zero waste Christmas • tips for avoiding waste
Each of us produces over 500 kg of household waste per year. The zero-waste movement shows that things can be done differently. A beginner's tip: shop with as little packaging as possible. Most of the waste is actually generated while shopping. It's better to buy fresh vegetables from the market rather than packaged ones from the supermarket. It tastes better, too. And of course, drink tap water instead of bottled mineral water. We think: enough of the New Year's resolutions. Because the topic of waste is really on our minds, our motto is: better now than later. Here are our zero-waste beginner tips for your zero-waste Christmas .
Zero Waste Christmas tree: from the Berlin Christmas jungle
Did you know how long a Christmas tree really lives? A Christmas tree can live up to 500 years. Which makes it all the more shocking that these beautiful trees are cut down after just a few years and simply thrown away after the festivities. And any trees that don't meet the standards don't even make it into the Christmas room. :(
Robin Wood provides information about eco-friendly Christmas trees and offers shopping tips for anyone looking for a Christmas tree with a good ecological footprint . In Berlin's Christmas Forest, for example, adorable little planted fir trees are waiting for you to adopt them. After the holidays, rented Christmas trees go back to the forest—back to their roots. Forestry and wildlife projects ensure our favorite trees have a long life.
Zero Waste Dinner: with Foodsharing
Standing in line for ages at the supermarket, competing to buy with others? Better today than tomorrow so you get enough? Christmas shopping can be done differently! And what's more – there's enough for everyone anyway. 18 million tons of food end up in the trash in Germany every year . This madness doesn't have to happen – it's high time to take action against food waste. As a food saver with Foodsharing , you can save food from the trash . And if all the holiday guests are full and happy before all the delicacies have been gobbled up? No problem, you can take the leftovers from the holiday table to a Fair-Teiler, a public distribution point for food.
Zero waste food: with Too Good To Go
It's not just your holiday table that has leftover food. Your local bakery, your favorite sushi place down the street—they all have a little feast left over now and then. With the Too Good To Go app, you can get these overproduced goods at at least 50% off . And the portions are more than generous. Cooking stress after Christmas? Zero. Food waste? Also zero.
Zero Waste Christmas mail: Envelopes made from newspaper
Too old to write to Santa? Your loved ones will also appreciate nostalgic Christmas greetings in print format! To make your Christmas mail a real eye-catcher in the mailbox, we suggest: Make your own envelope from newspaper or magazine pages . And inside the envelope, put a promotional postcard. Personalize it, of course, with photos, favorite quotes, scribbles—or rather, Christmas paintings, we mean. Snip, fold, cut, and craft. This is pure Christmas meditation.
Zero Waste Gifting: Give more?!
Give useful and sustainable gifts this year (again). Everyone has enough socks! Of course, this is a bit of self-promotion, but hey – we have the best drinking bottle! And our accessories are also more than impressive. Have you already spotted our soulfilter water filter for your brother's next trip, or the soulbag shoulder bag for your mother, who already has three soulbottles and wants to take them everywhere? Go ahead, browse our shop and discover truly sustainable gifts. Some value sets are available this Christmas with up to 40% off!
By the way, you can also fill soulbottles with baking mixes or syrup as a gift – so you have a double gift!
Zero Waste Gift Wrapping
Now the whole thing needs to be packaged sustainably. How is that supposed to work? It's simple: newspaper can be used here too. Designers put so much effort into designing the pages that we can confidently give the lines we've read a second use. Second idea: Want something a bit more artistic? Then go straight for the furoshiki . Furo-what?! A long-standing tradition in Japan, these gift wraps have been gaining popularity in Europe for some time now. And since this year, they're also available in the soulbottles style, and can be purchased from us. This makes your soulmate even more soulful, and the joy of the packaging extends far beyond the moment of unwrapping.
Zero Waste Decoration: Your Upcycling Idea for Christmas
We need your ideas. Because we're absolutely certain of this: We're all incredibly creative. We just sometimes forget that. In the age of the good old internet, you can google something faster than you can think. So our tip: Just sit back and look around and see what your own home has to offer. You could do that as a child, too. And always stay curious - especially when cooking and baking in the kitchen. Aren't tangerine peels far too colorful and smell too good to just be thrown away? What Christmassy things can you make from nutshells? We look forward to hearing your very own zero-waste decoration ideas .
