Eco Friendly Christmas Guide: Cards, Wrapping, Ornaments, Decorations & Advent Calendars
4 Mins Read
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The lead up to Christmas! We’re total suckers for Santa season, there’s no hiding it. The food, the merriment, the parties, the pajamas…Unfortunately, in our capitalist times, Christmas is also a time of excess consumerism.
consumerism /kənˈsjuːmərɪz(ə)m , noun
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts.Source: Wikipedia
But you know what we always say at Green Queen: VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR. As our sisters at Green Is The New Black put it: practice #LittleGreenSteps to #LiveMoreConsciously. You can make buying choices that are kinder to humans, animals and the planet. Thanks to Hong Kong’s burgeoning Zero Waste Revolution, there are now more and more eco-friendly choices for you to choose from. Below our favourite Christmas decorations, cards, advent calendars and more!
Mint Hong Kong’s Made To Order Advent Calendar
Mint was started by two craft-obsessed Hong Kong moms out of their Sai Kung homes and they made waves with their chic pastel Hong Kong letterbox collection. This Christmas season they are offering these gorgeous bespoke Advent Calendars made from – we love how unique and creative these are, not to mention so eco-friendly! They can also create custom Santa sacks with your little ones’ name embroidered. We LOVE!
The Lion Rock Press Hong Kong Charity Xmas Wrapping Paper
At this point Hong Kong stalwart the Lion Rock Press barely needs an introduction thanks to their signature Hong Kong-specific designs, but it’s still worth calling out their Christmas collections.100% of profits from their wrapping paper goes to support NGO Mother’s Choice (we are crazy about this wet market red lamp print), same goes for their fabulous Christmas cards printed on eco-friendly FSC certified paper. You will also go gaga for their Hong Kong themed Christmas ornaments including dragon boats, trams and junk boats.
Thorn & Burrow’s Hipster Plastic-Free Tree Ornaments
Why go commercial when you can go hipster? There is no interiors shop quite like Thorn & Burrow, owner Tamsin Thornburrow also manages to unearth the most unique items from all across the earth- and everything she stocks has an eco-conscious ethos. This year, they are debuting a line of the funkiest Christmas ornaments we have ever seen: Unicorns, French fries, rainbows, Marie Antoinette (?!), pickles…These handmade heirloom ornaments are 100% plastic-free and a must-grab for all the millennials in your life!
Oncor Recycled Plastic Christmas Trees
Yes real trees have a certain magic about them and yes you can make a tree out of books but if you want that Christmas Tree feeling without the massive carbon footprint of shipping them from the US, try Oncor Trees, Christmas trees made out of 100% non-toxic recycled PVC plastic instead of new plastic, thereby avoiding the manufacture of new plastic. Their trees are made with tin-based stabilizers- zero lead involved! The company also donates 1% of their gross sales to One Percent for the Planet-approved non-profit environmental organizations.
Moonglade Vegan Christmas Candles
One of the best parts about Christmas is all the incredible fragrances. Which is why we are low-key obsessed with this vegan-friendly Moonglade Candle Limited Edition Glittery Mini Christmas Candle scent which includes The Pine Forest, Warmth of Winter and Cozy Fireplace with notes of pine tree, cinnamon bark, clove and amber. Each candle has a 30 hour burning time and thanks to 100% natural coconut wax, pure essential oils, edible glitter and lead free cotton wicks, you can be sure it’s the cleanest burn in town.
Paper Roses Designs Recycled Paper Christmas Cards
We love to support products that are local, creative AND eco-friendly so we were thrilled to discover Paper Roses Designs’ line of hand-illustrated Hong Kong inspired cards, gift wrap and gift tags. Our faves include the Christmas Dumpling and the Panda Claus. All of Paper Roses paper products are made from high-quality, uncoated, FSC certified100% post-consumer recycled paper. If you want to know more about why this is such an eco-choice, read founder Penny Creedon’s blog post– it’s super educational.
GLC Green Handmade (Almost) Paper-Free Christmas Cards
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc3LgI_Hw3F/
If you are committed to your anti-paper stance, we have managed to uncover an almost paper-free and socially conscious option: eco interiors store GLC Green sources these handmade Christmas cards by Good Paper, made from a mix of abaca paper (a type of plant) and recycled paper. The cards are made in the Philippines by women who have escaped sex trafficking and abuse so your dollars are supporting a happier planet as well as marginalised women.
Images courtesy of Instagram except for lead courtesy of Pexels and Paper Roses Designs (Facebook).
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