It’s officially Christmas time; the streets are lit up, over-the-top perfume ads are on the telly and Shane MacGowan is back on radio.

And so cue the relentless onslaught of festive marketing; ‘buy this, buy that and don’t forget the tinsel’.  

Almost suddenly it feels like the concerns around COP26 and climate change simply cease to exist anymore. However we know well, that that simply is not the case. Unfortunately our consumption habits fuel the ever worsening climate crisis. Wouldn’t it be great to have all the traditions we’ve come to love around this time of year, without all the waste?!

Well, here is our Christmas gift to you – We Can!

We’ve found businesses and individuals across Ireland who are motivated to offer us sustainable alternatives over the holiday period.

Now, we can have our sustainably made Xmas Pudding and eat it!

 

First on the list; Christmas Trees

 

Meet Colm who owns a Christmas tree farm in Cork like no other.

Colm set up a Christmas tree business in 1998 called Christmastree.ie. This year he has set up a reusable tree business, providing Christmas trees in pots, so that they can be reused!

We caught up with Colm to see how it’s all going this year and to ask him why he decided to set this up….

‘I am very passionate about Christmas trees, so much so that I set up Cork Pot Grown Christmas Trees this year which sells living Christmas Trees in Pots.

Customers can rent a tree; and rent the exact same Christmas tree again next Christmas.

Christmas trees in pots is a very sustainable way to celebrate Christmas because so long as the Christmas tree is alive, it continues to suck up harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide oxygen at the same time.

Our online shop www.christmastree.ie went live early October and we have seen a large influx of orders from customers looking to rent a real tree. Our shop opens on Saturday November 20th at the Blackrock Hurling Club, Cork’.

 

We know here at VOICE that action on the part of our policy makers and industry leaders will make a real difference when it comes to climate change, but we can all take small individual actions to change the culture around consumption and resource use.

This is one small change that could potentially make a big difference. Well done to Colm and his supporters.

Is there a reusable Xmas Tree Farm near you?