Christmas is a time for celebrating and sharing fun, food and gifts with family and friends. But how eco friendly will your Christmas be?

With so much to prepare, decorate and buy gifts for, it can be easy to forget the impact your actions might have on the environment.

But you might be shocked by some of the facts around what we do at this time of year.

So here are 5 things you need to know to help be a little bit more eco friendly this Christmas.

1. Paper waste

Did you know that each year, approximately 1 billion cards are sent in the UK alone. Thats an awful lot of card & paper used from an estimated 33 million trees!

But there is an alternative

Send personalised e-cards with photo for Christmas, Birthdays, Anniversaries & more, as an eco-friendly option to paper cards.

2. Food Waste

Christmas is a time for giving, eating & drinking & let’s be honest, a time for gluttony! We all succumb to eating one too many mince pies & slices of turkey. So it’s a good time to reflect on the amount of food that we DON’T eat, that goes to waste.

Be realistic about how much food you actually need over the festivity period and make sure you use all food leftovers to reduce landfill waste.

Don’t leave food out at room temperature for more 2 hours, to avoid it spoiling. Then refrigerate leftovers to keep safe, preventing food wastage, as well as avoiding food poisoning. 

3. Food Miles

Do you actually think about where all your food items come from? We are creatures of tradition & habit over the xmas period. But it’s worth thinking through how far all of your ingredients have travelled to end up on your dining table. Whilst we all enjoy our global pantry, where possibly consider sourcing local and Fair-trade ingredients, to reduce travel fuel and encourage responsible food production.

4. Gifts

Christmas is a time for giving & receiving. But as we have all experienced, some gifts end up in the bin before Santa has even returned to Lapland! With an estimated £42 million worth of gifts ending up in landfill, we can all do our bit to prevent gift wastage.

When giving a gift, preferably choose something sustainable and in minimal packaging. Consider Fair-trade, Charity and Experience gifts as a more eco-friendly presents option.

5. Christmas Trees

Nothing makes a house feel more Christmas ready, than when the tree goes up! All decorated with tinsel, baubles and personal tree hangings. Finished off with twinkling lights and your Angel, star or other tree topper in pride of place.

So why not consider either an artificial tree or a reusable living tree with roots, that can be replanted after the festive season. Learn more

Send animated e-cards with photos online with LOLVE e-cards, who are committed to being sustainable & eco-friendly. Not only are the e-cards paperless, but a tree is planted for every subscriber (excluding charity range). So let LOLVE help you go greener this Christmas.

Wishing you a very happy eco friendly and sustainable Christmas!

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