3 steps to a climate-conscious Christmas

The guide argues that holiday shopping has become an extension of a consumption economy that drives waste and debt. It suggests three strategies to reduce this impact: skipping traditional wrapping in favor of upcycled materials, creating handmade gifts from repurposed items, and gifting experiences or donations instead of tangible goods.

• Holiday consumption patterns contribute significantly to waste, with only 1% of materials in the consumer economy remaining in use six months after purchase.
• The holiday season causes a substantial spike in landfill waste, exemplified by Canadians sending 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper to landfills and Australians spending 400 million Australian dollars on 10 million unwanted gifts in 2018.
• Reducing the use of traditional wrapping paper can have a large-scale impact; for instance, if every Canadian upcycled wrapping for just three gifts, the amount of paper saved would cover 45,000 hockey rinks.
• Canada is identified as a global leader in per capita waste, with only 9% of its plastic being recycled.
• Gifting experiences rather than material goods is presented as a more sustainable alternative that can foster stronger relationships and lead to greater happiness.

APA

White, K. (2019). 3 steps to a climate-conscious Christmas. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/climate-conscious-christmas/

Chicago

White, Katherine. 3 steps to a climate-conscious Christmas. World Economic Forum, 2019. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/climate-conscious-christmas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=White |first1=Katherine |title=3 steps to a climate-conscious Christmas |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=23 December 2019 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/climate-conscious-christmas/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{white2019steps, author = {White, Katherine}, title = {{3 steps to a climate-conscious Christmas}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/climate-conscious-christmas/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }