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.
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.
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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.