Holidays bring along their traditions of dining and gifting, decorating and ceremonies. Of course, like most events recently, the 2020 holiday season will be slightly different. Among the changes we have to make to accommodate this year’s unique circumstances, it is an opportunity to think of additional elements that can make our holidays more sustainable. We've put together a few ideas and thoughts for more sustainable winter holidays.
About gifts and Conscious Consumerism
A lot has been said about consumerism and sustainability. Here are a few options for gifting more sustainably.
- Go Fairtrade: crafts, wine, chocolate, flowers, cosmetics, olive oil, and other Fairtrade products are perfect gifts. You can find a wonderful variety in Oxford Fairtrade shops. You’ll be giving twice, including the producer who earns fair payment for their products.
- Support a worthy cause: Adopt an Animal this Christmas, or protect biodiversity hotspots by supporting the purchase of threatened land.
- Buy a gift with added value such as products made from recycled ocean plastic, purchased from a charity shop or social enterprise.
- Give eco-friendly items that will support a more sustainable lifestyle, such as a bee house or reusable products.
- Give an experience.
- Go small and local – support small businesses in your local community. Buy your gifts locally and more sustainably using the Oxford Local Businesses list from the Bodleian Libraries.
- Use a swapping platform such as YoungPlanet to give away your old toys and receive pre-loved ones.
See our blog page for more ideas, sustainable, local and with added value. You can also find some more ideas on the Good Things website.
Some more thoughts
