Christmas is about caring. You care about your family and we know you care about your impact on the environment. So we’ve put together these 5 tips on having a sustainable Christmas by making sure you know where your purchases are coming from.
1) Make sure your Christmas cards and your wrapping paper are FSC certified. There’s a lot of paper that goes into Christmas, and we want it to come from well managed forests that support local people. 95% of the cards and wrapping paper produced by Hallmark is FSC certified, and many others may be, in shops near you. Make sure you look for the logo when you buy!
2) Knowing where your paper and card products come from is one thing, but equally important is where they end up. Make sure you recycle all your paper and card, either through your local council, or at Sainsbury’s, who will be doing a Christmas card collection at many stores.
3) We love things made out of wood – wooden toys and games, furniture, ornaments, even bird-feeders. All these things can make great Christmas presents, as unlike plastic, wood is a renewable resource. But make sure the wood products are FSC certified, so you know they come from a well-managed forest. There is a huge range of choice out there; look for the FSC logo in shops, or have a look at our online database for suppliers near you!
4) We use a surprising amount of paper products at parties – think of all the paper plates, napkins and kitchen towels. These are available as FSC certified from many shops, look for products from United Paper Products or other FSC certified manufacturers. The FSC logo will be on the packet!
5) Finally, there’s always the Christmas Tree! Many Christmas Trees aren’t certified as they count as a crop rather than a forest product, but if you want an FSC certified Christmas tree the Forestry Commission are offering them at several places around the country (see a full article about this here), as well as via mail order. If you’re near North Wales, you can also get them from Glasfryn.