I love Christmas, and everything that it brings, but I often think it’s a shame that Christmas is at the end of the year when everyone is burnt out, stressed and tired. Though it is possible to enjoy the festive season and be kinder to each other, kinder to ourselves, and kinder to the planet.
We can do this by minimising consumption and being more mindful of our purchases. This frees us up for what’s really important…..enjoying all of those wonderful Christmas celebrations with family and friends.
These are my top 5 tips to keep your festive season sustainable, fun and stress free.
NO: 1 - GIVE to a CHARITY
Most of us have multiply Christmas parties, family, friends, your family, your partner’s family, etc. All this gift giving can get out of hand. Usually we just end up with more ‘stuff’ we don’t really need or want. For our family Christmas celebration, we all donate to a charity, usually Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without borders).
If you’re looking to support an organisation that is taking care of Australian families that are doing it tough, check out #Makegoodhappen
Good360 currently has over $5 million worth of new goods in their warehouse and need help distributing it. For a $25 donation you can help send the gift of a Goodie Bag full of clothing, toys, toiletries, and other quality goods to Australia’s most disadvantaged this Christmas. Choose from a range of Goodie Bags full of surprises suitable for babies, children, teenagers, men and women. Find out more here.
NO: 2 - Be MINDFUL of CONSUMPTION
When purchasing, think less is more and consider more sustainable options:
- Choose one big gift or a gift voucher
- Gifts made from recycled materials or sustainable sources
- Use E-cards, or
- Christmas cards and wrapping papermade from FSC paper (Forest Stewardship Council)
- Restrain from buying cheap and nasty products from Two Dollar shops, they will likely end up in landfill
- Buy a gift that can be eaten. There are so many locally made gourmet vinegars, jams and chutneys. Our local school Christmas fete is where I buy the most delicious chutneys, relishes and vinegars.
NO: 3-Support FAIR TRADE
I’m blessed to have the Trading Circle in our local shopping village. My first port of call when I’m purchasing Christmas cards, decorations or Christmas bon-bons. You can also purchase online.
I had to laugh when I jumped on the Oxfam website and saw the heading ‘because you can never have too many goats’. Funny, but true!
The giving of goats has been around for some time, and it’s not the only item that can be purchased to help people in developing nations, but as a way of a reminder - when you purchase a goat, you are helping communities world-wide. When a goat is presented to a person living in Mozambique, they know that it can bread to create more goats, provide manure for growing food and be sold to pay for school fees or tools. Find out more at The Trading Circle and Oxfam.
NO: 4 - Support OP SHOPS
It used to be that buying from Vinnies, Salvos and the Red Cross meant that you were likely to score a bargain, this may not always be the case, but I do love entering Op shops to see what kind of treasures are abound. This is a great place for stocking fillers and also helps these organisations with fundraising.
NO: 5 - Support retailers that have ETHICAL SOURCING policies
Last but not least, support retailers where you know they have some form of due diligence, or Ethical Sourcing Polices to address human and labour rights of workers and environmental management practices within their supply chain. Companies like David Jones, Cue and K-MART.
WESTFARMERS, the owner of Bunnings, Myer, K-Mart, Target and Officeworks have a commitment to Ethical Sourcing.
Their principles include:
PEOPLE – safety, diversity and people development
SOURCING – suppliers and ethical sourcing
COMMUNITY – community contributions and product safety
ENVIRONMENT - climate change resilience and water and waste use
GOVERNANCE – robust governance.
The below link gives you more information on Westfarmers ethical sourcing audit programs, supplier training, timber procurement, living wage, supply chain transparency, Australian suppliers and Westfarmers human rights and modern slavery statement. It’s worth a read, especially the information on the ‘living wage’. Find out more here.
Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and 'green' Christmas.
From Libby at Sustainable Business Matters xo