Revisiting the dream of a green Christmas

With COP26 now finished and many still trying to establish if anything was actually agreed that will definitely and unequivocally stop the human race from destroying this beautiful planet of ours (spoiler alert!), we can but continue our own personal journeys to be the best we can be. We will just have to hope the ‘higher powers’ get the message before it is too late!

Last November, we published a blog about attempting to be more environmentally conscious, especially during the season of Christmas. Please do revisit the article as it is still as relevant today as then but what more could be done (easily and without detracting from the fun) to be better for our planet?

As with previous years, our Christmas greetings will be digital and a contribution made directly to charity – more on that next month. In a more general sense, PacSol as a company is conscious of its own impact on the environment both through actions of its employees and actions taken on its behalf. Employees do spend the majority of their working time based at home and all customer consultations / installations over the past year have been carried out through remote networking tools which has reduced our impact through travel. We are also investigating how we can be ‘better’ and proactively improve, potentially through schemes such as B Corp and Ecologi – hopefully more on those or similar schemes in the coming months.

So with special reference to the next 30+ days of merriment:

Make sure you recycle or it can be recycled

With reference to last year’s article (I’m dreaming of a green Christmas), wrap with brown (or certified recyclable) paper, use paper based tape and paper raffia for your gifts. However, go further, ensure the gift you give itself is sustainable, multi-use, recyclable, ethical etc. And when you receive a gift, deal with the packaging responsibly, make use of it or, if it really is not to your liking, sell it on / give it to charity.

Repair not replace

It is all too easy at Christmas to use it as an excuse to simply replace something that is perceived as defective / broken. Take time to consider whether the ‘gift’ to repair might not only be cheaper and more eco-conscious but potentially more appreciated. Perhaps that old coat with a popped seam has sentimental value or that guitar with the broken bridge (that they have owned since they were 15) just needs a part and a workshop to make it ‘sing’ again.

Don’t miss the hidden environmental and socio-economic cost!

That new Christmas sweater, the novelty stocking socks, the funky Star Wars t-shirt that you know will look great and were all a bargain but at what cost? We now know that ‘artificial’ plastic fibres are leaching into our ecosystems through washing (detrimentally impacting marine environments) and that some natural material sources are exploiting labour or hiding chemical misuse to meet certifications. Do a little research and buy good quality, certified products – go Fairtrade, organic, ethical. Yes they may be a little more expensive but not only will planet Earth be healthier, there are fellow members of the human race out there that benefit from those choices for good.

Yes, I even recycled this post’s featured image!

Toby Gilbertson, Customer Services Manager. November 2021.

#PacSolUK #Environment #SocialResponsibility #Christmas #PlanetEarth #Fairtrade #organic #ethical