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8 tips for a sustainable Christmas

Written by: Svenja Schindler

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Time to read 5 min

Introduction


Mountains of waste accumulate day by day during the Christmas period. Unfortunately, sustainability is often overlooked, especially at Christmas. That's why we've put together 8 tips for you to celebrate a sustainable Christmas.

1. suitable wrapping paper for a sustainable Christmas

After Christmas, there are large quantities of wrapping paper left over that end up straight in the trash. However, there are a multitude of ecological alternatives to make your gifts more beautiful without wrapping paper. This way, you are getting closer to your wish to celebrate Christmas in a sustainable way:


  • For example, you can use calendar sheets, newspapers and magazines to wrap your gifts in a unique way.
  • The wrapping paper is pretty and gives you the opportunity to write or paint on the gifts.
  • If you have leftover fabric, you can tie it around your gift to make it more colorful.
  • You can also simply use fabrics like a scarf or tea towels to wrap the gift.

2. sustainable coffee

You have a capsule machine at home, but the waste from aluminum capsules makes you feel guilty? Especially on cold winter days, people drink more coffee and tea, which ultimately leads to an increase in waste production. Did you know that the natural decomposition of an aluminum capsule lasts more than 200 years, that it can have effects on the health of the human body and that the manufacturing of these capsules alone leaves a huge ecological footprint? It's too bad to associate a luxury product like coffee with it.

Our solution: coffee capsules from My Coffee Cup! They are made from bio-sourced raw materials and are filled with organic coffee. Additionally, the natural decomposition time of the capsule is approximately 26 weeks.
In line with the winter period, our Winter Special enchants your day with pleasant warmth.

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3. homemade gifts for grandma & grandpa

How about something from the heart? Whether for grandmother & grandfather, aunt & uncle or mom & dad. Before you have to rack your brains over what to give for Christmas this year, homemade things like pesto, liqueur or toasted almonds are ideal and will please everyone. We have therefore selected for you a delicious pesto recipe that will please everyone at Christmas.

A basil pesto for a sustainable Christmas

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of basil
  • 30 g toasted pine nuts
  • 30 g parmesan
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • a little olive oil
  • salt & pepper

Preparation:

  1. The basil, pine nuts, parmesan and garlic are placed in a bowl and are then pureed.
  2. Add a little olive oil.
  3. Season the pesto with salt and pepper.

4. a sustainable Christmas: Candles without paraffin or palm oil

Whether for the Advent wreath or for cozy evenings on cold winter days, it is difficult to imagine a Christmas without candles. But many are not aware of the side effects of some candles. To be able to celebrate Christmas sustainably, you also need to pay attention to the components of the candles.

paraffin candles release various substances that are harmful to the environment and health. Paraffin, a byproduct of crude oil processing, is one of the biggest climate killers. This is why vegetable fats such as palm stearin are gaining more and more importance as an alternative to paraffin wax in candle making.

Vegetable stearin is mainly produced from palm oil. It therefore comes from monoculture plantations located where climate-friendly tropical forests should be found. In Indonesia and Malaysia in particular, large parts of the rainforest have been destroyed for oil palm cultivation, leading to the disappearance of species. Slash-and-burn cultivation also has an impact on the global climate.

Suitable alternatives

In Germany, many candles have the RAL quality mark. With this label, manufacturers have undertaken not to use raw materials, paints or varnishes containing harmful substances.

If you have a lot of tea lights with an aluminum holder at home, but want to experience a sustainable Christmas, you can buy vegetable tea lights without an aluminum rim and fill the old aluminum rings .

Organic beeswax candles are, however, the best, because they are made with respect for the environment.

5. potted Christmas tree

Around 30 million Christmas trees are sold every year in Germany alone and are already thrown away after a few days. Unfortunately, many of these Christmas trees come from monocultures and are treated with pesticides.

There are solutions to remedy this problem:

  • You can ensure that the Christmas tree comes from Germany and has the FSC label. These come from forest management that respects nature.
  • If you have a plastic Christmas tree at home, use it for as long as possible!
  • Another option is the potted Christmas tree. Do you already have a suitable plant at home or have you had a larger plant for your living room on your shopping list for a long time? In this case, the Christmas period is perfect to tackle it. Decorate your houseplant with Christmas decorations and you will have already taken a big step towards being able to celebrate Christmas sustainably.

    Fun Fact: Are you a coffee drinker and want to become even more sustainable? My Coffee Cup coffee capsules are compostable. Take your used coffee capsules, cut them in half and place the capsules in the soil along with the plant. After about 26 weeks, the capsules will have decomposed naturally in your potted plant and you can already look at your tree on Christmas Eve and look forward to a sustainable Christmas.

6. Christmas decorations

Christmas decorations greatly enhance our Advent season. But here too, there are some approaches you can take for a sustainable Christmas! What if you replaced the garlands and Christmas baubles with something from nature? Straw stars, beeswax or wooden figurines, dried orange slices or cinnamon sticks will give your apartment an appearance at least as festive as Christmas.

Dried Orange Slices Instructions

Of course, you can also let the orange slices dry in the oven, but with our method you can save a lot of energy!

  1. Cut the oranges into 1 to 2 cm thick slices.
  2. Pre-dry the slices by pressing them lightly between absorbent paper. Be careful not to damage too many cells.
  3. Then place the slices on fresh absorbent paper so that the humidity is better distributed and evaporates as it dries.
  4. Look for a warm, ventilated place in your apartment where the orange slices can dry optimally. Radiators or sunny corners of the apartment are most suitable.
  5. Flip the orange slices every day. This means there is no mold, the slices dry more quickly and they remain straight.

Tip: If you change the paper towel more often in the first few days, this will speed up the drying process.

7. sustainable Christmas market

Festively decorated stalls, delicious food and delicious-smelling mulled wine all over the city. This is how we all imagine a pleasant Christmas market. But often, the truth is unfortunately different. Crowded Christmas markets, cheap mulled wine and way too long queues at the food stalls. That is why many people are already looking for a more relaxed alternative.

Sustainable Christmas markets are an alternative. Not only does it serve organic mulled wine, but there are also vegan alternatives to grilled sausage and a multitude of stalls offering handmade Christmas gifts.

Here you will find a list of sustainable Christmas markets. This makes it increasingly easier to celebrate a sustainable Christmas.

8. support local businesses for a sustainable Christmas

If you want to buy gifts, if possible avoid ordering online from well-known giants, but instead target products near you. There are certainly small factories, socially responsible stores or packaging-free stores where you will find a special gift.

If, however, you cannot avoid ordering online, you will find here 10 tips for more ecological orders.

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