Give More & Waste Less: The Hidden Costs Behind Christmas

It's that time of year again, when the list's come out and the lines begin. A season where we spend countless hours and countless dollars scurrying around, trying to find that special gift to wrap up all beautifully, and show others how much we really care. It is a also the time of year where consumerism sky rockets, and so does our waste and impact on the environment.

Store after store, our eyes glaze over, and our shopping carts fill up with endless amounts of single use items like greeting cards, wrapping paper, plastic toys, lights, gadgets and just about every other kind of item you could think of. Most of which get tossed in the trash just as fast, or hidden in a closet somewhere, leaving a heavy price on the planet, those less fortunate, and our wallets.

ENVIRONMENT

According to the EPA, household waste increases 25% during the Holidays. Which accounts for roughly 1 million tons of waste being sent to sit in a landfill. Plastic waste alone accounts for 125,000 tons of that waste during the Holidays. Americans alone will cut down 33 million Christmas tree’s, and only 1. 2 million of them will actually be recycled. The amount of greeting cards alone that we purchase and throw out each season, is enough to stretch around the planet 5 times. Let's not forget all the Christmas lights that account for 6.6 billion kilowatts per hour. Which is more than total national consumption of electricity for some developing countries. To put it into better perspective, that could run 14 million refrigerators according to The Center For Global Development. 

HUMANS

Speaking of refrigerators, food is another big item we heavily waste during the Holidays. Food waste is already a huge issue here in the U.S, as every year more than 40% of purchased produce and goods are thrown away.  During the holidays, this number increases greatly.  With estimates equivalent to roughly 83 pounds of food wasted, per person, during  the holiday season. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 795 million people of the 7.3 billion people in the world, suffer from chronic hunger. Almost all the hungry people, 780 million, live in developing countries. 

It is also in the world's poorest countries, where most of the goods we purchase are produced. By workers who get paid very little, work 10-14 hour days and who can barely put food on their own table. Bigger corporations can hire cheap labor, and environmental regulations are lax. So companies can get away with dumping as much waste and pollution as they want, with little to no consequences, and with the cost of local people in these areas.   As well, large amounts of water, oil, and other energy go into producing all of these goods, packaging materials and transportation necessary in order to arrive on the shelves and under our tree.  

Aside from the hidden costs that come with consumer Christmas, I've gone through some Holidays where I've had hidden feelings also. I often felt more down or depressed when the time came for handing over (what I thought was) my inadequate gift. I know I'm not the only one who has said to themselves, "it's not good enough, or they won't use it". I've grown to despise trying to find the “perfect” gift, wandering around aimlessly and anxious, knowing my family as well as myself don't need anything. All the while the waste and pollution just adds up, harming the earth and developing communities.  So, I’ve decided to make a shift, and have compiled a quick list of some ways on How To Stay Green This Christmas, and my handy Sustainable Shopping Guide. That way you can have no excuses, and give gifts that are more mindful & meaningful and little to zero impacts on the planet and it's people. 

This Holiday season I encourage you to do something different. Save your money and the Earth, by giving more and wasting less.