A sustainable Christmas/ solstice/ Hannukah/ end of year

Sometimes end of year celebrations can feel like they are just about consumption. Certainly, with Christmas celebrations, presents and travel, most of us do clock up some extra impact. It is estimated that every house in Scotland generates an extra 2 kg of CO2 on Christmas day alone.

We offer these ideas as practical ways we can reduce our impact over the new year period.

New year resolutions coming soon!

food & drink

1. Christmas celebrations involve food; luckily for us we live in the southern hemisphere and Christmas falls in summer – meaning there’s plenty of fresh food in season. Remember to buy local (watch out for those grapes from California!) Where you can, avoid the mega stores such as supermarkets – support local shops and buy organic or biodynamic. Even better, get to know your local food co-op if you have one. http://www.melbourne.foe.org.au/campaigns/foodcoop/foodcop.htm

   This festive season, Friends of the Earth invites you to take a holiday in your home and eat locally! From December 24 to January 1, participants from all over Australia will be taking the challenge to feast on foods grown in their bioregion, and to share their experiences, recipes and ideas online at http://localfoodfeast.blogspot.com .

If you eat meat, think about buying organic and free range. If you eat fish, check out the sustainable seafood guide: http://www.amcs.org.au/default2.asp?active_page_id=137

Buy Fairtrade coffee, tea and chocolates that ensure a fair price for farmers in developing countries. http://www.fairtrade.com.au/

Remember that ‘Australian owned’ doesn’t mean ‘made in Australia’ – check the labels closely, you may be in for a surprise.

If you have the time why not do some gleaning (sourcing and picking unwanted fruit or vegetables) and turn wasted fruit into jams or other presents?

See: http://www.communitygarden.org.au/

Cut down your Christmas beer miles and drink a local brew. It takes fossil fuel to transport beer from around the globe or interstate. Smaller breweries will also often have less greenhouse emissions so opt for a local beer. The same goes for local wines.

gifts & shopping

Think about giving a gift that will help the world's poorer communities. Gifts range from $10 to provide seeds for a community to a boat for $152. http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/

4. You can also support Friends of the Earth without being a consume-aholic. Even if you can’t get to the bookshop and food co-op store at 312 Smith St, Collingwood, Melbourne, you can now show online. Visit http://www.foe.org.au/online-shopping

   They also have a blog at: http://www.wellfedwellread.blogspot.com/

For a bit of fun you might want to check out Rev. Billy and the ‘stop shopping’ choir where you can download a ‘holiday gift exemption voucher’ to give to your friends. http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/bnxmas/

When buying gifts, think about where it has come from – is there a non-sweatshop version available, or an Australian-made option? Is it something that will be long-lived, fixable or recyclable? This year’s super fashion is next year’s junk – so go for style, not fashion! You could even be super radical and buy second hand presents and if you get a gift you don’t plan to use, don’t hoard it, give it to an op shop. You could always make a present yourself rather than buying something.

http://www.fairwear.org.au/engine.php

http://www.oxfamshop.org.au/

Cut down on bags when shopping. Plastic bag-fever can take hold during the festive season, with a new bag for each purchase. Reduce waste associated with wrapping by re-using from last year or buying recycled paper. Put gifts in a basket or woven bag. Use ribbon to tie a bow on larger presents. Send an ecard: http://www.foe.co.uk/cards/index.html

Give gifts that encourage people to use less resources. If you don't know what they like, give them a voucher or cinema tickets. There are many things that are low impact – tickets for watching a favourite sport, or to see live music, or learning a new language; think about the environmental costs of what you give and try and find low impact alternatives. As a couple or family you could buy a used push bike and helmet for less than $100. You’ll get fit, have fun and save on those short car trips. While FoE does not endorse particular products or companies, a gift idea that may keep kids and adults happy is an iPod. By doing away with the need for CDs and tapes, if you download the tunes, it is an almost resource-free method of listening to music. (Although iPod have been accused of generating a massive amount of e-waste through their policy of recommending customers purchase a new ipod when the battery fails. http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com/)

http://www.ecobuy.org.au/

Check out the wonderful directory on the Eco-Shout website: http://www.eco-shout.org/greendir.php

Buy a potted tree that can be reused or planted out in the garden after Christmas. A native cyprus can make a great Christmas tree. For people with a traditional garden why not think about giving them some local indigenous species – good for biodiversity, and great for reduced water usage. For ideas on water saving gadgets, see: http://ata.org.au/green-living

http://www.vinc.net.au/index.htm

Buy gifts from local craft stalls or farmers markets. You'll be supporting local artists and farmers, rather than mass-produced merchandise made by offshore companies.

The struggle to protect the environment doesn’t stop over summer …. In fact it’s a favourite time for dodgy governments or companies to get up to no good. Please consider supporting an environment group like Friends of the Earth. https://www.egive.org.au/website/index.php?var=quickdonation&payment_type_id=3&project_id=

For that partner, friend or family member that needs to travel by air, consider buying them some carbon offset credits. This might involve investing in renewable energy or planting trees. For some ideas see: http://www.australianecosystems.com.au/Climate_Postive.htm http://www.climatefriendly.com/

Because there is no way you can guarantee that carbon which is offset will remain that way, also think about whether you would rather help the climate in another way rather than just offsets. You can donate a meaningful amount to the Friends of the Earth climate justice campaign rather than a trivial amount trying to offset your carbon. See: http://www.foe.org.au/climate-justice/media/news-items/front-page-news-feed-1/offset-your-carbon-no-way/

Expand the mind! Books on natural history, or the environment, social justice, life, and the universe can make great summer time reading. Why not support your local progressive bookstore (and check out the activist DVDs and docos while you’re there!)

http://www.melbourne.foe.org.au/campaigns/bookshop/index.htm

http://www.nibs.org.au/

http://www.starr.tv/

http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/video.htm