“December has arrived and with it the season of shopping and gifting as a key part of our biggest annual celebration. If joy is our intention, here’s how putting deep and lasting joy at the top of our agenda can also be good for the climate.”
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It really is very nice going shopping in Sidmouth – as many of us did late-night on Friday: The attractive shopping streets of Sidmouth – Vision Group for Sidmouth
It is also very nice to go shopping with thought and care: Shopping locally and ethically at Christmas – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Here are some great ideas and some great inspiration from the Carbon Savvy team:
Shop for Joy!
Handmade wreath of dried English flowers by FareoftheField
December has arrived and with it the season of shopping and gifting as a key part of our biggest annual celebration. If joy is our intention, here’s how putting deep and lasting joy at the top of our agenda can also be good for the climate.
Shop for quality
Cheap products are like fast food – they taste great on the first bite, but you feel sick by the last! Quality products on the other hand are like quality food – not only does it make your mouth water in anticipation, it gets better with every bite. Secret Santa is a great way to ensure everyone gets a quality present that they will enjoy more with time: instead of buying a present for every member of your family or friends, you buy a present for just one person. It can be worth asking the receiver what they most want or need and then researching the best version. Buying second-hand is a great option because you can buy something that would cost three times the price when new.
It is said that, “When you buy something cheap it gives joy in the moment of buying and then pain for the rest of its life, but when you buy something of quality it gives pain on purchase, and joy for the rest of its life.” Because of their long lifespan, purchasing quality, long-lasting products can reduce the carbon footprint of your shopping by up to 80%.
Shop for beauty
There is a Native American saying: “May you walk in beauty”. Beauty is a big contributor to our quality of life. For example, when on holiday people often flock to the most beautiful towns, cities, and landscapes. There are many ways to surround ourselves with beautiful things: buying natural, handmade, and “pre-loved” and having fewer but more beautiful belongings. We deserve to live in beauty, in the same way that all the animals and birds do in the wild. Often the most beautiful products are handmade from natural materials, and because they are beautiful we cherish them for a long time – both of which significantly reduce their carbon footprint.
Shop because you want to
We all want to show our loved ones how much we love them. At a time when gifts are given as an expression of love, it is easy to feel obliged to give a gift to show our loved ones that we do care. But let’s do our best to avoid that – we can help others by announcing that we are very happy with cards or edible presents, and when we don’t give a gift we give others permission not to give a gift the following year.
Watch our presentation on shopping
In this month’s 15-minute module of the Carbon Savers bite-sized course, we go into more detail on all aspects of shopping including embodied energy, product miles, life span and life cycle. For more info and to purchase the course, click here.
Next month; Quality of life
It may sound too good to be true, but our studies have shown that improving your quality of life actually reduces your carbon footprint – more on this in next month’s mailing.
Wishing you a delightful low carbon festive season,
Mukti and the Carbon Savvy team