Let us be crystal clear, "single-use," "disposable," and "landfill consumerism" is what we are referring to.
You know... those low-value products that you just grab because the price point is too-good-to-be-true, and you end up tossing upon realisation that it was once again another scam of a product, embarrassingly poorly made with no functional purpose.
Over the last few years, many of us have “woken up” to realisations about the world we live in and most of us have developed stronger core ethics in order to:
- protect what we have (left) &
- restore the natural, undisturbed beauty of mother earth for our future experiences and future generations to enjoy.
As December brings us a new season it also officially marks the countdown to the most celebrated holiday in the world, Christmas! It is a time to spend with family and friends, with an international intention of giving, receiving and showing love.
And after the year we have just had, we strongly encourage you to share the love!
(Clean Beauty, Sustainable Jewlery, Eco friendly Products)
With that in mind, it’s easy to overdo it at Christmas. Many of us overspend, overeat and end up wasting more than we do any other time of year. From unwanted gifts, to uneaten food, the reality of our Christmas waste is hard to swallow.
In regards to Christmas in Australia:
- Australians collectively spend $11 billion each year on Christmas gifts
- Australians receive over 20 million unwanted gifts
- 30% increase in waste being sent to landfill during the festive period
- Australians use more than 150,000km of wrapping paper -this is enough to wrap around the equator 4x
- 90% of Australians throw away 25% of food during the festive period
- 5 million tonnes of food ends up as landfill - enough to fill 9 thousand Olympic sized swimming pools
We can make a difference to these statistics.
Starting with how we shop.
Assuming you value quality, made with care goods from independent labels that share aligned values with your love for the environment.
By making a conscious effort to continually re-consider our shopping habits, patterns and choices we can avoid further environmental damage, buyers remorse and associated eco anxiety/ guilt.
Perhaps, you are deepening your values and are curious to see how you can cut down on unnecessary waste OR maybe, you are shopping for someone special that feels as passionately towards the environment as we are!
We have curated a selection of affordable, thoughtful and earth friendly gifts just for you! From clean beauty to luxury bedding, sustainable jewellery, natural skin care and vegan handbags our eco store has you covered. Our sustainable products are of a high calibre as they have been created mindfully -manufactured following a slow design practice, for best quality. Goods to be loved for a lifetime, not just this season.
Shop eco friendly products in our collections below and take the guesswork out of it!
We're here to help make your life that little bit more convenient during this "crazy" time of year.
Click the image to shop clean beauty, eco friendly & organic skincare.
The world has never been so eco-aware, don’t be tempted to fall back into excess this Christmas.
We have you covered, the line-up of people on your gifting list including in-laws, hard-to-please mothers, picky friends can make the idea of “thoughtful” shopping feel impossible, and that’s before you even consider a gift’s environmental or social impact.
Now, imagine how impressed they will be when they open such a thoughtful gift and you tell them their gift was made without:
- Exploitation (slave labour)
- Environmental degradation
- Harmful, toxic chemicals in manufacture
- EDCs in the ingredients list (beauty, cosmetics) Endocrine Disrupting chemicals
- Plastic
- Packaging waste that isn’t recyclable
- Animal Cruelty
As environmental impact intensifies (aggravated by our consumption habits) its more important than ever to give with intention and choose sustainable gifts, that special someone will cherish for years to come.
(Click the image to Shop the collection: Sustainable Gifts for HIM)
We have created a few collections to suit your individual shopping needs & budget.
A gift from us to you, use “ECOXMAS” for 10% off all sustainable shopping on Ecocius.com.au!
Sustainable present options that don’t require a physical gifting
- A gift certificate for a service – massages, skin and body treatments, nails, hair, therapy, wellness/ healthcare sessions, yoga/meditation packages etc.
- A gift certificate for their favourite places to shop/ eat/ stay/ play.
- An experience – get creative!
- Something handmade or homemade (this one is for the DIY queens)
- And a slightly unconventional suggestion, re-gift something of yours (that is in new condition) that you don’t have purpose for!
What’s wrong with physical gifting?
Cards and wrapping paper are two of the biggest culprits of Christmas waste, so stay away from foil and glitter and look out for FSC certification.
You can’t go wrong with traditional brown paper, string & decorative greenery, but if you’re not sure, do the ‘scrunch test’. If the paper holds its shape after you scrunch it up into a ball, it should be recyclable, but if it opens up again, it likely isn’t.
Use this trick when recycling wrapping you’ve received too!
When buying physical presents, the key is to avoid plastic. If you do want to gift something physical, look to sustainable brands, small businesses, and lasting timeless pieces.
Aside from gifting and wrapping sustainably,
we highly encourage correct disposal of food waste!
You might already know that one third of food produced in the world is wasted, including the associated resources and emissions produced.
Food waste attributes to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, globally – and the craziest part? We've had the solution which benefits the environment right at our fingertips the entire time...
Do you even compost, bro?
Composting is severely underrated! Not only is it able to reduce food waste emissions more than 50%, the benefits it has on our overworked soil and vegetation is essential for biodiversity and macronutrients in our soil – which is the difference between growing crops, plants and food that are full of nutrients and THRIVE vs nutritionally lacking.
Why should I care about food waste?
Won’t it break down in a landfill anyway?
Why is composting so special?
“Landfill Methane” is a greenhouse gas that is 72% more powerful than carbon dioxide. Meaning, 72% more of a negative impact versus emissions released from non-organic waste.
Why is this?
Organic materials (food waste) requires something vital to break down: oxygen. Free flowing oxygen, allow food to decompose quickly and become the nutrient rich gardening we call “compost” with a small by product of carbon dioxide.
Landfills typically have little oxygen flow, waste is notoriously trapped in and between plastic garbage bags, without access to free-flowing oxygen or living organisms which aid in the natural break-down process. Without oxygen, decomposition can take years (even decades) and once that happens methane gas is released into the atmosphere.
When you consider that 1/3 of the worlds food is wasted – we could save ourselves and reduce emissions immensely by tackling this issue alone.
Food for thought.
Sources:
- EIA, U.S. Energy Information Administration (2021)
- EPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2022)
- FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020)
- FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2015)
- Government of Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (2021)
- Our World in Data (2020)
- S.C.R.A.P. Lab - Sustainable Composting Research at Princeton (2020)
- Time (2015) “French Parliament Unanimously Approves Law to Cut Food Waste”
- UNEP, United Nations Environment Programme (2021) Food Waste Index report
- WWF