season was look at lights with my parents. One particular spot was the Osborne Family light display off Cantrell Rd. If you are a Little Rock, AR resident, you probably know this house and all the debacle involved. The family eventually was taken to court over their display and the amount of traffic it caused on Cantrell. Then Walt Disney picked up their display, eventually adding nearly 5 million more lights and putting them up at the Streets of America. My parents would drive by and always say, “imagine their electricity bill?!” followed by, “they can probably afford it.”
We never put up lights at my childhood home unless I got the idea to tape them up in the windows which they always allowed. As an adult, I have put up icicle lights along my gutters or wrapped strings of lights on banisters and columns. Nothing wild as to not add to my electric bill at a time when spending is already at the highest of the year. Now, with the addition of LED lights, we can change how we decorate for the holidays to both keep the bill down and use 80% less electricity. There are also solar powered lights for the outdoors that will reduce the reliance on plugging in to the grid. And simply turning off our decorative lights when we are not using them can cut down cost and emissions. I think a lot of times we don’t consciously think about where and how we get our electricity. Electricity is produced at a power plant through the burning of fossil fuels (typically coal or natural gas) or through renewable means such as water or wind. This is then sent to a series of substations to either increase the power of the electricity or decrease it to allow use in our homes. For my area, we have a combination of coal, hydro-electricity, natural gas, and now landfill gas. These processes release tons of CO2. In 2019, electricity made up 25% of the total US greenhouse gas emissions. And of that amount, 31% was from residential and commercial buildings. It’s an area that we could potentially create a major impact.
4. Switch to eco-friendly wrapping paper
It’s predicted that the average household will go through 4 rolls of wrapping paper or more this season. Most folks would probably think that wrapping paper is equal to the paper we can normally recycle. But sadly, many wrapping papers have embellishments that cannot be put into your recycling bins. Glitter, foil, plastic, glossy finishes, and tape all make our papers not recyclable. While not as eye catching as glitter and foil, recycled gift wrap or reusing packaging allows miles of paper to be recycled and reused. I had family in a small town in Arkansas that would often use the comics section of old newspapers to wrap gifts or paper bags before the big switch to plastic bags. So before opening gifts, I would take my time and read the comics.
This year, I saved up craft paper from my monthly Imperfect Foods grocery boxes. It makes the perfect wrapping paper that you can doodle, write, or decorate with natural elements. I also found some recycled gift wrap at Target that is FSC Certified (Forest Stewardship Council, www.fsc.org). The FSC uses a system of inspecting and tracking timber and pulp to ensure that forest management is sustainable, focusing on conservation, restoration, respectful use, and stopping harms to Indigenous cultures across the globe. Now you can find papers that are both recycled and FSC certified which ensures that they are one of the most eco-friendly options out there. I wrapped a few of Stone’s gifts one night and swapped ribbon for cotton yarn then added trimmings from our tree and metal bells that I will use again either as ornaments or for wrapping next year.
5. Shop locally
What exactly does shopping locally mean? And what impact can shopping locally have now that we are still in a pandemic? Shopping locally is simply buying from a local business instead of a major retailer. For example, there’s something way rad about finding vinyl at my local Rainy Day Records vs buying an album at Best Buy or Target. And yes, I love Target like any other basic bitch. They made a genius marketing move by adding a Starbucks to all their stores. But I also can’t ignore that supporting my local businesses is supporting my local economy, cultivating relationships within my community, and creating a more meaningful shopping experience. Not to mention it is good for the planet by decreasing the amount of packaging, shipping, and emissions.
Shopping local can be summed up in four phrases: shop small, spend locally, eat locally, enjoy locally. Search for gifts at independently owned stores. Here we have Rainy Day Records as I mentioned, as well as Captain Little for toys, Orca and Last word for books, and the Farmer’s Market for local crafters and foods. Buy fresh foods from your local farmers market or even sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with a local farm. Go out for drinks or dinner at local eateries and restaurants. We have a decent amount of places here from all vegan options to Thai food to Latin American and Assyrian food trucks. You can expand your palette while also supporting the local economy and real families. I am also lucky enough to be an hour away from Pike Place Market with dozens of independent stores and eateries.
6. Rethink your gifts
This is an area that I feel has taboos to be crushed and societal norms to ditch. This is increasingly difficult with a five year old. I told my kid this season that he would be getting one big gift that I know he has wanted for a while, a hot wheels track. We are making an effort to reduce the amount of plastic toys that enter our home to only what we will consistently play with. If you have kids, I am sure you remember or know the pile of toys that are either hiding in a closet or pushed to the corner of their room not being utilized. It’s a conversation he and I have often – recognizing that we have all that we need, curbing our impulses to buy things we don’t need or won’t use for the long fun, and being grateful for what we have. I am thankful that we don’t have cable and that we have limited our streaming TV to only on the weekends. He hasn’t asked me for anything since he’s not seeing any ads.
Now, I see the beauty in buying handmade gifts from makers I know, making gifts for others that I know they will enjoy, and buying experiences for folks to make lifelong memories. I am thankful for having friends that love unique gifts like beaded jewelry, home made dumplings, or hand crafted soaps/candles. These are examples of ways you can buy locally, buy ethically (fair trade/checking ingredients), and put intention into your purchases.
And to break those taboos, I don’t think there should be any shame in regifting items or buying items second hand. I feel like all of us have gotten a gift that we either didn’t really want or couldn’t use. And it doesn’t make sense to throw it away or hang on to it if you know someone that would love it. And finding that perfect secondhand gem in a local consignment store or thrift store is kind of thrilling. All of these actions can help prevent millions of pounds of manmade materials from being created and then tossed into landfills. It’s breaking the linear economy concept of “take-make-dispose” for something more sustainable.
7. Eat with the seasons
Holiday dinners and breakfasts are a staple for most families. I don’t think it’s fair for me to say that you should eat less to avoid waste. Food waste is a huge part of our lives, as I stare at the bunch of baby spinach in my fridge that I should eat by this weekend. And as much as I make an effort to meal plan and use up all that we have in our fridge and pantry, some times it doesn’t work out so perfectly. Instead, we can focus on eating locally with the seasons.
There’s four major reasons to eat with the seasons: it’s better for your health, it tastes better, it’s better for the environment, and it’s often times cheaper. Foods that are grown and eaten during their peak season are more nutrient dense having been allowed to grow and ripen naturally. They are also less likely to have been falsely ripened with chemical agents or heat. This also affects the way a lot of our fresh foods taste. If you have ever had to chance to eat sun ripened organic strawberries from a garden, you are missing out. The conventional and even the organic ones in the store cannot compare. One summer before becoming a mom, I got a weekly CSA box from Rising River Farm. Each week I got fresh locally grown produce which expanded my cooking and introduced me to a whole other world of colorful, delicious fruits and vegetables. They looked better and they tasted better.
My CSA box also made me think about where my food comes from. One time, I picked up my box on the farm. They invited me to stay on the farm for a while to walk around and take in the surroundings – the soil quality, the rows of seedlings that were succession growing, the general peacefulness. When you’re at the store and pick out a pear or a head of broccoli, there is usually a sticker that states where it was grown. Mexico, India, Argentina, Brazil, China. Or even California and Florida. To transport those items, they need to be harvested earlier than normal to ensure they stay good to eat before arriving to store shelves which results in shitty tasting food, more CO2 emissions, and higher costs to the consumer.
Check online to find charts for what food items are in season in your area. For WA, we have apples, Brussel sprouts, root vegetables, squash, onions, and leafy greens currently in season. And see if you can find items locally!
8. Send eco-friendly cards
Holiday cards create a large amount of waste once they are taken off the fridge after the season ends. Cards follow the same rules as wrapping paper. Foils, glitter, and gloss prevent cards for being recycled and certain inks are not recyclable or biodegradable. But, there are more sustainable options out there! You can find 100% post consumer recycled cards like these ones I found at Paper Culture. This means no new trees are cut down to make these cards. They offset 100% of the carbon footprint of production, and they even plant a tree for each order they receive! You can add your own images on to their pre-designed cards and write text that fits your style.
There are also holiday seed cards that skip recycling all together, instead opting for planting your card to grow flowers. I haven’t researched enough into these cards but the idea sounds great! And bonus points if they create cards with native plant and flower seeds for your area. Invasive plants are a pain in the ass. You can also send e-cards although some may find them to be less personal and more “cold” than a tangible card. When I told my mom that I had made cards to send to friends and family, including her, she laughed and told me to just message her pictures of her grandson. She’s not one for the sentiment, but she loves to see Stone grow.
9. Ditch fast fashion
Less than 1% of all clothing is ever recycled into new clothes. With the rise of fast fashion, it’s so easy to add to your virtual cart whenever you see lots of items for cheap that you want. Our consumption in excess has led to massive over production of clothing creating a textile waste crisis. There are very few to no processes to recycle textiles that you throw away. Nearly 100% of the time, the clothes you toss end up in the landfill. Fast fashion also exploits the environment and workers in textile factories. The fashion industry consumes approximately 79 trillion liters of water and throws out 92 tons of waste. While some textiles are natural materials that can biodegrade over time, many are synthetic materials that will take thousands of years to break down or will never break down. Add to that the extra sequins (plastic) or glitter (more plastic) that will not break down or could potentially pollute waterways and soil content, and we have a giant mess.
Ditching fast fashion isn’t an easy habit to break. And sometimes it is very expensive. If you are looking to find a new outfit for a Christmas party of dinner date or a New Year’s gathers, opt for local independent secondhand stores and thrift stores. We have several stores that offer repurposed clothing, vintage outfits, and unique outfits you won’t find anywhere else. You can also try to organize or join a clothing swap with friends or folks in your community. This is actually how I got one of my best dresses of all time. And when you feel that you have run your course with your clothing items, you can look into donating them to a shelter or clothing closet for homeless, running a clothing swap, or find a consignment shop to get a few dollars back.
Changing our mindset around our clothing can make a huge impact on both the environment and our bank account. When buying things new, ask yourself if this is something you will wear more than 30 times? Or is it something you can utilize in multiple outfits? And is this something I can find used vs new? Over the last few years, I have scaled back my closet quite a bit by reflecting on how often I have worn an item within the last year or if I could “revamp” it to wear. If an item doesn’t fall into that criteria, then I either gift it to someone I know will use it, sell it if it’s a higher price point item, or donate it. If you have the means, it’s also nice to find items that are made of sustainable materials like linen, cotton, or wool. And organic is best if you can afford it. It’s definitely a higher price point which means buying timeless wardrobe staples that will last you. That being said, this isn’t always possible and it gets VERY spendy if you are buying clothing for kids that grow out of items in 6 months or less. Give yourself grace and don’t stress about every purchase. Small steps are still steps in the direction you wish to go.
And most importantly, remember that after all the gifts and meals and decorations, the holiday season really comes down to spending time with those you love (whether in person or virtually or by phone). Maybe by focusing less on the amount of stuff we accumulate and paying attention to the connections and relationships we can recognize how much each of us are connected to each other. That’s probably the biggest gift of all.
