Don't be distracted by Christmas Goats
Don’t
be distracted by Christmas Goats
Before I dive into Christmas shopping tips I thought it
important to flag up what I think is the most significant news on the plastics
issue that has appeared since my last blog. The UN are talking about creating an
international body to reduce and eventually eliminate plastic waste. This
is what is needed to actually beat the problem in the same way that The Montreal
Protocol eliminated CFCs and the Climate Convention eventually gave us the
Paris Agreement. Early days yet, but it’s
an encouraging start. For the full story read
Meanwhile back to Christmas -the time of year when we
collectively consume the most stuff.
I embarked on a
mission to not buy any new plastic this Christmas. This made High Street
shopping much quicker than usual as I soon realised I could cruise through most
stores unable to buy pretty much anything apart from crockery or glass (and
even then you may have to fight with the till assistant not to smother it in
bubble wrap).
One High Street shop called Tiger (like Ikea- but
smaller) sells lots of cheap gifts suitable for Stocking fillers and if you look
carefully there are some non-plastic items in there.
However –it is easy to get carried away and not keep
your plastic radar on.
I am a real sucker for decorated tins so when I saw
their sandwich tin with Christmas Goat décor I was delighted as what’s not to
like about a Christmas goat on a tin? So I bought one for me and one for a friend but
when I got them home I realised they had plastic handles on. Fool. I’ve set
myself up now so that I cannot possibly give a friend an item with plastic in
so I have kept them both. Keep vigilant.
There are lots of good non-plastic items from online shops but
this approach has its pitfalls too. I bought two good looking metal Chilli water bottles
for my (adult) daughters. They are nicely made and come with a wooden cleaning
brush but one unnecessarily came in a silly polyester bag and the other was
wrapped in foam plastic.
Best stick to online eco shops you can trust.
I had better luck from Mutiny who sent me this great
shaving kit in simple paper packaging. A
great present for the hairy person in your life.
However, not all environmental charities are plastic
free. We bought some Christmas cards from The Woodland Trust shop and they
arrived this morning in a conventional jiffy bag. To be fair perhaps they are using up old stock
but there are paper-only jiffy bags available now and they should be leading
the way.
Alternatively you can always go mad in a charity shop
or a vintage stall safe in the knowledge that you are not adding to the demand for new
plastic.
And there are always good Christmas craft markets to
visit where you can see and feel the products, talk to the makers, determine
the packaging and keep it local.
I have started a list of good plastic free Christmas
gifts to buy.
Thanks to all of you for your suggestions so far. This list is by
no means complete so if you successfully
bought a good plastic free present that we can all access, please post the good
examples on the escape from plastic face
book page so that we can all see
and share it.
Next up I will be reviewing Christmas decorations. Has
anyone put theirs up yet? Or are you making some? Please do send in your photos
to the facebook page. I will send a prize to the best idea/ look. You never know it might have a Christmas Goat
on it.
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