“sustainability guilt” and re-centering joy: interview with juliette escande, sustainable food aficionado

Aspen: So, tell me about your history with food and sustainability.

Juliette: I became vegetarian for weird reasons. I started living by myself from a young age and I was worried about how I’d ensure I stayed healthy. So I decided to make a change in my diet. I knew that if I focused on that with a goal in mind I could stay motivated, learn new recipes, and eat less takeout.

Later on, when I came to McGill, I initially wanted to focus my degree just on business. But when I found out about the Fair Trade Corner (a volunteer-run, by-donation coffee stand on campus) I got excited about food and sustainability. That’s what pushed me to change my degree to Managing for Sustainability and make it more than just my daily life. I loved my classes; for one of them we even came up with a venture idea to reduce food waste. I then found a job at Lufa Farms as Community Coordinator, through which I educated folks about sustainable foods and their importance.

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Aspen: I relate to what you said about making vegetarianism a project. I learned so much about cooking and creativity, plus ate out way less, during my time as a vegetarian. Could you tell me more about what specifically sustainable food means to you?

Juliette: Working at Lufa made me realize that the most important thing is eating locally -- it’s not only good for the environment, but also accessible and beneficial to the economy. It checks all the boxes. Local usually means less packaging and less food miles. In order to buy with as little packaging as possible, I go to the farmers’ market, which is super cheap and you can bring your own bags. To me, that’s the most sustainable you can be.

Aspen: I agree. For me, when I started out, I thought eating zero meat was peak sustainability, but I later realized it wasn’t for many people for many reasons, including myself. Also, meat isn’t inherently bad for the environment, it’s just how we produce it. 

Juliette: I was once told that sustainability isn’t about vegetarianism, it’s about mindfulness. The moment you become conscious of your choices, you start making a difference. The idea of just one day cutting out all meat is so discouraging and overwhelming. So if I eat meat, am I mindful of where it came from? Being mindful also means not just replacing your meat with vegetarian substitutes, which aren’t necessarily great for the environment either!

A Lufa Farms fresh produce basket.

Aspen: I agree and I like that. Being mindful is super important. When people feel like if they’re not doing it perfectly it’s not worth it at all, that’s discouraging and gatekeeping. In reality, eating meat once a week is not much worse than not eating it at all. It’s important to shift into that mindset.

With that said, how do you balance taking care of both yourself and the planet?

Juliette: I find that sometimes, even if you’re not doing something by the “textbook definition” of sustainability, there’s always another way to adjust. It’s not about specific rules that need to be followed; we don’t need to be so strict on ourselves. Putting all this pressure on yourself is not worth it. For me, it’s more about asking myself “what’s the best thing I can do to reduce this waste”. It’s a matter of adjusting to the situation and not telling yourself there’s a right-and-wrong way. The other week, I ordered from GoodFood because I got a great promotion, and when it arrived the packaging made me feel sick. But at the same time, if I’m broke, I shouldn’t feel guilty of taking advantage of an offer to get $80 off my groceries. However, feeling guilty also means something -- I understand the consequences of my actions. I can weigh the decisions and adapt accordingly.

Aspen: Completely agree. I wrote a recent article about how HelloFresh helped me. Although I feel awful about the packaging and not cooking from scratch or local, I’ve been eating healthy meals and I’ve been more satisfied with myself.

Juliette: And you actually end up wasting less food! 

Aspen: Yes, exactly! And I feel like we don’t talk enough about the mental health impact of all this sustainability guilt. If you’re feeling guilty about how your individual decisions are destroying the environment all the time, that’s really unhealthy. Ensuring all our purchases are sustainable is an unfair expectation. It’s important to balance what sorts of pressures we’re putting on ourselves, and whether they’re actually productive.

What’s a main tip you’d give to someone looking to make their diet more sustainable?

Juliette: Go to the farmers’ market! It’s hard to stay connected to our food. For me, sometimes food is just like brushing my teeth - something I need to do today. It can be hard to find excitement about cooking, and on top of that I also need to be sustainable? There’s no joy left. Finding pleasure in food is what makes it so much fun. With my roommate, we go every Saturday to Jean Talon and make it a fun activity. Food is at the basis of changing everything, and the moment you eat sustainably, it’s going to taste and feel better. It’s finding a way to make sustainability fun; in the long run it will make you happier.

Montreal's Marché Jean-Talon!

Aspen: Wow. For me too. Food and cooking changed my life. Discovering that as a hobby, something to look forward to and build a routine around. Finding pleasure in my food, sustainability, doing right by the planet, feeling connected to food and purchases in general is a radical act. Our current systems have divided us from who makes our products. Reclaiming those connections is a beautiful thing. 

Juliette: It goes with the rules we talked about. If you put rules on your eating, you make it less fun. If you actually start enjoying what you eat, you naturally become more mindful of it. They go hand-in-hand. 

Aspen: yes - just trying to find ways to take the “chore” aspect out of it and make it more enjoyable. 

OK, last question: what are your favourite sustainable restaurants and stores?

Juliette: Here’s a list:

• Jean Talon Market

• Lufa Farms

• Vègane obscène Vegan

• Restaurant Radis

• Herbivores

• Frenco

how to (actually) eat more sustainably!

The article below I originally wrote and published for CCOM 315: Writing the Internet, a class I’m taking at McGill University currently. I hope you enjoy!

In the times we’re living in, one question that’s on all of our minds is this: how can I feel less resigned to the fate of the world? 

Things are undeniably scary. Wildfires are raging, sea levels are rising, air pollution is increasing. Climate injustice is looming, and in spite of our protests, we feel like things aren’t changing.

But you don’t have to feel so hopeless and helpless. Although they may seem trivial, individual actions can make a difference — but they should be informed, too. So what can you do? 

1. realize perfection is impossible.

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We live in an age of Instagram-perfect zero wasters, all-or-nothing vegans, and a world that otherwise pushes us to achieve unattainable success levels all of the time. Our work effort is admirable, but it’s resulting in way too much burnout.

Don’t let your altruistic efforts to make the world a better place become so all-consuming that you give up before you even start. Acknowledge that baby steps are important and far from trivial. Every single little thing you do, you should celebrate — instead of beating yourself up for failing your goal of cutting out red meat, celebrate all the mealtimes that you opted for something else instead. 

2. challenge the notion that ‘sustainable eating’ looks only like cutting out animal products.

As we’re all pretty much aware by 2020, plant-based diets have gained tremendous levels of popularity, and for good reason. Opting for less meat and dairy can be excellent for your health, and it’s certainly better for the environment. For starters, according to UCLA, it reduces our individual water use, carbon emissions, and landfill contributions.

But it’s important to remember that you don’t have to go fully vegetarian or vegan in order to be a good environmentalist. And there are many reasons why you might choose not to be. Personally, I was a die-hard vegetarian for about a year and a half, but over this past summer I switched into a much more flexible diet.

Moreover, encouraging everyone to cut out meat and dairy because it’s “bad for the environment” can be unjust, for numerous reasons, as writer Juliana Yazbeck says here. Meat and dairy aren’t inherently carbon-intensive — capitalist and colonial practices have simply made them so through things like factory farming. Second of all, replacing meat and dairy with mass-produced crops like chickpeas and quinoa, and more have resulted in higher demand, and therefore higher use of unethical labour practices. These jobs are often done by underpaid folks of colour. Finally, meat is culturally intrinsic to many, and asking people to take it out of their diets is asking them to surrender their culture. We cannot care about the planet if we don’t also care about the welfare of its people. 

3. look for sustainable and ethical products. 

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Like I said above, climate action must have a justice-oriented approach. We must care about the earth and its people. A great way to find climate and ethics-friendly products is to look for the Fairtrade logo: a holistic certification that ensures rigorous labour and environmental standards. Some examples of easy-to-find, Fairtrade-certified products include Equifruit bananas and Camino chocolate.

4. Watch out for greenwashing.

Big companies are catching on that consumers are trying to buy better. But for many, instead of actually tangibly changing their practices, they’re instead only trying to make it look like they’ve done so. This is greenwashing.

You can avoid greenwashing by doing your research. Look up the company: do they have reports on their sustainability practices? What about third-party certifications (like Fairtrade)? You can also check out other sustainability bloggers and influencers, many of whom do product reviews and resource lists of actually-eco stuff.

With love and sustainability,

ethigirl

How to Host a Sustainable Dinner Party (in a Pandemic)

I originally produced the following essay and community cookbook for a university course taught by Dr. Alex Ketchum titled GSFS 401: Food, Gender and Environment.

Introduction

As someone with a passion for sustainability, which has taken specific root in food studies over the course of this semester, I began my project with a clear research question in mind: what does “perfectly sustainable” food and cooking look like, and can I represent that through the medium of a dinner party? I chose a dinner party because I wanted to harness the power of a social gathering among friends and food to cultivate a collection of experiences with sustainability and food. I believed hosting an experiential learning opportunity was the best way in which to do so. Therefore, I contacted a group of friends and instructed them all to bring a dish they felt was sustainable, along with the promise of an evening of discussion, meal sharing, and photo-taking. On March 16th, however, as COVID-19 social distancing measures started to take serious effect, I had no choice but to cancel my event and brainstorm a new plan. I opted to host the same event, instead over video call (specifically via Zoom). To my gratitude, my friends agreed, and my research question then evolved just as my plans had. Not only did I now wish to understand what a sustainable dinner party looked like, but I also had to manage this new factor of doing everything remotely. 

The experience of a Sustainable Zoom Dinner Party taught me many things, even if I learned them differently than I originally expected to throughout the exercise of this assignment. My essay will relay those findings as follows: first, I will discuss the three parts of my methodology — the dinner party experiment, my community cookbook, and a literature review. Next, I will present my results and a discussion, and come to a conclusion of what someone must consider when wishing to host an event like mine. My scientific research-inspired essay framework was greatly influenced by “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass”, a specific chapter in Indigenous botanist Robin Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, which describes her work understanding and arguing in favour of the importance of Indigenous knowledge. Her chapter is profoundly compelling and makes a strong case for experiential learning. In sum, in this essay I argue that in order to host a sustainable dinner party in a pandemic, you must incorporate three tenets: gratitude, accessibility, and environmentalism. Through the lens of each tenet, you must also specifically consider the food, the dinner party itself, and the impact of COVID-19. 

Methodology

The Dinner Party Experiment

The idea behind hosting a sustainable dinner party stemmed from my belief that I could only successfully come to conclusions on such overwhelming terms by consulting with other people. Similar to a scientific experiment, more participants leads to more inclusive research that accounts for as many factors as possible. As such, I created an event and invited a group of my friends to help with my research by preparing a meal they personally felt was sustainable, and then responding to a series of discussion questions during the (virtual) event. A shortcoming of my sample was its lack of diversity. All participants are in their early twenties, study social science-based undergraduate degrees, and live in major Canadian cities. However, for my purposes, I contacted individuals who I believed would be most likely to participate. 

A Community Cookbook

Following the Zoom Dinner Party, I had each participant provide me with several materials: the recipe they cooked, their rationale for its sustainability, and some photos. I compiled all of these elements, along with my own personal submission, into a sustainable community cookbook titled Defining Sustainable Food: A Cookbook (Appendix A). This visual component of my research represents how eight students living and studying in urban areas responded when asked to represent their ideas of sustainable food and cooking.

You can view the cookbook below:

Literature Review

The third component of my research was to consult a diversity of other research on my topic, including peer-reviewed articles, journalism, and other texts like blog posts and interviews. This element of my methodology recognizes the value of past work on this subject, much of which required emotional labour to produce. It also seeks to make up for shortcomings in diversity in my experiment, since there were other groups and issues I wished to represent and discuss.

Results & Discussion

Tenet 1: Gratitude

The first of the three tenets I argue one must consider when planning a sustainable dinner party (while social distancing) is gratitude. My initial inspiration for including this tenet was my realization of how grateful I am to my participants for contributing their time and labour. I feel more than honoured to be close to so many individuals who were willing to go above and beyond to participate in a friend’s class assignment, particularly during times like these. Through this project I have discovered the true strength, depth, and meaning of the relationships I’ve developed throughout the past several years. Additionally, however, I wish to argue that gratitude in relation to a sustainable dinner party during a pandemic only begins with a recognition of how valuable it is to have friends who will share a meal with you. An understanding of gratitude is incomplete without concrete efforts toward justice. We may be grateful for the farmers who produce our food, as well as the essential workers who process our grocery order, but we must also support their fair treatment by advocating for living wages and by purchasing ethically-made products. 

Hosts must consider where the food on the dinner party table will come from, and understand that sustainable food is fair trade. According to scholar Michael K. Goodman, who cites Barrett-Brown and Raynolds, the fair trade movement works both “in and against the market” and seeks to improve the living and working conditions of Global South farmers and producers. Goodman also mentions that, according to Oxfam, fair trade promotes “trade, not aid” and challenges the “ways of trading that keep people poor.” Concretely, these elements may look like purchasing products made by people with the right to unionize who work in safe conditions and are paid enough to support both themselves and their families. Sustainable food, therefore, supports sustainable livelihoods. Finally, when considering gratitude in regards to the dinner party itself, participants should recognize it not only in the context of their relationships with those around the table, but of their relationship with the land they eat upon. Many sustainable dinner parties will be held on unceded Indigenous territory, meaning it was stolen by colonizers who caused the violent loss of cultures as well as hundreds of thousands of lives. Many event hosts represent this issue through land acknowledgements. However, as scholars Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang wrote in their article “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor,” acknowledgement is not sufficient. Many scholars and activists use the term “decolonize” as a verb to describe the accommodations they are making in colonized spaces, without realizing the very real implications of the word itself.

Finally, creating space for gratitude at a dinner party in a pandemic must not only acknowledge the role of grocery store employees, cleaners, healthcare workers, and public transit drivers and maintenance workers in making it happen, but it must also fight for their fair treatment. As journalist Owen Jones argues, the movement during COVID-19 toward celebrating essential workers as “heroes” is necessary, but incomplete without advocacy from the privileged. Jones writes that “no floor can be cleaned remotely,” and yet those risking their lives to provide services like these are systemically underpaid and unfairly treated. Sustainable dinner party attendees who can (and should) work from home during this pandemic should spend time fighting in favour of normalizing essential workers’ higher wages and safer conditions, including access to personal protective equipment and sufficient distance from customers. It is additionally important that we extend our action-based gratitude during this time to our favourite establishments, such as restaurants, cafes, and bars. Many businesses still offer zero-contact delivery, and others provide the option of purchasing gift cards or merchandise online. Food writer Alicia Kennedy cites vegan business owner Chris Kim, who states that small businesses are relying on limited income during this time to prioritize their staff’s needs, like job security and reliable income with which to support their families. We owe those who keep these valuable establishments running the ability to do so. Therefore, sufficient gratitude while hosting a sustainable dinner party in a pandemic extends beyond recognition and into concrete action.

Tenet 2: Accessibility

Some experiment participants discussed the many costs associated with trying to live more sustainably, such as sacrificing additional income, time, or waste-intensive products, which can make participation in the movement exclusionary. Thus, a consideration of accessibility when preparing for and hosting a sustainable dinner party must encompass the many challenges and barriers that marginalized community members face on a daily basis. A sustainable dinner party during social distancing should still allow and encourage the participation of everyone, regardless of their situation. 

First of all, sustainable food itself evokes many accessibility issues. As dinner party participant Anna suggested, many grocery stores simply do not offer sustainable options, and access to grocery stores differs greatly depending on where you live.  For example, scholar Adi Segal discusses food deserts, a term which describes lack or difficulty of geographical access to healthy and nutritious food establishments, usually in lower-income areas. In New York City, small grocery stores (known as bodegas) are far more likely to exist in the neighbourhoods of East and Central Harlem than in the Upper East Side, and these bodegas are less likely to offer nutritious food options than those in the latter neighbourhood. Moreover, while many restaurants exist in all three neighbourhoods, those in East and Central Harlem are more likely to be fast-food establishments. Food deserts therefore limit access to healthy food options and further curb sustainability efforts. Additionally, disability rights blogger Crippledscholar argues that some things environmentalists tend to label as unsustainable, like straws or single-use packaging, make the lives of disabled folks easier. For example, when able-bodied environmentalists advocated for removing peeled, packaged oranges from supermarket shelves, it was harmful to the agency of disabled individuals for whom these products are incredibly valuable. 

Moreover, as dinner party participants Husayn and Juliette discussed, movements such as the zero waste one require additional labour for things like remembering to bring reusable bags and selecting more sustainable products at the store. This topic should be kept in mind in regards to accessibility because according to journalist Alden Wicker, this additional labour disproportionately falls on women since it has become included in domestic labour responsibilities. For these reasons, sustainable parties should adopt a BWYC (Bring What You Can) policy, both physically and intellectually. Participants should not be worried about preparing a perfectly-sustainable dish if it is not within their means to do so, and this experience should be a learning opportunity for everyone. No one should feel gatekept, or as though they do not have the knowledge or resources that qualify them to attend. 

Finally, in regards to accessibility and Coronavirus, one positive point to hosting a dinner party remotely is that it increases access to those who might not otherwise have been able to attend. For example, if I had held my event in my home, those who could not access stairs would have been excluded. Dinner party participant Juliette also addressed the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, stating how finding the motivation to eat and to cook has become more challenging with these new measures. As Ed Yong of The Atlantic wrote, human contact is a coping mechanism for many and social distancing has greatly reduced it. The effects of Coronavirus also negatively impact those with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, elderly people, those living in abusive homes, and Asian people dealing with an increase in racism. There is, evidently, no shortage of accessibility concerns one must consider when hosting a sustainable dinner party during the coronavirus. The host and participants should do their best to address as many as possible. 

Tenet 3: Environmentalism

No discussion of sustainability is complete without addressing issues of environmentalism, and rightly so. Although a sustainable dinner party must mitigate its impact on the environment, there are aspects of western environmentalism that override social sustainability in negative ways. For instance, in regards to food, environmentalists usually advocate for reducing or eliminating consumption of animal products, which is certainly important since up to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from meat. However, as dinner party participant Delphine pointed out, being vegetarian does not necessarily mean being sustainable. Junk food, for example, is often vegetarian, but it creates packaging waste. The food sovereignty movement also reminds us how meat is significant to many cultures, and can be farmed and eaten in less carbon-intensive ways. Additionally, while an in-person sustainable dinner party event should encourage those involved to reduce their footprint through low-carbon transportation and low-waste dinnerware, holding the event remotely mostly eliminates these concerns. 

Finally, in regards to the relationship of COVID-19 to environmentalism, dinner participants Mariam and Husayn argued that sanitation concerns have increased waste. According to Mariam, products such as bunches of bananas are now wrapped in plastic, and Husayn shared that some grocery stores no longer allow shoppers to bring reusable bags. As a broader social dialogue, many social media posts have gone viral discussing how social distancing measures have decreased pollution, and how we should then conclude that “humans are the virus.” However, as writer Sierra Garcia argues, the negative social impact of the pandemic more than reduces a cause for an “environmental win.” This sentiment is also reminiscent of ecofascist, overpopulation-based environmentalism arguments, such as the one in Paul Ehrlich’s famous book The Population Bomb. Theories like Ehrlich’s blame Global South women for causing environmental problems through their role in increasing populations. To avoid unjustly blaming already-marginalized groups, a sustainable dinner party in the time of quarantine should discuss the systems which foster climate injustice, such as capitalism, globalization, mass industry, and corporate greed. Our learnings from COVID-19 should be less about reducing overpopulation and more about overhauling our systems to accommodate everyone, because it is possible. 

Conclusion

This essay provides a framework in regards to how one might host a sustainable dinner party during a pandemic. It has discussed the varying issues and considerations related to food, the event itself, and the impact of the Coronavirus on planning such an event. The community cookbook attached also represents a meaningful visual representation of this essay’s findings and should be read alongside it. Together, these elements conclude that hosts must incorporate three main tenets: action and justice-based gratitude, diverse considerations of accessibility, and environmentalism through an intersectional lens. Indeed, it discussed many considerations within the realm of each tenet, and hosts and participants should do their best to incorporate as many as possible. Future research should prioritize hosting such dinner parties with more diverse participant samples, therefore incorporating as many concerns and uplifting as many voices as possible. Moreover, sustainable dinner parties held following the COVID-19 pandemic that may not be forced to exist remotely might still consider including this as an option for participants who are unable to attend in person.

Works Cited

Broaders, Anna, Juliette Escande, Delphine Polidori, Mariam Grigoryan, and Husayn Jamal, video call with the author, April 04, 2020.

Coté, Charlotte. “‘Indigenizing’ Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States.” Humanities. Vol. 5, no. 57 (2016): doi:10.3390/h5030057 

Crippledscholar. “When Accessibility gets Labeled Wasteful.” Crippled Scholar, March 4, 2016. https://crippledscholar.com/2016/03/04/when-accessibility-gets-labeled-wasteful/

Derfel, Aaron. “Montreal public health scrambles to avoid community spread of COVID-19.” Montreal Gazette, March 17, 2020. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-public-health-scrambles-to-avoid-community-spread-of-covid-19/

Garcia, Sierra. “‘We’re the virus’: The pandemic is bringing out environmentalism’s dark side.” Grist, March 30, 2020. https://grist.org/climate/were-the-virus-the-pandemic-is-bringing-out-environmentalisms-dark-side/

Goodman, Michael K. “Reading fair trade: political ecological imaginary and the moral economy of fair trade foods.” Political Geography. Vol. 23 (2004): 891-915. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2004.05.013 

Jones, Owen. “The undervalued heroes of the coronavirus crisis need our thanks - and our support.” The Guardian, March 21, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/21/undervalued-heroes-coronavirus-crisis-cleaners-supermarket-workers

Kennedy, Alicia. “Vegan Business Owners Share Coronavirus Challenges and Hopes for the Future.” Tenderly Magazine, March 31, 2020. https://medium.com/tenderlymag/vegan-business-owners-share-coronavirus-challenges-and-hopes-for-the-future-4aaee234f459

Kimmerer, Robin. “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass.” In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2013.

Segal, Adi. “Food Deserts: A Global Crisis in New York City - Causes, Impacts and Solutions.” Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 3, no. 1 (2010): 197-214. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26167795 

Tuck, Eve and K. Wayne Yang. “Decolonization is not a metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society. Vol. 1, no. 1 (2012): 1-40. 

Van de Kamp, Mirjam E., S. Marjie Seves and Elisabeth H. M Temme. “Reducing GHG emissions while improving diet quality: exploring the potential of reduced meat, cheese and alcoholic and soft drinks consumption at specific moments during the day.” BMC Public Health, vol. 18, no. 264 (2018): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5132-3 

Wicker, Alden. “The complicated gender politics of going zero waste.” Vox, May 9, 2019. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/9/18535943/zero-waste-movement-gender-sustainability-women-instagram

Yong, Ed. “How the Pandemic Will End.” The Atlantic, March 25, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/ 

ethigirl's tips for a kinder holiday season

Happy Holidays, everyone! And to all my friends writing finals right now (including myself RIP) - keep working, you are almost there! 

I wanted to take this post as an opportunity to provide a few tips and tricks for making the holidays as fun as possible, but also as kind to the earth and its people as possible. I think this season is so amazing. Personally, I look forward to going home for Christmas every year and getting to relax and see my family. However, there have definitely been times in the past that I've been trying to fully enjoy the season but have simultaneously been noticing things about it that are wasteful or harmful. 

Therefore, I thought I'd write this post to show you all some of the simple ways that you can go about reducing your waste and your impact on the planet and its people without drastically changing the way you celebrate the holidays. There are so many things that you can do! Hopefully some of them are helpful to you!

tip #1: buy/ask for secondhand gifts

Christmas and consumerism?! Together?! Imagine that! No, but seriously. Think of all the freaking stuff you buy and get around this season. And let's be honest, a lot of it is out of obligation - only a portion of it you're actually going to use. And while this is a beautiful tradition filled with love, it can certainly be done in a more environmental and ethical manner. 

One of these ways - and without breaking the bank at that! - is to shop secondhand, or to ask others to shop secondhand for you. This is especially awesome for all those Secret Santa/Yankee Swaps you're inevitably going to be invited to, as you never know what you might stumble upon in a Value Village when you're least expecting it. 

tip #2: package your gifts in recyclable/reusable wrap

So after you've picked up all your secondhand/thrifted gifts, what better thing to do next than to wrap them sustainably, too? This is where we reuse and recycle! The way I see it, you've got two options here:

1. Get Krafty: basically every store sells that nice brown wrapping paper that looks like butcher paper. Well, pick yourself up a roll (or two) of that and wrap up all your gifts in it! Feel free to get a little more decorative with some reusable fabric ribbons, twine, or cute gift tags. Either way, though, be proud of how minimalist-ly beautiful these wrapping jobs are.

2. Just Wrap It: got some extra scarves or bandanas? Trust your recipient to return them, or don't care if they do? Then have I got a beautiful and zero waste idea for you! Lush has a fantastic, easy-to-follow video tutorial about how to do fabric-wrapped presents that look so elegant. They also sell the wraps on their website if you are looking to invest!

tip #3: cook a vegetarian or vegan dish for dinner/brunch

One of my absolute FAVOURITE parts of the holiday season is my family's tradition of having a delicious Christmas morning brunch. My extended family all comes over for an amazing spread of bagels, apple turnovers, mimosas, and more. I seriously love it and I already can't wait for this year. I've also recently gone vegetarian, and I've realized that my options honestly don't have to be that limited! My veg friends have opened my eyes to a world of beautiful recipes, particularly BAKED GOODS, that taste just as good vegan. 

It's super easy to whip up a batch of brownies or cookies and replace the milk, butter, and eggs with vegan substitutes, and just as quick to Google vegetarian dishes and be met with a whole host of options. Therefore, I'd recommend exploring this avenue this year and potentially saving a ton of greenhouse gases in the process!

tip #4: decorate with handmade or locally-purchased items

Holiday decor is so lovely! There are so many ways to make your home cozier than ever, and let's not forget that it's an excuse to literally bring a giant tree into your home and cover it in things? While we're trying not to overthink that too much, let's talk about ways to decorate that aren't super harmful for the earth. 

1. Buy locally-made soy or beeswax candles: I absolutely adore a nicely-scented candle for winding down at night and often light one as I'm having some tea. It just makes me feel so cozy! However, many of these candles are made from paraffin wax, which actually comes from oil - grr. Therefore, try finding a bit more environmentally-friendly option, such as soy or beeswax candles! These are often sold at farmers’ markets or by other local vendors. If that fails, they're also available in many places online.

2. Use picture frames you already have and add holiday art: there are so many beautiful, free holiday art pieces available online that aren't tacky! Take a look on Pinterest, like at this option, to see what I mean.

3. Do some light foraging: chances are if you live in the country and it's snowing there, you're surrounded by beautiful OUTDOOR decor already. Why not head outside and trim some sprigs of pine or gather some pinecones to place around your home? Not only is this completely zero waste, but the pine will also smell fantastic.

tip #5: receive a gift you won't use? donate it responsibly! 

Let's face it. For better or for worse, there will inevitably be a gift you received that was given out of complete love, and you were of course thankful for, but that doesn't fit, or you know it might not get used. When this happens, most of us usually donate this kind of stuff, but I'm here to tell you that your donations don't always go where you're hoping for them to. 

Donation stores simply receive too many items. If you've ever stepped inside a secondhand store, you know what I mean. Clothes rack after clothes rack, filled with items that won't get purchased. So what happens to them? They either get sent to a landfill, or sent to a community in the Global South to be sold by vendors, which actually floods the market in which artisans and other vendors are trying to sell their handcrafted goods. For many individuals in these communities, entrepreneurship is a way out of poverty - and throwing donated clothes into the mix can often collapse their customer base. This is not okay, and I will you to not contribute to it. 

What can you do instead? You should either sell your items or donate them directly to a person or cause that you know will use your donations wisely. You could do this in a buy and sell group on Facebook, by creating a Depop account, or by ordering a thredUP consignment bag. This is really important. 

Hopefully these tips and tricks will come in handy in the next couple of weeks! I wish you all a wonderful, cozy, and fun holiday season.

With love and sustainability,

Ethigirl