Embrace the festive season with top tips from our new campaign to reduce waste, carbon emissions and be kind to our environment
The holiday spirit is in the air, and as the year draws to a close, December marks the beginning of the festive season. During the joy and celebrations, we are so excited to introduce the Reuse and Create with Love campaign. This is an all new and exciting project to share how we can be environmentally friendly whilst keeping in the festive spirit. Get ready to explore the impact of Christmas on your carbon footprint, discover ways to reduce it, get creative and save money in the process.
Why are we doing this?
This season can be exciting, but it is also filled with massive amounts of waste. Did you know that every year, the UK spends £700 million on unwanted gifts. This stat is perhaps not that surprising, given that every year we spend hundreds on our loved ones, sometimes resulting in unwanted gifts that contribute to unnecessary carbon emissions and waste through the production, packaging and delivery process.
In addition to addressing gift-giving habits, the Reuse and Create with Love campaign places a spotlight on energy efficiency and waste during the festive season. Christmas decorations, extravagant light displays, and energy-intensive festivities can significantly contribute to increased energy consumption and environmental strain. As part of our campaign, we encourage everyone to adopt energy-efficient practices, such as using LED lights, minimizing electricity use, and choosing sustainable materials for decorations.
The production of many conventional gifts also involves resource-intensive processes that further exacerbate environmental challenges. From extraction to manufacturing, transportation, and packaging, each step contributes to carbon emissions and waste.
We are launching this campaign to help you change your habits, encouraging thoughtful gifting, energy efficiency and behavioural change. A few steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint include:
- Consider what you buy: make sure what you are choosing is what the recipient needs or really wants, make sure it is useful or sustainably sourced.
- Try making your own gifts: Unleash your creativity and craft heartfelt gifts that carry a personal touch. Homemade gifts not only reduce environmental impact but also hold meaningful message.
- Donate or return unwanted gifts: Sometimes unwanted gifts are unavoidable. If you do receive something you’re not too keen on, try donating them or where possible return them to the shop.
- Buy from local businesses: Support local businesses by purchasing gifts from them. This not only reduces the carbon footprint associated with transport, but it also can help your community thrive and grow.
- Consider how you can become more energy efficient, read more about this in our previous article at Power Down Your Energy Waste This Christmas.
Keep an eye out on our website and Facebook: Climate County Durham over the next few weeks to learn all about our new campaign and how we can be environmentally thoughtful over Christmastime. The Reuse and Create with Love campaign is not just about gifting; it’s about making sustainable choices and behaviour changes to create a more considerate way of celebrating the joyous season.
