Skip to main content

Altona CAN! Embrace an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season

 Although this holiday season presents us with a unique set of challenges, many people still consider gift giving and important tradition. As studies show that most people produce up to 30% more waste during the holiday season, now might be the time to think about helping your loved ones move toward more sustainable ways of living.  

A guiding question to consider is: Which products will help contribute to a healthier environment?

·         Bamboo toothbrush

·         Metal drinking straws

·         To-go kits for your car (real cutlery rolled up in fabric napkins)

·         Stainless steel kitchen composter

·         Organic skin care products (buy or make your own)

·         House plants (improve air quality and they’re beautiful!)

·         Indoor herb garden

·         Soy or Beeswax candles

·         Food wrap alternatives to single-use plastic

·         Reusable shopping and produce bags

·         Reusable beverage bottles

 

If you would like to avoid some of the waste produced by consumerism, please explore other ways of giving.  One of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to shop locally and search for gifts that are locally sourced. A guiding question to consider is What is the final end point of this product? Instead of something that will end up in a landfill,

·         Create memories:   tickets to events, memberships, experiences

·         Give your time and talent:  share your skills or services, make handicrafts, make home-baked treats

·         Pay it Forward:  make a donation in their name


If you must purchase gifts, please consider make ethical and organic purchasing decisions.  A guiding question worth considering during this holiday season is Who makes the products I am purchasing and in what conditions? Instead of buying mass produced, cheaply made products by people who are underpaid and working in horrific environments, look for

·         Fair Trade Handicrafts

·         Fair Trade Coffee & Tea

·         Handmade items

·         Home baked goodies

·         Eco-friendly apparel (Tentree plants ten trees for every item sold and is a Canadian company)

·         Still need more ideas?  Check out https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/your-guide-green-holidays/


Wrapping it up

Avoid using plastic, metallic or foil wraps because they cannot be recycled or

composted.  Instead, try using:

·         non-glossy gift wrap, plain craft paper, newspaper

·         fabric bags, scarves, or fabric scraps

·         reusable gift bags or boxes

 

Although this holiday season will have us celebrating in a different way, we can still make more sustainable choices.

 

ACAN seeks to inspire eco-friendly and sustainable practices in our community through education and action.

(Kelly Skelton)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Altona CAN! ...Live Sustainably - Connie Heppner Mueller

Welcome to Altona Community Action Network’s new column - AltonaCAN! ACAN is a small group of concerned citizens who reach out to the community to educate and inspire environmentally sustainable practices.  What has that looked like? We have hosted annual Earth Day events on various themes and partnered with town council to bring year-round composting to Altona. It has meant coordinating the community garden and supporting Boomerang Bags Altona to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic bags. We have a newly formed Tree Team that hopes to have some more t rees in the ground around Altona this fall. We were also gearing up to lead some waste reduction efforts at this year’s Sunflower Festival, but sadly that will have to wait for next year. What started as a fireside chat between two friends 5 years ago, has grown to a team of 9 members: Gavin Faurschou, Joanne Wiebe, Marilyn Houser Hamm, Joel Martin, Jack Heppner, Jonah Langelotz, Amy Pankewich, Kelly Skelton and Connie Heppner M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Environment, Energy and Economies - A Canadian Primer: ENVIRONMENT ENERGY AND ECONOMIES IN CANADA - Ray Hamm

A few companies account for more than half of Canada’s crude oil production: Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil, and Cenovus. (Husky and Cenovus have recently combined. Hong Kong billionaire, Li Ka-shing will hold approx 27% of the new Cenovus.) The oil industry in Canada has taken a hit. Larger external factors are more significant than pipeline delays and environmental regulations. (For example:  international oil prices collapsed.) If Canada would reduce production of petroleum, one of the first options should be to shut down the oil sands in Alberta.  Why start with the oil sands?  why not share cutbacks across the country? The oil sands produce 12% of Canadian Green House gases. Even with newer technology the GHG production of the oil sands is increasing every year due to increasing petroleum production. It costs more energy to produce a barrel of oil from the oil sands than from other sources. Oil sands technology has gotten more efficient but it is s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Environment, Energy and Economies - A Canadian Primer: ENVIRONMENT ENERGY AND ECONOMIES (EEE) Ray Hamm

Energy and environment and economy have always been tied together. The present world economy is built on cheap energy, on not paying the real cost. Ending slavery removed an earlier major source of cheap energy.   This brought major turmoil. Peak oil production, running out of oil, was a concern some years ago. Now with new technologies and shale oil and tar sands oil, there is plenty of oil. This is good because there will probably continue to essential needs for oil in industry and society in the future. The REAL concern is about what happens to climate for us and for the children of tomorrow if we continue to use fossil fuels at the present rate. GHG and single use plastics are not good gifts to our children. Extracting, mining, refining, transporting energy takes energy. Always there is some loss, some waste and some by-products. Using energy drives the economy, it drives our cars and there are byproducts. Using coal, oil, gasoline and diesel fuel produces carbon. For a long, l...
Post a Comment
Read more