5 facts to know about Holidays : the best time of the year, the most polluting or both? 🎄🎁

Ribbons and gift wrap: the scourge of December

Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s Holiday Period than any other time of the year. The extra waste amounts of garbage generated during winter time is 25 million tons, or about 1 million EXTRA tons per week. If every American family reused just 2 feet of ribbon for gift pack, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. If they wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. Imagine if we were talking about the worldwide population? 

Online shopping is not only about good news

Still focusing on the United States, UPS alone delivered 800 million seasonal packages in 2020. Cardboard can be recycled but not packing peanuts, air pillows or wrapping film. This is the side effect of online shopping, especially during Christmas season. 

Christmas Sweater, not adding one to your closet is your best gift to the planet 

Christmas Sweater are cute don’t get me wrong, but they’re not the nicest to the environment. 12 million (wholly or partly made of plastic) are set to be snapped up this year, despite 65 millions already languishing in UK wardrobes. Fast fashion, highly related to plastic usage, is now recognized as hugely damaging to the environment. If you want to know more about the impact of fast fashion, read this story we wrote for you ! 

Let it wrap

In the UK alone, throughout December, more than 1,250,000 tons of plastic and packaging will end up in the bin. Plastic packaging can be a genuine problem, but also presents and decorations add up to a huge amount of waste. So, this Christmas, more than ever, lets use the 3R rule : Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. 

A Christmas diner with consequences

Setting a big table, getting dressed up, cooking all day, Christmas meals challenge us every year! Plastic plates, tablecloths, disposable, food packaging in large quantities, under the Christmas light, a dark truth is hidden: waste is multiplying, and we don’t always know how to deal with it. The French Environment & Energy Management Agency (ADEME) explains : “During the holidays, we buy things we don’t usually consume: disposable tablecloths, plastic dishes, oysters, and we find ourselves a little helpless, not always knowing how to sort this waste”. 

We’re not here to be the party pooper: an eco friendly Christmas is possible! We’ve even put together a list of responsible gifts to please your loved ones with a clear conscience. It’s gift, it’s Christmas.