Guide for a more sustainable holiday season

Photo by Nynne Schrøder on Unsplash

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#1 Choose a gift that lasts and is good for the environment

At Christmas, it can be tempting to panic buy presents, particularly when we simply don't know what to choose. So let’s avoid buying things that will end up being thrown away or unused.  Instead, purchase something with value, purpose, meaning and ultimately better for the planet.  A house plant could be an idea; it will last forever if you care for it properly and the receiver will find joy in the gift for a very long time.

Or how about products that are ethically made but looks fabulous and fun to have?  We've created a selection of sustainable swap tips.  Check it out here:

SUSTAINABLE SWAPS!

 

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

 

#2 Switch to eco-friendly wrapping paper

Sticky tape, ribbons and paper covered in glitter can't be recycled, so try to stay away from those.  Excessive packaging can consume more of the earth's resources than necessary. Try to keep the wrapping to the minimum, or use recyclable wrapping paper, use newspaper, or save the wrapping paper from last year and reuse it to avoid waste. You can minimize the waste generated during this season.

When sending something by post, try reusing packages as much as you can.

At Borderless Creations, we've started the use of zero waste packaging called "stible" for delivery.

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#3 Look into alternative Christmas trees

Renting a Christmas tree locally is one of the kindest things you can do for the planet, as each tree gets replanted at the end of the festive season.

If you would prefer to buy one, choose one with an FSC Certification to confirm that it has been sourced sustainably.

Turn your existing houseplant into a modern looking Christmas tree – and all you'll need is some fairy lights!

And how about candles instead of lights?  These candles from ÄIÄI ILLUM LAB. use natural wax as the basis of the flame and pure natural essential oils for the scents.

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#4 Plant a tree!

How about gifting a tree to your loves ones this year?  Remember, a tree is for life and you get to see it grow over the years!

As part of our commitment to sustainability, at Borderless Creations, we try our best to minimize our carbon footprint. 

However, as we are an online store, making our carbon footprint zero is not possible.  Which is why we've decided to join Treedom, so that we can offset the annual CO2 emission from Borderless Creations by using Treedom to plant various trees around the world. 

Treedom  is the only online platform in the world where you can have someone plant a tree for you and then follow it online.

Read more about it here:

Treedom : let's green the planet!

Or, how about changing your search engine to something that can help the planet?

I admit we're also used to using google to search for anything. But here is an alternative or something to use together with the search engines you like.

Meet Ecosia, which is a search engine just like google. The difference is they use the profits from the search to plant trees.

“You search the web,
we plant trees
We use the profit we make from your searches to plant trees where they are needed most.”

Give it a try!

Check Ecosia here:

https://www.ecosia.org/

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Photo by Shelley Pauls on Unsplash

#5 Shop locally

Actively purchase at local shops and shops within your country! In addition to supporting companies and businesses in your neighborhood, there may be special discoveries that you cannot find anywhere else. And this can also lead to CO2 reduction.  

Don't forget to bring your bags when you go shopping!

Don't have one?  Here's our selection!

Reusable bags 

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Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash

#6 Go meat-free

The meat and dairy industry is responsible for more emissions than all the world's planes, trains, cars and boats put together. How about a meat-free Christmas by swapping meats for a plant-based menu instead?

If that's not possible, you could make just small changes to your Christmas menu.  Use plant based ingredients, look out for products that have been grown nearby so you can cut down on transport emissions. Try looking for products with MSC labels and ASC labels!

Try out soy meat!  Just use your usual recipe and replace the meat with these soy meats from LOVEG!

LOVEG Soy Meat 

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#7 Get together and spend a Green Christmas!

How about using December 25th as a day for a Green Christmas and use the days as an opportunity to review about environmental issues?  Here are some of our recommendations.

[FASHION]

The True Cost (2015)

Fashion Revolution Day takes place on  April 24th, the anniversary of the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse. This has been documented in the movie, “The True Cost”, which is a must-see.

Rana Plaza, a building in Bangladesh, housed a number of garment factories, employing around 5,000 people.The people in this building were manufacturing clothing for many of the biggest global fashion brands. Over 1,100 people died in the collapse and another 2,500 were injured.

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Slowing down fast fashion (2016)

Alex James, Blur bassist turned cheese maker, presents this critical look at our disposable approach to clothing and it's enormous human and environmental cost. This documentary highlights the social issues that fast fashion can cause.

A very easy-to-understand, fun and easy-to-listen documentary. You may know already that fast fashion isn't good for the planet, but why exactly isn't it good? What can we do? How should we consume to lead to a better future?

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[PLASTIC]

A Plastic Ocean (2016)

A Plastic Ocean is a new award-winning feature length documentary brought to you by a group of dedicated scientists, film-makers, social entrepreneurs, scholars, environmentalists and journalists, that explores the fragile state of our oceans and uncovers alarming truths about the consequences of our disposable lifestyle.

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[PLANET]

Our Planet (2019)

 Our Planet is a British nature documentary series made for Netflix. The series addresses issues of conservation while featuring these disparate animals in their respective home regions, and has been noted for its greater focus on humans' impact on the environment than traditional nature documentaries, centering around how climate change impacts all living creatures.

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Kiss the Ground (2020)

 

Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.

There were so much bad and negative news in the world in 2020. We’ve said goodbye to 2020 and started a whole new year but 2021 isn’t looking too bright either. However, this documentary was definitely something that made me feel more positive. Not using earths underground resources (ie: plastic)、or advocating for a more circular economy (reuse, upcycle, zerowaste) etc are all important aspect to fight climate crisis but it is mostly about stopping the “degeneration”. At the same time, “regeneration” is important and the documentary shows that by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies.

Some of the words that stuck with me after watching the film was “regeneration economy” and “restoration”. It’s true that even if we try to stop the degeneration of the planet, without regeneration, there will be no true degeneration.

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[FOOD]

Mottainai Kitchen (2020) 

"One-third of the food produced in the world is discarded without being eaten."

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#8 TAKE ACTION!

The holiday season is a season of giving.  How about using this opportunity to give back to the planet by starting a low waste lifestyle? Read about some of the actions you can take!

>> Start now!  Low waste lifestyle.