Have Yourself a Merino Christmas | Tips for a Sustainable Festive Season

Tis the season of giving and it's time to start preparing for Christmas gifts and parties. If you're looking for some ways to cut down on waste and tips on how to shop sustainably then this is the blog for you!

Did you know that the festive season in Australia increases waste production by 30%? That statistic doesn't even include the mountains of unwanted gifts that are thrown into landfill every year! Little tips and steps can really help us be more environmentally friendly - here are some ways to leave a lighter footprint during the Christmas and New Years time.

Buy a Local and Sustainable Gift

Choosing a gift can be one of the most stressful things about Christmas! Supporting local is always a great gift as you'll be giving a gift to both the recipient and also to the local maker! Have you heard the quote "when you buy from a small business an actual person does a little happy dance". That is us! We do a little happy dance every time someone chooses to support our locally made and owned products.

Choosing a locally made gift is great, but choosing one that is also sustainable is even better! When choosing a gift it is important to consider what it is made from and the quality of the product. At Merino Country we make our underwear and clothing with 100% Australian Merino! This means our products are 100% natural, biodegradable and circular!

Here are some of our most popular products to give you some gifting ideas:

Ask Your Loved Ones What They Want

A surprise gift can be absolutely wonderful, however sometimes we can get the wrong size, colour or even the wrong item! Ask your loved ones instead what exactly they may want or need. This takes the guess work out and ensures your thoughtful gift isn't going to be donated or sent to landfill. A gift card is also a great idea so they can purchase something they are sure to love. At Merino Country we have our E-Gift Card which you can email to your special recipient and choose whatever amount you'd like to gift. 

Choose Eco Wrapping Paper

Last year we wrote a blog post about the mountains of waste we create just from wrapping paper. Did you know that according to Media Net "Australians use more than 150,000km of wrapping paper during Christmas – enough to wrap around Earth's equator nearly 4 times." A lot of these are papers that are coated with plastic or contain plastic glitter which can cause harm to our environment.

Here are 5 tips on how to choose a more eco-friendly wrapping for your Christmas presents this year - READ THE BLOG.

Choose Reusable and Multi-use Gifts

A gift with multiple uses is always very handy and gives the recipient choice for how they use the product!  

Here are some handy and useful items that are reusable and/or have many ways to use or wear them:

Compost Food Scraps! 

Did you know that over the Christmas period, 90% of Aussies throw away around a quarter of their food. This food is not only a waste of money but also a landfill waste problem! Food scraps in landfill is not ideal as landfill is not the right environment to breakdown waste safely. Instead as the food breaks down in this environment it produces green house gas - methane gas. Composting is a solution to this! Composting at home means food can break down naturally in a warm and contained environment so that it does not produce methane gas.