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New Year's holidays are approaching — and very soon the clock will strike 12 times. This means that it's time to prepare gifts, make a menu for a festive table, in a word, it's time for shopping.

In the preparatory turmoil, even the most active environmentalists can forget how holiday shopping is hurting the planet. At the same time, studies by the UN Environment Program show that about two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming are associated with the activities of ordinary people.

ORIENT encourages you to make a choice in favor of a safe and eco-friendly holiday and shares tips on how to spend memorable holidays without harm to the environment.

Reduce food waste

When buying ingredients for a festive table, take only what you need. Every year, a third of all food produced in the world is thrown away — this is about 1.3 billion tons. At the household level, almost 570 million tons are lost or thrown away. These wastes contribute to biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change.

To avoid waste, pack up the leftovers and find new recipes for reusing them.

Make gifts yourself or buy recycled ones

Get creative with gifts — make them with your own hands. For example, you can make homemade cookies. Or buy gifts from companies that use recycled environmentally friendly materials. In this way, you will promote a closed-loop economy that aims to reduce waste.

Give used items

In the pre-holiday season, many retailers lure people with sales. Try to resist the temptation. Instead, buy unique second-hand items and find a new use for unnecessary things at home. This way you will encourage the reuse of materials.

Use reusable items instead of disposable ones

Solving the problem of plastic pollution requires a full life cycle approach in which consumers play a crucial role.

So, you can start by saying no to disposable plastic packaging. Try wrapping gifts in recycled paper or reusable material, such as fabric. Also avoid disposable cups, plastic water bottles and food containers, replacing them with reusable items.

Before you throw away the holiday packaging, keep in mind that about 11.2 billion tons of harmful waste is collected worldwide every year. Plastic pollution can reduce the ability of ecosystems to adapt to climate change, directly affecting the livelihoods of millions of people, food production and well-being.

Eat plant-based foods

This holiday season, try a diet rich in plant foods. There are a huge number of recipes based on vegetables in the world that are both nutritious and safe for the planet. This, in turn, will improve human health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Meat production is the main cause of the climate crisis. Livestock accounts for 32% of anthropogenic emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

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Photo: unsplash.com , unep.org