There have never been so many ideas, festive products and environmentally-friendly gifts to help us to celebrate Christmas, whether on our own, or with friends and family. We all know the eco message: Reuse, Reduce, Reinvent and Upcycle ! So let's do it !
Here are 5 Tips to help you to have a Sustainable Christmas...
1. THE GIFT. Remember we can reduce our gift-giving by talking to friends and family about having an environmentally-friendly Christmas, which could mean only buying things people actually need; agreeing between adults that you have enough "stuff" and will just owe each other a favour, such as a loan of a book or an invite to have a coffee at a local place in the New Year. If you are interested in ethical gifts, our local Lyme Charity, The Word Forest, has fabulous organic cotton T-shirts. It has an environmentally-friendly footprint all the way through the production process and you can buy online for loved ones -
Click Here to see their gifts. Plus, a tree is planted for every purchase. Alternatively, you could sponsor a gorgeous Saddleback Pig or Orphaned Goat from local animal charity Ferne Animal Sanctuary.
Click Here to find out more.
2. SHOP LOCALLY. We need to support our local small businesses and shop locally at independent shops this Christmas. There are so many individual, home-made and crafted gifts to buy right on our door step - and if we don't use them, we could lose them. So, repeat after us: "Shop Locally!".
3. DO-IT-YOURSELF. Hand-crafted and homemade gifts are a wonderful way of showing someone that you have put thought and time into their gift. It could be a jar of chutney or homemade mince pies; a Bug Hotel (
Click Here for a How To guide from The Woodland Trust); sock puppets (
Click Here to find out more), or a gift of your time such as planning a day out to a gallery or museum you know your friend would enjoy, or give your time as a volunteer to your community or a local charity.
4. REDUCE YOUR FOOD AND DRINK CARBON FOOTPRINT. For your Christmas goodies shop locally at one of our fabulous Farm Shops: Felicity's, Millers' and Tytherleigh are all within a few miles radius of Lyme and all sell a range of fruit, veg, meat and specialist alcoholic beverages. They also sell much of their produce loose so that you aren't using plastic bags. Our co-operative of small, local producers, In My Back Yard, delivers to nearby areas including Lyme. They sell a great selection of local produce and you can order online, to pick up locally.
Click Here to connect to their website.
5. LET'S TALK ABOUT WRAPPING PAPER. Here are some inspired ideas to help you to make your Christmas wrapping more sustainable. You could even have a Competition for the Worst Wrapped Present under the the Tree!
1 Billion Christmas Cards
227,000 miles of Wrapping Paper
114,000 tonnes of Plastic Packaging
Are all destined for UK bins this Christmas (source = Surfers Against Sewage)
Further information is available by 
