December 14, 2020
How To Have A Eco-Friendly Christmas
With Aspiga founder Lucy Macnamara, fashion influencer Kelly Eastwood of London Chatter, and sustainability journalist Armelle Ferguson.
Here at Aspiga, living and working as sustainably as possible is part of our DNA. So, this month we presented a Sustainable Living Insta-Live series hosted by our founder Lucy Macnamara. She interviewed a series of experts in a range of topics to uncover so many great eco-tips and insights on how to live more sustainably; from beauty, wellness and fashion to food and interiors.
Whilst it’s not always easy to do everything we can all choose to make small changes and the range of ideas below from our experts will make it as simple as possible for us to live a more sustainable life.
We kicked off with Lucy in the spotlight, talking about why she is so passionate about sustainable living and how important this Sustainable Living Series is.
Lucy has always loved the outdoors, the environment and animals, and is influenced hugely by Sir David Attenborough. She also had a great grounding being brought up by a post-war mother in a household where everything was a considered purchase and little went to waste - egg shells for slug bait, plastic bags washed and re-used, soap bits moulded together. All of this influence came together when considering how to run Aspiga as a sustainable, stylish fashion brand.
We put sustainability at the heart of our agenda. Everyone in the team works towards key performance indicators to drive our sustainability goals and these are kept in the spotlight at team meetings. This is reflected in the choice of fabrics, product processes, packaging and more. Aspiga are proud campaigners of slow fashion – designing clothing made to last.
First up, we are sharing some great eco-tips for the festive season on how to have a more sustainable Christmas from sustainability journalist Armelle Ferguson, and fashion influencer Kelly Eastwood of London Chatter.
Armelle is a sustainability consultant and journalist writing for Red magazine on sustainability tips. You can find her on insta @armelleferguson and discover more sustainable living tips on her website aremelleferguson.com. Below are some great sustainable swaps to adopt.
1. Christmas leftovers? Stand back from the clingfilm and swap for beeswax/ soya wraps or elasticated cotton bowl covers like these from Helen Round.
2. You can do your bit to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill or other more costly forms of treatment by composting your food and garden waste at home.
3. Bring back cotton or linen napkins and swap out paper kitchen roll and paper napkins.
4. Be considered in your Christmas wrapping paper. We have a lovely alternative to wrapping paper with our re-usable sustainable gift bags.
5. Meal planning is the way ahead in tackling food waste, be conscious and plan ahead. Why not incorporate one day in your week that is leftover day and use up all those leftovers in the fridge? Check out Olio - a community-based app which lets you share food that is still in ‘sell by’ date with your community.
6. Toothpaste and toothbrushes – try the toothpaste capsules (if you can manage with the texture!) or go to zero waste places or even make your own - although we recommend checking with your dentist if making your own toothpaste.
We love these sustainable Geoboxes from Georganics, a selection of dental hygiene products that help reduce impact from multiple deliveries and waste.
7. Similarly try bamboo cotton buds in your beauty routine and swap face wipes for re-useable cotton pads.
8. There are also lots of options to swap feminine hygiene products for more sustainable products like menstrual cups and organic tampons and pads.
9. Switch to compostable coffee pods, like those from Grind.co.uk which are 100% plastic-free and certified compostable. Or switch to a French press for your morning coffee and grind your own beans.
10. Try and make plastic free choices in your everyday living - do you research on where you can shop to reduce plastic.
Theplasticfreeshop.co.uk is an online resource selling plastic free items.
11. Be more sustainable in your household cleaning - Vinegar, essential oils and bicarb of soda is a great cleaning hack.
12. Re-usable tea bags. Most tea bags are not biodegradable and are made from plastic so you can’t compost them. There are a range of companies doing Switch re-usable tea bags so it’s easy to make that choice.
13. Whilst it’s difficult to put shampoo or shower gels in glass bottles you can use shampoo and conditioner bars to reduce packaging.
14. For Christmas decorations why not make your own ginger biscuits and decorate before hanging on the tree or around the house? And try making your own festive sweets and scatter them on your Christmas table.
See the full Instagram live here.
Kelly has been a huge influencer in the area of sustainability and considered purchasing and has some key tips for a more conscious Christmas.
1. Replace single-use Christmas crackers with eco-friendly Christmas crackers and you'll be a step closer to a more sustainable celebration. From fill-your-own crackers to plastic-free fabric styles, there are lots of options.
2. Be a conscious giver – consider gifts that may have had a broader positive impact either with their creation, the way they have been made, or the communities that have made them.
3. Re-purpose things around your house for Christmas gift wrapping - ribbons, brown paper decorated by children and tied with string, re-using Christmas gift bags and tags and using re-purposed fabric bags for Christmas like Aspiga’s fabric bags.
4. Choose a sustainably planted Christmas tree from Green Elf Trees who donate to a choice of 3 charities and the tree is delivered by out of work actors.
5. Think about ‘giving back buys’ where your purchase benefits key causes or where your purchase is the cause for instance adopting an elephant or rhino through organisations like The Sheldrake Wildlife Trust or planning a tree in someone’s name.
6. It’s also glamorous and cool to buy pre-loved from the likes of Vestiaire (vestiairecollective.com) or purge your own wardrobe for someone else to enjoy.
7. Shop small and local this Christmas and support the many independent brands.
8. Instead of buying your Christmas outfits why not rent and borrow? Check out My Wardrobe HQ and Hurr – the sustainable way to wear a new outfit every day.
9. A gift is not just for Christmas, try and purchase gifts that last and that the recipient will love for years to come.
See the full Instagram live here.
If this has inspired you to enjoy an eco-friendly Christmas, browse our Top 30 Sustainable Gifts From Aspiga blog for some ideas on considered buying.
