• What do Christmas presents have to do with the environment?
• Ecological Christmas gift – what does that mean?
• Ideas for eco-gifts
• Natural cosmetics, essential oils and natural scented candles
• Eco-gifts under the Christmas tree for children
• Eco-gifts for Christmas – why is it worth it?

With the holiday season approaching, we're being bombarded from all sides by Christmas decorations, ornaments, and carols. Decorated shop windows and supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of potential Christmas gifts. All sorts of decorative snowmen, Santa Clauses, elves, reindeer, baubles, and glowing lights remind us that it's high time to pick out presents for the Christmas tree. Choosing the right gift for our immediate and extended family can be a real headache for many of us. What do you choose from the sea of ​​products available literally at the touch of a button, flooding us from every store shelf, to ensure the gift proves successful, useful, and not thrown in the trash?

What do Christmas presents have to do with the environment?

Over the past few decades, we've learned to live in a world where overconsumption has become the norm—it's easier for us to buy something new than to try to repair an old one. Incidentally, we unfortunately produce tons of unnecessary waste that will sit in landfills for the next ten, maybe even hundreds of years. And unfortunately, missed Christmas presents very often contribute to mountains of unnecessary waste. It's estimated that Americans, for example, throw away unwanted gifts worth up to $16 billion annually (results from a survey conducted by Pureprofile. The same survey shows that up to 46% of unwanted items are clothing).

Fortunately, the moment has come when we've begun to think about our impact on the natural environment, and the trend toward an eco-friendly lifestyle is becoming more and more common. Less-waste and zero-waste movements are not just a fashion for more and more people, but above all, a way of functioning in today's world. So let's look at how to choose zero-waste Christmas gifts.

Ecological Christmas gift – what does that mean?

An ecological, zero-waste gift is, above all, one that resonates and benefits the recipient. If it's important to us to avoid wasting electricity and water and not leave an unnecessary carbon footprint, we won't buy unnecessary things. Thoughtful gifts help minimize waste. It's important to ensure they're made from high-quality, natural materials and are biodegradable or compostable. They can be reusable gifts, packaged without plastic. Eco-friendly gifts include both edible products and those that offer the opportunity to participate in an interesting event or experience something new.

Ideas for eco-gifts

Eco-friendly zero-waste gifts will primarily be those whose use helps us reduce the amount of waste we produce:

• A thermos flask, thermal mug, or thermal bottle for children is a perfect gift for any coffee or tea lover. This gift will be appreciated by schoolchildren, students, and people who work outside the home or spend long winter hours on public transport for work or school. Instead of buying takeaway coffee in a plastic Styrofoam cup, we can prepare our favorite beverage at home and take it literally anywhere. You can even ask for coffee in your own cup while out and about in the city. This trend is very common these days.
• Water bottle - always carried in a handbag helps to significantly reduce situations in which we are forced to buy water or other drinks in plastic bottles,
• Lunch boxes , reusable food containers , and a set of wax wraps - reusable packaging not only allows us to protect the environment, but can also encourage us to prepare healthy snacks in them instead of buying the mostly plastic-wrapped and not necessarily healthy snacks, and we also save money.

The most waste-free gifts will be those made from natural foods and local delicacies:

• Tea , coffee - wonderfully fragrant, roasted organic coffee , traditional black tea from organic farming or a whole range of teas, for example white, black and green, or fruits, such as strawberry-vanilla tea or winter tea, packed in biodegradable packaging, they will certainly not be wasted,
• a canned food set, jams or honey - packaged in glass jars, they are a healthier alternative to conventional sweets, chocolate and other plastic-wrapped sweets.

Natural cosmetics, essential oils and natural scented candles

Although we don't necessarily think about it every day, it turns out that many popular cosmetics contain microplastic particles, for example in scrubs. Instead, we can choose natural cosmetics in the cube, e.g.

• balm or bar shampoo,

or natural cosmetics, made according to traditional recipes, caring soaps, e.g.:

• Moroccan black soap ,
• Marseille soap ,
• Aleppo soap .

We also associate Christmas with scents – a house filled with spicy vanilla or citrus aromas evokes a warm, festive, family atmosphere. One idea for an eco-friendly gift could be to give your loved ones essential oils , which not only smell lovely but also support our health. In winter, when we are particularly exposed to viruses and colds, oils with bactericidal and antiseptic properties, such as

• Cinnamon,

On the other hand, the relaxing and relaxing oils:

• Orange,
• Lavender,
• from bergamot,
• made of sandalwood.

Eco-gifts under the Christmas tree for children

More and more people are trying to live ecologically and pass these values ​​on to their children. While raising a child in an ecological way may seem simple and natural, it requires parents to put in a lot of effort, time, and, contrary to conventional wisdom, swim against the tide. Easy access to the ubiquitous sea of ​​plastic that floods us from every store shelf, along with many low-quality toys, definitely complicates zero-waste parenting. What Christmas present will work for a child if we don't want them to quickly end up in a landfill alongside other plastic waste? It's well known that plastic has negative effects on the environment. Due to the chemical additives it contains, it can also be harmful to health. Therefore, instead of plastic toys, let's choose toys made of wood and other natural materials:

• Puzzle,
• sensory boards,
• blocks,
• Family games, e.g. B. Jenga, checkers,
• Chopping vegetables,
• instruments,
• Dolls and stuffed animals made from natural materials - made in muted colors that do not stimulate the senses.

Finally, a gift should be mentioned that is linked to a specific experience, for example, it could be an invitation:

• to the theater,
• to the concert,
• to the trampoline park,
• for a cooking class.

Eco-gifts for Christmas – why is it worth it?

The need to give Christmas gifts is deeply rooted in our culture, but this year let's try to pay special attention to the purpose of the purchase. The production of excessive amounts of waste and the accumulation of unnecessary things contribute significantly to the littering of the planet, the creation of smog and other toxic waste. Terms like "ecological," "less waste," or "zero waste" are fortunately becoming part of everyday language. More and more of us are becoming aware of the magnitude of the problem of environmental pollution. By changing our lifestyles, including carefully choosing ecological Christmas gifts, we not only contribute to environmental protection but also pass on our care and knowledge to others. Positive changes that come with an ecological lifestyle are best started in our immediate surroundings.