Make Good Places
I love the holidays. I get my first hankering for holiday cheer sometime in June, which builds until Thanksgiving. In fact, my family (embarrassingly) has long referred to me as "The Christmas Elf" — and I take my holiday cheer duties seriously.
Yet, as our holidays have become increasingly commercialized, celebrations have become increasingly taxing on the planet and wildly unsustainable. In the last few decades, the holidays have triggered enormous amounts of consumption and waste—but they don't have to. There are simple ways to lighten the impact of your celebrations on the planet and make your holiday more eco-friendly.
So, in the spirit of loving both the holidays and the planet, here are ways to make your holiday celebrations more eco-friendly. Find recommendations for sustainable holiday decor and sustainable wrapping paper options below.
If you're still shopping for gifts, check out the Make Good Places gift guide for eco-friendly and sustainable gift ideas.
Sustainable Holiday Home Decor
My guiding principles when it comes to sustainable holiday decor are twofold:
- Humans are sensory beings. We need auditory, olfactory, visual, and tactile richness to be fully engaged and enjoy a space.
- The planet desperately needs us to cut down on disposable, synthetic, and poorly made holiday decor. Embrace natural materials, invest in high-quality and well-made goods that you can use year after year, and consider where and how items are produced.
Generally, a real tree is more sustainable than a fake one if you don't already own a fake tree. In other words, if you're buying a tree this year, a real tree is preferable to a fake one. Try to find one from a well-managed small farm. I have a fake Christmas tree from college, and my wife and I put it up every year because we already own it. However, we'd never buy one again. Real trees also offer the smell of pine and a tactility that fake ones can't match.
You can also opt for a potted Norfolk Island Pine if you want a non-traditional tree, which you can keep year-round.
For an even more adventurous Christmas tree, consider a reclaimed wood Christmas tree made in Pennsylvania.
Other Holiday Decor
- Use (circadian) string lighting for festive lights throughout your home.
String lights are cozy and festive throughout the holidays and darker winter months. Use them on your tree, in your den or family room, or around doorways, fireplace mantels, and stair banisters. If you don't already own string lights, circadian string lights are a good investment for your home year-round.
Photos via Phillips Hue
- Decorate with fragrant, compostable, and natural materials: orange, cinnamon sticks, apples, anise, pinecones, branches, and garland.
Dehydrating and drying out fresh oranges and apples is a relatively simple process. If you live in the right climate, consider foraging pinecones and branches.
- Enjoy nontoxic beeswax candles. Opt for a wintery scent or an unscented candle if you have pets or little ones sensitive to essential oils.
These ornaments are made in Vermont from FSC-certified Maple wood. They can be used on your tree, in garlands, on wreaths, or in your windows. There are endless possibilities and a much more sustainable and biophilic option than new cheap plastic ornaments. If snowflakes aren't your vibe, they also have an FSC-certified forager ornament set.
These are handmade in Vermont and, much like circadian string lights, blend holiday decor with functional items for year-round living. They provide visual richness with a warm, soft, flickering light and help you embrace the colder, darker wintery season.
These stockings are part of Magin Linen's zero-waste initiative and are made from linen textile leftovers. The stockings come in various colors and personalization options.
Photo via Magic Linen
Sustainable Wrapping Paper
What you buy matters, but what you wrap it in also counts. Wrapping paper requires high energy, material, and chemical inputs - and most of it ends up in landfills shortly after its manufacturing. Most papers cannot be recycled because they are treated with synthetic coatings, glosses, and glitters that cannot be separated from other product ingredients, down or reused.
Instead, consider:
- Wrapping gifts in upcycled newspapers and magazines
I actually did this for some of my gifts last year, and it looked great. Use whatever you have lying around and recycle after use.
Olsen & Olsen offers reusable cloth wrapping cloths called furoshikis. Their products are made in Canada and use organic and recycled textiles. Furoshikis even make it easier to wrap odd-shaped presents.
Photos via Olsen + Olsen
Images via Earth Seed Wrapping Paper
I also used this wrapping paper for some of my gifts last year. The patterns were so fun and the paper had a beautiful handmade quality to it. We didn't attempt to plant these. We just opted to compost everything, but it worked great.
Another reusable wrapping paper option. Madly Wish's furoshikis are made from Oeko-Tex-certified linen remnants.
This wrapping paper is great if you have little ones at home. It's printed on actual newsprint but contains fictional stories about Santa and his elves. It is designed and printed in Massachusetts, so it's a much more local option—especially for those of us in the Northeast.
Photos via North Pole Sun
If you like a more classic look, this recycled brown kraft paper is a great option. It contains recycled content but also is recyclable and/or compostable.
This paper is made of 100% recycled material, has a beautiful floral print, and is recyclable at the end of its use.
Twine, branches, plant leaves, and branches (like pine) are all great toppers and gift wrap accessories—and they are more sustainable than traditional bows and ribbons. Twine can be made from several materials, including paper, hemp, jute, burlap, and flax.
Here are some sustainable gift accessory options:
This paper twine is made from shrub bark and colored with vegetable-based dyes, which means it is compostable.
This linen cord achieves a cleaner, less rustic look for your holiday gifts. Plus, it can be reused for gifts or repurposed for endless kinds of arts and crafts projects— including DIY orange slice, cinnamon stick, and pine garlands.
This jute twine provides a classic, rustic gift wrap look. This twine is PFA-free and compostable.
Hemptopia twines are made of 100% hemp and coated in beeswax. Their twine is 100% biodegradable and perfect to use in gift wrapping or holiday decor projects.
Use What You Own
A general rule of thumb here is to use what you already own as much and as often as possible. There's an enormous pressure to buy new stuff year after year, but
For other sustainable home decor and interior design product recommendations, check out The Library.
Make Good Places operates at the intersection of consumption, home design, and climate change action. It is a resource for the growing community of DIYers and professional interior designers creating happier homes that are healthier for people and planet. The Library makes vintage shopping, repair and resell services, and ethical consumption easier while The Guidelines help people implement actionable, healthy design strategies. Join the community and start healing the planet, starting at home.
