How to have a plastic-free Christmas

From homemade decorations to guilt-free gifting, environmental journalist Anna Turns shares her top tips for ocean-friendly festivities

Illustration showing presents wrapped up in reused packaging with natural decorations and twine. The presents are on a beach with the sea in the background

How to have a plastic-free Christmas

From homemade decorations to guilt-free gifting, environmental journalist Anna Turns shares her top tips for ocean-friendly festivities

With parties, festive food and time with family and friends, ‘tis the season to be joyful. Even more so when single-use plastics associated with excessive Christmas consumerism can be avoided. So much plastic ends up in our seas – nine of the top ten litter items recorded during last year’s Great British Beach Clean were polystyrene and plastic items such as drinks bottles or packaging. Bigger pieces pose an entanglement risk to birds and marine mammals, while microplastics get ingested by even the tiniest plankton and shellfish. So, think outside the (cardboard) box with these ideas for plastic-free celebrations that won’t cost the earth. 

Wrap it up 

An illustration showing two hands wrapping a present using twine and dried orange peel and rosemary to decorate.

If wrapping paper springs back when scrunched, it’s more than likely covered in a plastic film, which deems it unrecyclable. Reuse magazines and newspaper or source rolls of FSC-certified brown paper and decorate them. Tie your personalised packages with pretty ribbon or rustic string instead of using plastic sticky tape and add a sprig of rosemary or an origami star as a finishing touch. Get some inspiration from our wrapping video below.

I save gift bags, vintage tins or boxes and line with tissue paper to repurpose them. And I always keep my plastic-free Marine Conservation Society Shop envelopes for posting parcels that will stand out on the doormat because they’re so beautifully designed with marine creatures. I also experiment with the Japanese art of furoshiki, hand-tying and knotting second-hand silk scarves and vintage fabric scraps around gifts. 

Gifts that show you care

Giving without the guilt is easy if you know where to look. I set aside a day to visit my local charity shops and always find some great bargains, from fiction to Fairtrade stocking fillers. Closer to Christmas, I enjoy making foodie treats such as chutney and dark chocolate discs bejewelled with pistachios cranberries, and chopped apricots. For sea-themed organic cotton T-shirts, mugs and tote bags, take a look at the Marine Conservation Society Shop (see our gift guide below). And a Marine Conservation Society gift membership is a feel-good gift that will bring joy all year round. 

DIY decorations 

An illustration showing two hands holding a Christmas tree decoration of a mini present along with a pine cone decoration hanging from some twine.

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Credits
Illustrations: Amber Day. Videos: Jamie Jones, music by Grand_Project from Pixabay; Agrobacter/Creatas Video/Getty Images. Photo: Natasha Stewart

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