EMBARGOED 9am 21st October 2021: Today sees the launch of The Green Christmas Challenge, which encourages everyone in the UK to swap out a minimum of four Christmas purchases for a sustainable alternative, in the bid to limit the impact of Christmas on our environment this year and to spread the message of positive change.
The run up to Christmas sees a typical UK household spending on average 29% more than in any other month on both gifts and celebrations (Bank of England). However, on average two of the gifts both given and/or received will be unwanted, with 19% of them ending up in landfill (UKGCVA).
While it has been widely reported that coronavirus has made us more ethical consumers (BBC), the children’s toys topping the lists in 2021 are still mostly all made from plastic. To make matters worse, only 27% of 45–55-year-olds intended to be greener this Christmas and this goes down to 25% for the over-55’s (Opinium).
With the COP26 climate change summit momentum building, scientists from Bangor University are warning politicians also not to forget that the world is in the midst of a plastic waste crisis (BBC) and while Greta Thunberg continues to mock world leaders for not taking more action, we continue to be reminded of the impact that small changes made at home can have on our wider environment.
Lisa Hobley Walker, one of the founders of Always Forever Green, the online shop for sustainable brands, and the creator of The Green Christmas Challenge, comments:
`We know that the enormity of the climate crisis can be overwhelming. We also know the impact that Christmas can have on the environment, both in the purchases so many choose to make but also in the delivery footprint associated with this increase in consumption. We created The Green Christmas Challenge as a fun way to make a positive impact this year, to encourage a positive change amongst our friends, family and colleagues and to make it easy to find alternative greener purchases.’
Taking part in The Green Christmas Challenge is easy:
- Consider a minimum of four items on your (or your loved ones’) Christmas list
- Find a more sustainable alternative (visit www.alwaysforevergreen.com for sustainable shopping), swap with your original item and purchase
- Share your new items on social media and encourage others to do the same with the hashtag #mygreenchristmas
Simple sustainable swaps you can make this Christmas:
- Swap out your children’s plastic playhouse with an Eco Tea Party Playhouse that they can design themselves: https://www.alwaysforevergreen.com/product/eco-tea-party-playhouse/
- Did you know a lot of high street candles are made from paraffin wax, which emits large amounts of particle pollution when burned? This year, swap paraffin wax for plant wax, made in a recycled tumbler: https://www.alwaysforevergreen.com/product/christmas-day-candle-30cl-cinnamon-orange-the-clovelly-soap/
- Hand-crafted from recycled rice bags by villagers in Cambodia, for every one of these bags you buy, the creators hand deliver a school kit to a child in Africa or Asia: https://www.alwaysforevergreen.com/product/eb-wild-clipper-l/
- Turn over a new leaf with the Ilana Leaf Pendant. Fine silver, hand-crafted and ethically sourced, created in partnership with Karen Hill Tribe silversmiths in Northern Thailand: https://www.alwaysforevergreen.com/product/ilana-leaf-pendant-on-recycled-silver-chain/
Green Christmas Swaps
Notes to Editors:
About Always Forever Green
Purpose, Knowledge, Action – the power to change the way we shop.
The Always Forever Green mission is to make it easier for you to make a change. We help you to shop, safe in the knowledge that all our partners have been carefully chosen as brands that are already fully certified as sustainable or are committed to achieving it. Shopping with Always Forever Green not only allows you to make smarter purchases; every purchase you make with us is a purchase with a purpose. Each purchase is rewarded with a token and your token tally will allow you to plant and protect trees or help ocean clear-up.
Find out more here: www.alwaysforevergreen.com
The Founders of Always Forever Green
We are three Mums who met at the school gates, one working in entertainment (Chloe Gill @mrschloegill), one as the CEO of an environmental company (Lisa Hobley Walker @hobleyl) and one from the world of finance (Harriet Hirst) – three different backgrounds yet three similar minds. We shared stories of sleepless nights, work/life mayhem and our take on the world we live in and it soon became clear that in regard to our world, we all wanted to do more to make a change; a change for us, our families and the environment. We wanted a better world for our children, the understanding to be able to put that desire into action and we wanted to make it easier for others to do the same. And so, Always Forever Green was born.
All three founders are available for interview.
Listen to their latest podcast with Made by Mammas on sustainable parenting here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4SbLxKn8JwUqFJ6l878Nh2?si=D6iRi8YBQDi3k2_x9tGnlQ&dl_branch=1
References:
Avg. household spend
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/how-much-do-we-spend-at-christmas
47% consumers intended to buy sustainable gifts in 2020
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1191981/christmas-gifts-sustainability-uk/
Scientists warn politicians about plastic waste crisis
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58711403
23 million unwanted gifts set to end up in landfill
Sustainability more of a concern than before pandemic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55630144
Greta
