liveeco had another appearance on Expresso this morning, where we chatted to Katlego about eco friendly Christmas décor and gave tips on how to ensure you have a “green” Christmas tree this year.
Some of our tips:
If sending out Christmas cards, use recycled cards or send out e-cards which are completely paperless. Or my favourite idea is to send out handmade, from recycled paper, cards from Growing Paper. These cards are extra special as they are embedded with seeds and can then be planted once the Festive Season is over, which lowers the carbon footprint of your Christmas even further.
If lighting up your house and tree with lights, use LED lights where possible as these are more energy efficient that regular lights. And try not leave your lights on all night, pretty as they are, they are huge energy vampires so rather set them on a timer to switch off soon after you have gone to bed.
Local is lekker as we all know, so support your fellow South African or African and buy some decorations from the guys at the lights, they have some beautiful creations available. You may need to barter a bit but you’ll put a smile on their faces and to me that’s a gift in itself.
Look to your garden to decorate your table. Spray paint leaves and fallen branches. Take a walk in the forest with the dogs and kids and pick up some pine cones, they always look fab on the table or tree, give them some colour to add some festive flair.
Use candles instead of lights, Soylites has some lovely soy candles which once used can also be rubbed on the skin as a massage oil. Get the citronella variety if you are entertaining outdoors and it’ll act as a insect repellent as well.
Regarding your food, buy organic wherever possible – from your local farmers market would be ideal. If you’re getting the turkey, make sure it’s free range. If you have a ton of leftovers why not donate them to a good cause such as a shelter or old age home where the gesture will be much appreciated.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Tune into Expresso on SABC 3 on Thursday 30th December 2010 where I’ll be handing out a few green tips on how to cope with the post Christmas clean up!
Nics
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