Your Guide to Reduce Waste this Holiday Season
By Willow Beck, Project and Admin Coordinator, Sea Smart
Happy Holidays from the Sea Smart team!Tinsel and ribbons,
And single-use wrappings,
Stickers and labels stuck to plastic strapping,
Tying up presents with scotch tape and string
These are a few of our favourite things - to avoid this holiday season!
Are you looking for ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce during the holidays? What is a better gift than ensuring our oceans stay healthy for our children and future generations?
Avoiding single-use materials for gift-wrapping doesn’t have to dampen holiday cheer. Finding eco-friendly solutions fosters creativity and ensures your gift will stand out. You can take away the feelings of obligation and financial stress that often accompany the holidays by choosing gifts given with care and consideration.
Gifts For The Ocean Lover In Your Life
This giving season, ask yourself: will this gift last until next December?
When purchasing gifts for kids, invest in toys that encourage creativity and problem-solving such as Sea Smarts Ocean Match Cards. Well-made toys continue to entertain and challenge your kids long-term. Search local and second-hand stores for high-quality, low-impact toys.
Homemade gifts can be an extra special treat - you could plan a day to make candles, soaps or paintings. Embrace your inner-baker and try making cookies or candy as edible gifts (that you can package in a reusable tin container). Not feeling crafty? Consider gifting a plant (with care instructions included, especially if the gift receiver isn’t graced with a green thumb)!
My favourite gifts are always experiences rather than material items. Gifting a pair of concert tickets, a spa day, or a yoga pass will be a gift that will always last in your loved one’s memories. Looking for an eco-friendly, zero-waste Christmas gift that makes a difference? Look no further than the Sea Smart holiday campaign. Each $15 donation to the Vancouver charity sends three local students to a Sea Smart ocean conservation workshop.
All donations go towards Sea Smart’s Bursary Fund to support children and schools with financial need who would otherwise be unable to attend Sea Smart’s environmental education programs.
Ocean Friendly Wrapping
Furoshiki Wrapping Infographic (Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan)
Extend your zero-waste holiday to the wrapping around your ocean-friendly gift. Save yourself a trip to the store and avoid crowds by finding wrapping materials that are already in your home!
Newspaper, magazine pages, and children's drawings make great wrapping paper. Add some pinecones, seed pods and dried leaves from your neighbourhood as a festive decoration.
Wrap small items in cardboard tubes left over from toilet paper rolls.
Try Furoshiki (Japanese fabric wrapping). All you need are some t-shirts, scarves or dish towels to end up with some beautifully wrapped, plastic-free gifts. For an easy step-by-step guide, click here.
When receiving gifts, save ribbons, bows, and bags for reuse.
Photo: Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan. How to use “Furoshiki”. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.env.go.jp/en/focus/attach/060403-5.html.
