BTU Advent calendar: Door 4

Tips for a sustainable Christmas

Many Christmas trees come from sprayed plantations, are felled as early as October, stored in cold stores and transported over long distances. Anyone who cannot do without a tree should take advantage of regional offers to cut it themselves at the forest ranger. A plastic tree may not needles, but it does pollute the environment and eventually ends up in plastic waste. You can also decorate a bouquet of branches in a vase. Instead of tinsel or plastic figures, you can hang dried fruits, nuts, figures made of salt dough, paper, wood, wax, bast, straw or colourful strips of cloth. Christmas lighting should be connected to a timer and not shine through all night.

For many people, it is part of Christmas: the Christmas goose. But the animals usually suffer from terrible husbandry conditions, long transport routes and painful killing. Therefore, please try a goose from species-appropriate husbandry or even better one of the many delicious vegetarian and vegan Christmas dishes.

Less is more – so why not give presents to just one person in a circle? "Secret Santa" is a fabulous idea to reduce consumption and Christmas stress! Also doing something for the other person or a shared experience can be the gift itself. Gifts can be packed in recycled cardboard, wrapping paper, cloth bags, tins and also in used wrapping paper with strings made of natural fibres instead of adhesive tape.

Further suggestions: Eco-Tipp-Archive