Give green gifts. Give an experience like a Wild Card, theatre tickets, or items sourced from local markets and vintage shops. Low-energy gadgets like a wind-up headlight or USB desk light are cool. Trees and plants make great gifts too – they’re beautiful and good at absorbing CO2. Be sure to choose indigenous trees or shrubs that don’t demand loads of water. Or give from your kitchen – fresh herbs, home made lemonade, rusks or biscuits.
Think before you print. Having a party? Save paper by SMS-ing or e-mailing invitations. When you do use paper, remember to recycle – it saves trees, water and energy, and reduces air pollution by 70%.
Wrap it up. Use posters, clothing, magazines or newspaper pages as recycled gift wrap.
Think organic and local. When you’re cooking, opt for free range, organic and local foods. Organic crops build soil fertility and reduce chemical pollution, while buying foods produced in your area helps stimulate the local economy and reduces your carbon footprint.
Go nuts. A potted nut or fruit Christmas tree can be replanted in the garden and can be enjoyed for years to come.
Save a heap. Feed the soil in your garden and reduce household waste by starting a compost heap. You can add most kitchen waste, newspapers (not magazines or colour printed pages), weeds, grass cuttings and leaves to the heap. Or start a worm farm to ‘recycle’ kitchen waste into garden fertiliser.
Re-use, recycle. Use some of your time at home to set up a household recycling routine: Glass, paper, tins and some plastics can be recycled at your municipal or nearest recycling facility. Make a point of re-using plastic shopping bags or invest in re-usable bags.
Switch over. Energy-saving compact fluorescent lights use up to 70% less energy and last up to six times longer than incandescent globes.
Cool down. A geyser uses more energy than any other appliance, so turn its temperature down to 60ºC. You’ll also use up to 40% less energy if you lower your washing machine’s wash temperature to 30ºC.
Discover. Road trips, cycle tours and hiking trips are low carbon holidays.
