At LiveWest, we are Creating Greener Futures Together. We are working with our customers and partners to ensure sustainability lies at the heart of our organisation, shaping healthier futures across our communities.
Every month, we share some of our favourite green advice, to help our customers and colleagues live more sustainably. This month we are sharing advice on how you can shop more sustainably over the festive period.
Our Shopping Green Advice page is full of tips to help you shop more sustainably. Often, sustainable shopping is just a case of buying less.
During the festive period, we often feel pressured to buy lots of food, decorations, and gifts, which quickly add up in cost, and create a lot of waste. By shopping more sustainably, we can all help the environment and save money.
Here are a few of our favourite ways to shop sustainably during the festive season:
Quality not quantity is key when it comes to gifts
Put the time into choosing good quality gifts that will last a long time, and that people will really want. Most people will appreciate a single, thoughtful gift more than lots of random items you felt pressured to buy.
Choose sustainable materials
Avoid unnecessary and single-use plastics that can’t be recycled and try to make sure that any wood and paper gifts or decorations are made from sustainable or FSC certified materials. When you wrap the gifts you have bought, try using cloth or recyclable paper and string.
Shop local
Shopping locally often means less unnecessary packaging. The carbon footprint of the items you buy will also be lower as they won’t be shipped as far. Plus, you will be supporting your local community. Don’t forget your reusable shopping bag to carry your gifts home!
Shop second-hand
Vintage clothes, books, and furnishings make great sustainable gifts.
Give homemade gifts
Here are a few ideas you could try:
- Show off your baking skills with some biscuits or a Christmas cake.
- Make a festive wreath.
- Have a go at making your own jam or chutney.
Or, instead of gifting an item, you could offer to do something nice for your loved ones. Maybe you are a skilled gardener, who could spend a weekend giving someone a garden makeover? Or a great cook who could offer to cook a homemade meal for friends and family?
Reduce, Reuse, Rewear
Instead of buying a new outfit for the party season, try and wear something you already own, or ask your friends and family if they have anything you could borrow. If you want something new, have a look in your local second-hand shops – you might find some amazing vintage pieces.
For more sustainable shopping ideas, visit our Shopping Green Advice page.
