Tag: ECO-FASHION

Without a doubt, due to the COVID-19 scenario, this Christmas will be different. However, Goshopia still wants to make it special for you. Let’s focus on the positive side of the actual situation and explore 6 ways to have an unforgettable and eco-friendly Christmas.

We know that most of you won’t be able to gather with your family and beloved ones. Maybe you live abroad and you won’t be able to travel to your homeland. You might miss the traditional Christmas dishes, the smell in the air when it is cold, the hug of our brother, sister, mama, or papa.  To be honest, it is a shame but let’s keep us and everyone –social distance safe- around us.

HAVE A MERRY ECO CHRISTMAS

Tip 1. Use Eco-friendly means of transportation or stay at home

Actually, the fact that you might stay and not fly, is the number 1 way to start an eco-friendly Christmas. Even though we would like things to be different, our planet is taking a deep breath for every flight that does not get to cross the sky. Think about all that is involved in carbon emissions every time we take a plane. Right from the moment you ask for the taxi to get you to the airport till your final destination. Of course, we can’t forget the economic impact. But, since there is not much we can really do right now, let’s focus on the bright side. So, stay at home or take eco-friendly transportation when possible (like the train). This is our Tip Nr1.

Tip 2. More greens, please!

Christmas Eve is the night of the year –wedding celebrations apart- that we eat the most. That is at least my own experience. We know that it might not be healthy but there is something that makes us link food with the magical environment of Christmas. Since we still want you to celebrate as you please, what we would recommend is to increase salad and vegetable dishes. If you buy seasonal and local it is a plus. Reducing meat intake, you get extra Eco Christmas points! Remember that livestock farming is one of the main sources of greenhouse and other polluting gases. It involves a large consumption of water and the clearance of vast forest areas. This 2020, let’s make it a bit greener!

Tip 3. Gift with purpose

We need to talk about gifts if we are looking forward to a more sustainable Christmas. When buying something for someone think about three things. First, try to give something useful. Identify what your special one needs and surprise her or him. If you can’t think of anything (remember that most of the time we have far more than what we need), maybe give away experiences. During the pandemic, culture, tourism, and restaurants have really suffered. Giving away coupons for a weekend trip, a play or a dinner can be a great idea to spend some quality time with your family and friends once things get back to normal. At the same time, you will be helping these sectors to recover.

The second thing we want you to consider is to buy Sustainable, Slow made, and/or Social Responsible products. No idea where to buy? Visit Goshopia.com, the Home of Slow & and Sustainable Fashion. You will find hundreds of beautiful items made with love by designers who have embraced a sustainable style. Have a look at this article to get your inspiration flowing.

Last but not least. Buy less. Instead of giving one or more presents to each friend or family member, we invite you to play one gifting game –like secret Santa- and give only one gift. Make it special or useful. Avoid gifting for the sake of gifting. Avoid cheap stuff that has no use and ends up in garage sales or in the landfill.

The gifting games give you the opportunity to spend some fun time with your relatives. If they are far away, you can still make it via Zoom and give the presents a posteriori. If you have no clue what to gift or want to make it flexible enough, buy a gift card. In Goshopia we have gift cards available and giver and receiver love the connection created.

When it comes to wrapping the gifts, avoid glitter as it can not be recycled, and try to reuse the paper you have at home. Use newspapers, reuse pretty bags and ribbons. A stylish and trendy way to wrap is using brown paper with cotton ribbons and some rosemary tip or fabric. Yes, you heard well. Fabric. This technique is called Furoshiki and basically instead of paper you use fabric. It is more durable, can be reused over and over and it looks super nice!

Your eco Christmas presents will represent you, what you stand for and we want them to be memorable.

Tip 4. Think Quality

Give away quality rather than quantity. Avoid fast fashion and fast manufacturing. When buying think about products that can have a long useful life cycle, that tell a story. Believe me, most of the time you are paying much less than buying things that do not last long. And, at the same time, you contribute to reducing the amount of waste that pollutes our oceans, rivers, and forests.

Tip 5. Eco Christmas decoration

It can be included in the previous number because we are talking about things that can be used and reused a great number of times. But now we are not talking about presents but about house decoration.

Please avoid real Christmas trees. They should be somewhere outdoors, not in the corner of our living room for a couple of weeks. Instead, you can decorate indoor plants that you may already have. Or illuminate something that has –more or less- the height and shape of a tree, for example, a coat rack. If you have a plastic tree, take good care of it and use it for as many years as possible. There are some places where you can rent the Christmas tree and they are still in their pot. When they are big enough, those trees will relocate to their forever forest and provide clean oxygen for generations.

There are also cute decorations with sticks and natural elements like pine cones. Avoid glitter and plastic. Most of the times, it can easily be replaced with fabric and dough.

For the rest of the house decoration you can follow the previous tips: buy less, local, quality, long life cycle, biodegradable and maybe –now that we spend more time at home- add a “be creative and do it yourself tip”. Like these cute cookie tree decorations or the wooden ones.

Tip 6. Use e-cards instead of paper cards

The Christmas cards are one of those elements that after the festive season end up in the bin. At the end of the day, what we want is to convey the message of love and peace for our beloved ones. And finding a way that resonates with our values is important. There are some cards that use seed paper, so when planted, flowers will grow. But it is still more environmentally friendly if we send them an electronic card. If you are short of ideas, you can go to canva.com or use these two we have done for you. Just save as an image, write your text on top and send it over to your ❤ ones by email or whatsapp!

We hope that you find these 6 ways to have an eco-friendly Christmas useful. Goshopia wishes you a merry eco Christmas and a happy and sustainable New Year 2021.