Everyone loves to receive handwritten Christmas cards with a thoughtful message written inside, delivered by the postal service, in time to celebrate the festive season.
However, due to the impact on the environment, fewer people are choosing to stick to the custom of sending Christmas cards in the old-fashioned traditional manner. More and more people are looking for ways in which they can do their bit to reduce waste, and also help the planet.
Making sustainable living choices to improve the quality of life is a top priority for people who are environmentally aware. Swapping your traditional Christmas cards for Christmas cards made from recyclable materials is the sensible thing to do this year.
It’s estimated that as many as 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thrown away by households in UK in January. If swapping a handwritten Christmas card for an e-card with a seasonal greeting isn’t for you, you can help to minimise New Year waste by using recyclable materials for your Christmas cards, and buying personalised Christmas cards that are made from paper that is sustainably sourced.
Go Green
If you’re someone who is conscious of environmental issues and the climate crisis, you’ll naturally want to look for effective alternative ways to do many things. You probably already recycle your household waste every week to minimise your contribution to plastic waste. During the festive season, you can choose to go green by sending your thoughtful Happy Xmas greetings, to family, friends and acquaintances, in Christmas cards that are eco-friendly.
Eco-friendly Christmas cards that are made from plastic-free recyclable materials are usually made from the pulp of recycled card fibres. Some cards are made from sustainably sourced virgin paper, and others are made from a combination of the two. These Christmas cards, and their biodegradable packaging, are mostly compostable.
To check that you’re buying genuine green Christmas cards, look for the FSC symbol printed on the back of the cards to ensure they are certified eco-friendly by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Unlike plastic materials that will never break down, Christmas card materials that are biodegradable completely break down and return back to nature. Compostable materials also enrich the earth with valuable nutrients.
Give Christmas Cards An Eco-Friendly Upgrade
For many people, Christmas isn’t really Christmas without a touch of sparkle. Unfortunately, all of the glitter, foil, and fancy metallic adornments, that make some Christmas card designs extra special, can’t be recycled in the standard way.
If you love to send Christmas cards that are beautifully embellished with glitzy glitter made from microplastics that are notoriously difficult to recycle, you don’t have to give up your decoration preference. Instead, you can buy and send Christmas cards that are decorated with recyclable eco-friendly, shimmering glitter finish.
Recycled Christmas cards that are printed using vegetable based inks – in place of inks and dyes containing an assortment of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – are an excellent green alternative because they use low or no alcohol printing techniques.
Recycling Your Christmas Cards
Most unrecyclable Christmas cards simply end up adding to the overflowing pile of household waste after the festive period, and contribute to landfill site overload. Christmas cards that are made from recyclable materials help to reduce the amount of paper waste that is collected up in January.
Rather than putting your stylish and beautiful Christmas cards straight into the recycling bin after the 12 days of Christmas are over, or hoarding them away as keepsakes, you can recycle your personalised Christmas cards in a variety of creative and artistically inspired ways.
Welcome in the New Year by hosting a family dinner party, and using the recyclable materials from your Christmas cards to make stylish and unique table place settings for your guests. Write their names on the reverse white side of the cards, and embellish with a frame of collage.
Planning ahead and making customised Christmas decorations for next year, not only stops you from becoming a sentimental hoarder, it can also save you money in the long run. Upcycle this year’s Christmas cards by transforming them into decorative garlands, wreaths and bunting, and ornamental hangings for your Christmas tree.
Cut up the motifs featured on the Christmas cards that you’re recycling, and use them to make festive theme gift tags for presents. You can cut the cards in traditional square or rectangle shapes, or use fancy edge scissors to create unique forms. Some contemporary Christmas card designs may even be suitable for creating gift tags for gifts throughout the year. Just attach a piece of natural neutral twine or coloured ribbon, and you instantly have stylish recycled DIY gift tags for presents that are wrapped in eco-friendly paper.
If you love all things arts and crafts, you’ll also enjoy cutting and folding recycled Christmas cards to make cute little Christmas gift boxes.
Give youngsters their own craft project by getting them to make DIY cards and artwork that uses up the left over scraps of your Christmas card recyclable materials. Top up their craft boxes with a generous supply of Christmas card stock, to keep them going for months.
