I'm dreaming of a 'green' Christmas?

When you picture Christmas morning, you will usually have images of children tearing their way through wrapping paper with gay abandon, boxes piled high and glitter covering the floor.

It’s a wonderful scene, but it’s often not a particularly green one thanks to the vast amount of packaging involved that is neither sustainable nor recyclable.

To explain further, Distinctive Confectionery share their thoughts on how to be considerate when it comes to packaging around Christmas.

Christmas is most people’s favourite time of the year, but it is a waste nightmare. Huge amounts of plastic packaging can mount up, and the majority of the wrapping paper that we use simply cannot be recycled.

However, there are now moves to make Christmas as green as the tree we hang our baubles from, and businesses who get on board with this now will be reaping the benefits when the festive season arrives.

Whilst it might only be summer, now is the time to think about what you are going to offer at Christmas and how you are going to market it. Green credentials are very high on a lot of people’s shopping lists this year, so this is something that you can really shout about.

Now is a great time to think about the changes that you can make to what you offer in order to make your packaging or products more environmentally friendly. It means that is can all be ready to hit the shelves when the shopping begins and prevents you from having to play catch-up.

So, how big of a problem is Christmas waste and what types of packaging can you realistically change right now?

Wrapping paper

It is estimated that we make our way through a whopping 227,000 miles of wrapping paper in the UK alone each Christmas, that’s around four rolls of paper for each person. This all finishes up in the bin, but because of the materials involved, much of it is not actually suitable for recycling, particularly anything that contains glitter.

Glitter can clog the recycling machinery and contaminate recycled material, so bins which contain this are now often rejected by councils on collection day. Other types of paper can contain plastic in the form of shiny laminates, which again makes them very difficult to recycle.

Choosing to offer a greener alternative to wrapping paper could prove to be very popular this year as more people try to be conscious of what the buy. You need to make sure that the paper is from a sustainable source and is suitable for recycling.

Any printing or coating that is added to the paper to give it the Christmas theme will also need to take recycling into consideration and ensure that the paper will not end up being rejected. You could steer away from paper completely and look at fabric options which can then be reused as scarves and cloths.

Don’t forget that wrapping those presents needs a roll and a half of sticky tape which is also not a great thing for the environment, so offering ties, bows and ribbons could also help to make the wrapping process greener, as well as an awful lot prettier.

Eco Friendly Advent Calendars

Every year we buy our children (and plenty of the adults too) the same chocolate advent calendars. Despite the cardboard shell, these are usually full to the brim with plastic to hold in all of the delicious treats. There are now a range of amazing eco-friendly advent calendars available which still use the favourite big brands of confectionary, but with more carefully thought-out packaging.

Many of these advent calendars are completely free of plastic, and the card that is used is from sustainable card. The plastic inlay can be replaced by a biobased alternative which is both biodegradable and compostable, making the advent calendars climate neutral. You can even choose from advent calendars which only use chocolate made from ethically sourced and sustainable cocoa, with some making donations to charity from the sales.

There is no compromise on quality and are perfect for businesses looking to expand their customer reach this Christmas but want to provide something that consumers also care about.

Christmas cards

Christmas cards are also subject to recycling difficulties as they are also heavily laden with plastic and glitter. Offering sustainable and recyclable cards can show that they are just as beautiful but don’t damage the planet in the process.

As a business you may find yourself sending high volumes of Christmas cards each year, and so offering more environmentally friendly versions could have a huge benefit.

Gift packaging

It is a sad fact that almost any gift that you buy now is a frenzy of unnecessary plastic. It is wrapped around boxes, filling the inside of boxes and probably incorporated into the boxes too. Whether it is a child’s toy or a luxury gift for a loved one, we all seem to fall victim to this at some point. However, there are now some great alternatives to all of this plastic that you can use within your items.

Packaging helps protect the item inside and to ensure it reaches its recipient in one piece, but you should ask yourself whether we really need so much of it. Take a look at where you can cut down on size and bulk before looking at the materials that you use.

Remember, if you really do have to use plastic, look at where it is from and how it is produced. There are some forms which can still be recycled, so try to stick to these if you really feel the need to use it.

By looking at your packaging options now, you can start planning for Christmas. Placing orders now or starting manufacturing means that your green Christmas goods are ready to hit the shelves as soon as Halloween is out of the way. With an increasing number of consumers looking to make greener and more ethical decisions about what they buy, you can make sure that you are the first thought when the Christmas shopping season begins.