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A green Christmas, not just in colour, but in spirit, too.
After admiring Monika’s green and iconic Christmas images last time round, today we’re marvelling at designer Anton Berezin’s illustrations, which show us how we can celebrate Christmas sustainably.
Over the festive period, which this year will be quite different to any other, can we enjoy ourselves while still doing our bit for the planet?
This is the question that Anton set out to answer, in doing so finding some common things that we can do to prevent waste while shopping, giving and celebrating.
An alternative way of celebrating a colourful time full of gifts and excitement, but without forgetting the planet and its green heart.
Because even at this merry moment, despite the unprecedented and challenging circumstances that we find ourselves in, we can still do little things to make our festivities more sustainable.
We leave you with Anton’s visual tips and hope they’ll inspire you to celebrate this Christmas with a green conscience.
Enjoy!
Send Christmas e-cards
When I’ve found this text “A staggering 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thrown away by UK households each year, according to Imperial College researchers”, I decided that I have to inspire people to send e-cards instead of paper ones.
So I made this illustration to provide the Christmas vibe that you can receive while making e-congrats. Grab a cozy sweater, make a cup of ginger tea, find the warmest words in your heart and let’s make your e-cards! Also you can call your homies to say your congrats or buy cards made from recycled materials and not containing plastics such as glitter.
Handmade gifts and wrapping
One more great way to help the environment (and to save some money) — to create presents or/and packaging by your own hands! Baking, sewing or painting… anything you are good in! Put a piece of your heart to your gifts. Afterall who does not love handmade Christmas dishes and cookies?!
Choose the environment friendly wrapping: re-use last year’s wrapping paper and choose the recycled types of paper: brown ones or tissue and newspaper. I image the eco-friendly girl who have fun with wrapping process. This year you can have same!
Online shopping instead of buying in offline-store.
I was really surprised when I’d heard first time that online-shopping while Holidays is better for an environment. So I feel that I have to explain it via my illustrations.
Some facts are here:
An increase in purchases at pre-Christmas time usually leads to an increased carbon footprint, but a delivery truck uses far less fuel per package than an equivalent number of people driving in person to pick them up. Another reason for the online-shopping while Christmas time is pandemic precautions. Save the Planet and save yourself staying home and order your gifts online. At my illustration, you can see an enthusiastic guy who choosing gifts online.
For Rent
When you look at this illustration, you can think “Oh, this buddy has cut down a good tree”! However, my character cares about an environment. That’s why he has rent his tree!
To rent the tree is the best way to be eco-friendly this Christmas. Because the artificial ones are made from plastic and you should use your fake tree more than 20 years to make the Planet greener (impossible, you know). The way to cut down the tree also is not good because of millions of them will be dumped in January rather than recycled. In addition, my character is carrying the tree to his home from the market across the street. Because he also does not want to use car when it is not necessary.
Unplug the lights before your last glass of eggnog
Do you really need the color lights while you are sleeping? I think not. That’s why I decided to show you how important to switch off your technics any time you can do it.
Timers can also be implemented to make sure you lights go off at a certain time even if no one is home to flip the switch. Time is 4 a.m., a party is over, and the character at my illustration is ready to go bed. Look, he doesn’t forget to switch off his tree-lights! Let’s action like him.
Why I chose this topic
I have never been an environmental activist, but I love my planet and I want to do my best to keep it beautiful and healthy. I googled the topic of eco-friendly Christmas last year to understand “What can I do better?”.
Some things was not really obvious for me. Many years I do same things and I’ve never seen an another way. Now I know how simple actions could help our Ecology to be safe from Holiday damage.
I want to help people to explore some of them via my illustrations!