Top Tips for a Sustainable Christmas

As sustainability is at the heart of everything we do here at B&B Press this year we wanted to treat Christmas no differently. As a team, we've been suggesting a few switches that we'll be making this year to help make Christmas a little greener, if you fancy doing the same check out our top tips. 

Lecturing friends and family on sustainability isn’t going to get them on board, but gifts that are fun, interesting, or informative might just inspire them to think differently. Maybe it’s a book on crafting with recyclables, a set of reusable travel cups, or a work of art that provokes conversation.

Find a balance between something that person is already interested in and the theme of sustainability.

There are many amazing organizations working to create a more sustainable world. Support them! Donations, fundraisers, social media sharing, or even just telling your family and friends about how the charity you admire makes an incredible difference. 

Whether it’s trees planted, land conserved, wildlife protected, or political efforts empowered every action matters. Just choose what you’re passionate about and give what you can. We’ll be supporting World Land Trust in protecting our rainforests.

A present that is never a waste is a good book. If you know a young person who doesn’t have a copy of Greta Thunberg’s book of speeches yet, then rectify that. The Lorax is a great idea for younger kids. Not everything we read has to have an environmental focus though, any book is a good way to switch off from the digital world and enjoy print in its physical form.

When it comes to eco-friendly Christmas decorations, LEDs are far better than traditional twinkling incandescent lights, because they use up much less energy, just like the LED UV lamps on our printing press. 

Christmas crackers come with a lot of plastic. Not only is the clear window on the cracker box not recyclable, but the novelty toys inside tend to be plastic, too. Plus, any decorated with glitter end up polluting the environment with microplastics. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to go for certified eco-friendly crackers instead.

Food is an important part of Christmas Day, and key to making your celebrations more sustainable.

Buying food locally will help reduce your carbon footprint, while also showing independent suppliers some love. Last year, the average spend on food per person was around £160. It would be great to see some of that going back into our communities!

Switching up your wrapping paper is a great way to have a more positive impact this Christmas. A scary 88 square km is used each year, and much of this ends up in the landfill. That’s because lots of wrapping paper is made with Mylar, a plastic film coated with aluminium, or glitter, which is a microplastic.

To be safe, we’d recommend avoiding anything shiny, metallic or glittery. It’s also a good idea to check with your local authorities to see what they can and can’t recycle.