How to host a an eco-friendly Christmas

Brut America

Want to host an eco-friendly Christmas?   Getting gifts, wrapping them, cooking... Yes, there is a lot to plan, but there are simple ways to get into the holiday spirit without harming the planet. Here's how.

Transcript

00:00Well, Merry Christmas!

00:02Merry Christmas!

00:04After Christmas, more than one in five French people sell or give away their gifts.

00:07In December, in France, 700 kilos of turkey are bought every minute.

00:11Every year, 20,000 tons of gift packages are thrown away, only in France.

00:15At Christmas, a Briton, for example, emits more CO2 than on a trip to Paris, New York, by plane.

00:31Florent, what do I do with the last two carrots?

00:34We're going to cut them roughly.

00:36They still need a little bit of thickness, because we're going to cook them at the same time as the cabbage in the cocotte.

00:41Like that, please.

00:43Here I have the cabbage cocotte.

00:45In fact, I cook it like meat.

00:47We make a menu without meat or fish, but I cook it like meat.

00:51We're going to do a little bit of the same spirit here on a risotto with leeks.

00:57And here, some leek. It's also called yacon.

01:00I roast the leek whole, I just brushed it.

01:03It smells so good.

01:04Leek is a product that tastes a bit like macadamia nuts, a little smoky.

01:07You see, it's really cool.

01:09So good.

01:11So here we only have products that are local, seasonal, and vegetable for the most part.

01:17The idea is really to show that we can make a festive meal by using healthy, healthy products.

01:23Here, we chose not to put fish or meat to show that it's possible.

01:27And that it's more ecological too.

01:29Yeah, to offer an alternative.

01:31But we could have had salmon, we could have had meat.

01:34The thing is, at Christmas, we want to make people happy, and we end up serving people.

01:38Because we put too much food, we're going to waste a lot, we're going to buy...

01:41Since we want to buy a lot of different products, we're going to...

01:43Buy less good quality products.

01:45And it's a shame, because we're really in the period of resolutions, good resolutions.

01:50And maybe it's time to operate a turnaround in our way of consuming.

01:54Yeah, and we're better off than fasting after a Christmas meal where we eat too much.

01:58That's it.

01:59Or we waste a lot, and that also has an ecological impact that is very strong.

02:03So eat less, but eat better.

02:06And we're going to eat well.

02:07Clearly.

02:21Christmas presents

02:25Hi.

02:26Hi Julien.

02:27How are you?

02:28I'm fine, and you?

02:29Yes.

02:30Nice to see you.

02:31Likewise.

02:32I was going to start packing my gifts.

02:34That's good, I just finished doing my shopping.

02:36What did you buy?

02:38A Christmas gift from Oblige.

02:40I tried to reduce the impact as much as possible.

02:44I'll show you.

02:45I thought I was going to offer local gifts.

02:48This is an ethical and responsible brand.

02:51Occasional gifts, with games.

02:55And also experiences, and things that are a bit immaterial.

02:58I take advantage of Christmas to initiate the Zero Waste approach.

03:02So I use gifts that can sensitize.

03:06With a gourd that can replace plastic bottles, for example.

03:10The famous gourd.

03:11Wooden toothbrushes.

03:12Also solid cosmetics.

03:14This is a solid shampoo.

03:15And also homemade gifts.

03:17I made a lip balm.

03:18The straw is covered.

03:19We are completely in the Zero Waste.

03:21Exactly.

03:22And to go all the way, there are packaging techniques for gifts.

03:25Zero Waste.

03:26You buy the gift papers.

03:29You use them.

03:30You tear them.

03:31You throw them away.

03:32These are astronomical quantities.

03:34There are some that are plasticized, laminated.

03:36There are plastic bowls.

03:38It's absolutely not recyclable.

03:40So there are techniques that are super simple to replace them.

03:44For example, a newspaper.

03:45You can also use a beautiful magazine to pack it.

03:47To make it pretty, etc.

03:49And then you have everything that is fabric.

03:51So the fabric, by definition, is reusable.

03:53So for example, you can use a handbag.

03:55It's an extra gift, actually.

03:57Exactly.

03:58You offer it.

03:59And then the person can use it to go shopping.

04:01And then you have everything that is furoshiki.

04:03So it's a Japanese technique that you can use to pack your gifts.

04:08It's just folding.

04:09You just have to put it in the middle.

04:11You make a knot like that.

04:13And a knot of the other.

04:14Depending on the shape of the gift you are going to offer,

04:17you will have different folding techniques.

04:19It's super pretty.

04:20And that's it.

04:21Bravo.

04:37My last tip for Christmas gifts

04:39is to organize a lucky draw.

04:41Yes, actually.

04:42Rather than offering a lot of gifts to everyone,

04:45you draw one lucky person in your family or in your friends

04:48and you offer them a single gift.

04:50Yes, it avoids having a whole bunch of gifts

04:52that will be abandoned or resold on the Internet a few days later.

04:56We focus our budget to make a beautiful gift that will be useful.

05:00How's the kitchen going?

05:01It's going very well, thank you.

05:02It's going well.

05:07Where are you from?

05:08I'm watching the cooking.

05:12See you soon.

05:13I'm going to ask if we can set the table.

05:14Guys, it's going to be ready.

05:15Shall we set the table?

05:16Yes.

05:18I'm going to get the glasses.

05:21Julie, you made a great tree.

05:23Yes, we made it with a pallet found in the street with my dad.

05:26Great, because it replaces the natural tree.

05:28Every year, 5,000 hectares of trees are cut.

05:31It's monoculture.

05:32It contributes to soil erosion, to the destruction of biodiversity.

05:35Yes, and in the end, artificial trees are not much better in terms of carbon equivalent.

05:39You would have to keep your artificial tree for 20 years to be able to make it profitable.

05:43So, doing it yourself can be a good alternative, much cheaper.

05:50Here, we did everything ourselves,

05:51and it's practically only products that are either recyclable or natural.

05:55Dried oranges, silk, paper.

06:00Wow.

06:01Wow.

06:04What's that, Laurent?

06:05Did you say?

06:10So, we reserve Christmas until 2035.

06:15How did you get here?

06:18I took the train.

06:19Between the time I left my house and I arrived here, it's been two hours.

06:22We rarely think about it, but transport is one of the first carbon footprints on Christmas.

06:28So, it's cool to be able to take the train or carpool.

06:32There are lots of solutions.

06:33It also allows you to regulate the number of cars.

06:36Well, Merry Christmas.

06:37Merry Christmas.

06:39Merry Christmas.

Category

Transcript

Recommended