An Ethical Guide to Baby’s First Christmas | Hugo & Me
Posted by VICTORIA SHUTTLEWORTH
An Ethical Guide to Baby’s First Christmas
Although Christmas is a time of joy, it can also be a time of great waste. From food to wrapping paper, lots of things get thrown away over the festive period. For those, like us, who care about the environment, this amount of waste can seem unethical. But if you’re new parents, you’ll undoubtedly want to make baby’s first Christmas really special. That’s why we’ve put together this guide of little ways you can make your baby’s first Christmas ethical and sustainable.
Clothing
Most new parents want to buy a lovely outfit for baby’s first Christmas clothes, so how do you do this sustainably? Our range of organic cotton outfits will have the perfect thing for your little one to wear on their first Christmas Day. Also, we have a whole range specifically designed for baby’s first Christmas clothes on our website, including novelty festive hats and matching reindeer onesies for the whole family!
Chances are you’ll also want to buy some clothes for your baby as Christmas presents, to wear for the rest of the winter. Why not choose from our ethically sourced coats and jumpers? We have choices in gender neutral colours and patterns, perfect for any little one. Or tick two names off the list with ‘mama and baby’ or ‘daddy and baby’ twinning items, such as matching hats or t-shirts.
Toys
Christmas adverts are usually filled with plastic toys for children which, while bright and fun, can be damaging for the environment if they are thrown out. Try buying wooden toys for your new little one, like a toy pram or chest on wheels. Wooden toys tend to be more durable and will last longer, and when they are eventually no longer used, they won’t be harmful to the environment.
Food Waste
With the amount of food that is consumed at Christmas, it’s unsurprising that a lot of this is wasted. Ways to avoid this can include re-using or freezing leftovers, composting leftover veg or planning your shop cleverly. With all of these leftovers, most households turn to cling-film to preserve it. However, most local authorities don’t recycle it so it will inevitable end up in landfill. Try beeswax wraps this year – a handy and ethical way to keep your leftover food fresh that you can even make yourself.
Paper Waste
Consumers in the UK use 227,000 miles of wrapping paper each Christmas and only 83km² of this is recycled. A handy ethical tip is to use brown paper, which is easily recycled, and avoid plastic ribbon and bows. Everything you buy from Hugo & Me is sent out to you in eco-friendly packaging. We use recyclable tissue paper and paper mailing bags. To avoid waste, why not keep your baby’s gifts in their original Hugo & Me wrapping instead of using new paper?
If you have any more questions about our ethically sourced products for your baby’s first Christmas clothes, contact us on info@hugoandme.co.uk.