Reduce your carbon footprint this Christmas. Here are some easy tips to follow.

Embracing the Christmas holiday spirit while remaining environmentally conscious is possible to accomplish without taking anything away from the celebration.

“This time of year is all about consumption,” said Karen Winterich, a Susman professor in sustainability and professor of marketing at Penn State Smeal College of Business. “All consumption takes resources, which are what we are limited in. I think reducing consumption in general is key.

“I’m not trying to make people feel guilty or saying they can’t have fun. A lot of times after the holidays we’re actually upset with how much stuff we have. It doesn’t bring us that much joy and sometimes it’s more of a burden.”

Winterich said thinking past the holiday can bring about a different perspective.

“I think we can actually help ourselves, as well as the environment,” she said. “ If we try to think forward a little bit past, like, the initial day of the present opening and say, ‘Do I want this in my house afterwards?’ or ‘Is the person I’m gifting this gift going to use it afterwards?’ or ‘Am I just buying it to have a gift to give?’ And if that’s the case, then maybe don’t buy it.”

Tips to consider:

• Use eco-friendly wrapping paper: Avoid single-use plastic items, especially glitter;

• Use LED lights: LED lights use up to 80% less energy than traditional lights;

• Shop locally: Support local businesses; and,

• Buy Fairtrade or organic-certified food and clothing.

Also, choose a real tree. They help fight climate change and support forests, according to The Nature Conservancy.

“The other thing that is so much waste around the holidays is the packaging itself and the wrapping,” Winterich said. “I think a lot of that has to do with aesthetics; wanting the gift to look pretty. There’s the stigma around not wanting to look cheap. That causes a lot of consumption.”

Choose gifts that last:

• Handmade gifts, cards and decorations;

• Local food and drink, especially organic options; and,

• Gift certificates for skills or services.

Consider saving this year’s gift bags for later

“Consider using reusable packaging,” said Winterich. “I have gift bags that I’ve used to put gifts in for the holidays for the last decade. There’s no need for me to buy new gift bags every year. That’s just wasteful. You could use wrapping paper. You can also use newspapers.”

Winterich said the Christmas feast is an important part of the holiday and should be enjoyed.

“We want to have those traditions,” she said. “Cultural representations are in the food that we consume together. So you won’t want to cut that out. But I think it could be a lot more forward thinking.”

Focus on reusables

Ella Filston, waste reduction coordinator, at the University of Georgia in the Office of Sustainability, said reusable cookware is the best route.

“Reuseable is best, but I don’t blame the moms out there who get stuck with all the dishes,” said Filston. “I don’t blame people for using single-use stuff. But Styrofoam is the worst. It breaks up into little pieces and often becomes litter and it can’t be recycled.”

Filston said reducing food waste is a big issue as it often ends up in landfills to break down and become methane.

“Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide,” she said. “So we’ve all heard of carbon dioxide and its effect on climate change, but methane is 20 to 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas. So we don’t want to contribute to that.”

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Funding Partners.

Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at [email protected] or on X: @EricaVanBuren32.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Celebrating Christmas and being environmentally conscious can be tricky