I'm dreaming of a green Christmas

By Andrew Adie

My wife and I have three young boys (very un eco-friendly) and all they want for Christmas is a pile of plastic tat. So I feel I have to put a disclaimer at the front of this blog. I’m afraid my ‘eco’ efforts are unlikely to save the planet but they may achieve net zero for the carnage that is wrought by the other members of my family.

During the joys of the numerous lockdowns we’ve all had the time to reflect more on the fragility of the planet and my family have been forced to spend more time enjoying the beauty of the woodlands and open countryside in Kent, where we live. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t enjoyed that element of the past year, despite concerns and challenges elsewhere.

I’m also not a deep green, I try hard to do my bit, but I do like New Zealand wine, despite the carbon footprint ‘issues’, I’m not vegan and continue to drive my car. However, I have made a list of the eco unfriendly elements of my life and tried to green them in an effort to cut our carbon footprint. Yes, I know, be thankful that Covid-19 (and Tier 4) means you don’t have to sit next to me at a dinner party.

So this year I am dreaming of a green Christmas and my gift list for Santa has been replaced by a roster of things I will be doing going forward to try and green our lives.  In the spirit of sharing (you can thank me later) here are the top tips that I and some of my work pals have pulled together for attempting to green our lives without having to break open the hemp smocks:  

• Go retro on the milk and dairy and embrace door-step deliveries without plastic or tetrapak packaging: Milk and More or make your own Oat Milk.
• Replace the plastic wrapped loo and kitchen rolls with paper and cardboard wrapped deliveries on subscription (how I wish we’d known about that in lockdown 1): Who Gives a Crap.
• Mis-shaped and cardboard wrapped seasonal fruit and veg from suppliers like Able&Cole, Riverford Organics and OddBox – every delivery feels like a gift.
• Go vegan lite: I like meat but we’re trying to eat less of it and thanks to a range of great recipe book discoveries, it’s been remarkably stress free and delicious: Jamie Oliver Veg, Green Roasting Tin, Ottolenghi Simple (and many others).
• Bees wax wraps: Ditch cellophane and cling film and embrace the tactile joy of bees wax wraps, from sources including Wild & Stone.
• Candles: Another salute to the honey bee, we all love candles at Christmas but your lungs and the environment wont if you’re using paraffin wax versions so embrace beautiful smelling bees wax instead.
• Recycling: Yes I know it’s not an innovation but everything from Nespresso capsules to printer cartridges can now be recycled directly with the manufacturers, before you bin it check if there’s a postal recycling scheme in place or look for local drop offs run by various product manufacturers through organisations such as Terracycle.
• Food banks: It’s not eco as such but numerous food banks have been doing an amazing job during Covid, find the local one to you through your council of via organisations like the Trussell Trust.
• Don’t send Christmas cards:  There, I said it… can we really justify them? Send an e-card or video message instead.
• Think about wrapping: If you can, don’t use wrapping paper at all. If you do, Oxfam does a nice range of recycled paper wrapping. Definitely avoid stuff covered in glitter / non-recyclable metallic foil and from non-sustainable sources. If you’re up for ditching it altogether you can use old scarves / fabric remnants, or you can reuse gift bags and cardboard boxes (get the kids to decorate them). It might look like a bit of a mish-mash under the tree, but you are still maintaining an element of surprise. And to keep everything secure, use plastic-free washi tape or reusable ribbons.
• Efficient deliveries: Doing Christmas shopping online is particularly popular this year for obvious reasons, but try buying everything in one go to avoid the constant flow of delivery vans to your house.
• Renewable energy: It’s an obvious one but changing to a renewable energy tariff has at least salved my conscience give that my children are incapable of turning off any switches.
• Gardens for pollinators: If you’re lucky enough to have a garden (or even a window box) buy some plants that are good for pollinators and help boost biodiversity, one garden at a time, see RHS for tips.
• And finally: That perennial favourite, put a brick on each cistern to save water, or get three small boys who never flush the loo.

Regardless of how you spend your holiday hours, we hope you have a wonderful time and that 2021 offers more hope, health and happiness.