Mother’s Hour – The Eco Christmas Special

Hello and welcome to Mother's Hour with me, Carolyn Van Beers, here on Women's radio station. Today, it's our Christmas special with a delicious little twist. It's an Eco Christmas special, your quintessential step by step guide for you and your family to have a more environmentally conscious Christmas. Just to give you a little bit of an insight into how wasteful we are at Christmas time, 114,000 tonnes of plastic per packaging is thrown away and not recycled in the UK alone. At Christmas, an extra 30% of rubbish is produced and discarded throughout the festive period. This is an additional waste in the region of 3 million tonnes. And it's also estimated that 270,000 tonnes of food is wasted in the UK over Christmas time. And Christmas is also incredibly expensive and full of unnecessary consumerism. Last year, British consumer consumers spent? 1 billion on unwanted gifts, with 71% of people admitting they received a gift they were unlikely to ever use. With approximately 42 million of these unwanted Christmas presents being thrown out into landfill each year, if these scary facts propel you to want to have a less wasteful Christmas this year, then please do stay with us as we guide you through. We've got everything from brilliant present ideas, homemade presents, also how to have an eco Christmas tree, to the making of your very own recycled wrapping paper and a plethora of food buying options for your Christmas dinner. We've got it covered, so stay with us. And to help me guide you through our Eco Christmas, I have two wonderful guests who are also very well informed. So my first guest is one of the founding members of Parents for Future, a grassroots group that was set up for parents to support their children in their demands for a safe climate future. She's also managed to have an eco friendly Christmas last year, so we'll definitely be finding more about that in just a moment. Welcome to the show with Sandra Frey. Thank you. My second guest is also one of the founding members of Parents for Future. She's a new mum to a 20 month old little boy. And she's the founder of goecobaby.com, a wonderful blog with eco friendly parenting tips and fantastic advice on how to be more green. Ww.goecobaby.com welcome. Beth. Mark. Hello. Thank you very much for having me. Thank you so much for joining me, ladies. So you both are part of Parents for Future and I know that you've just started your Christmas campaign, the 12 Hours of Christmas, a very helpful guide to an eco Christmas and one which we will be sharing with you throughout Today's show. So let's get started. And I think I'm going to come to you, Sandra, because you've done an Eco Christmas and I know a lot of mums out there are going to be thinking, oh, gosh, I don't like the sound of this. Even though you want to do it, your head's saying yes, but your heart's like, oh, I want to give my kids a really, really amazing Christmas. I want to have the magic. And how can I do that if I'm doing an eco Christmas? So tell us, how did you even start with this? Well, so I've got three girls, Agnes, who is 8 years old, Alba, who's 13, and Iris, who's 4 years old. And last year, having had the very upsetting news given by the IPCC report, and after experiencing a summer of unprecedented wildfires in Sweden, where I'm from, we decided that we needed to take action. I work as a fashion advertising photographer, so over the years I worked on numerous Christmas campaigns for large companies designed to maximize sales. And for that reason particularly, I felt that I wanted to take a stand in public and basically say, the thing to do this Christmas is to buy as little as you can or nothing. So we. Yeah, so we decided as a family to do everything in our power to reduce our footprint and tell as many people as possible about it. So we called it the Reversed Christmas and we tried to rethink every aspect of Christmas and to make it a challenge, because that's really what you need to do if you're going to tell your kids. We're going to do things differently this year. Well, that's the big thing. You've got three girls. I mean, girls really. You know, everyone gets excited about Christmas, but in particular, girls can be quite pernickety. They want things a certain way. How. And there's such different age groups. How did you start to even bring this into the family home? Well, when telling a kid that you plan to remove most of their presents for the coming Christmas, you really have to present an alternative to. So you need to make it exciting and you need to make it a challenge. And we did that by using the entire month of Christmas and do what we call the reverse Advent calendar. So whilst the little ones enjoyed making sustainable wrapping paper using stencils and organic dye, the older one took really great pleasure in researching the ethical and sustainable qualities of items on her wish list by just simply asking Siri. You know, you can ask Siri about products on your gift and she will find. She will find you Some of the information available online. But I wanted to show the children that Christmas is about giving. So it became a game. In fact, we had the most Christmas experience ever. We had to slow down. We had to spend a lot of time with each other, and we had to think a lot about what gifts and giving actually mean. It's beautiful. And that is that time, not shopping and running around like a, you know, headless chicken, going, Auntie Margaret. Something that actually makes you really stressed out. And if you just spend time at home with your children, wow. It becomes what Christmases really should be about. Well, it really, really did. So, I mean, first of all, we literally reversed the Advent calendar, and they got to put a gift in a basket which could go to charity at the end of the month. They got to research their charity, and we talked a lot about people in need and how grateful we should be for having a home and a family at Christmas. The kids got the challenge to make a wish list that did not contain any plastic or as little new objects as possible. And I also asked them to research all the objects that they wanted to put on there, which meant many times they decided to remove less environmentally friendly options themselves. We visited a lot of craft markets and we bought locally produced and handcrafted items, which is great fun. Yeah. This is in itself, it's a very, very special thing to do in Christmas. Lovely. And would you say it was a success? And you have to be honest now, it was amazing. It's the most memorable Christmas to date, in fact. And the kids absolutely loved it. They, you know, we both, me, myself, and the kids tried to raise as much awareness as possible about what we were doing. You know, everybody in their schools knew about what we were doing. They got mentions in the school newsletter, so they became a little bit famous for what they were doing. That was lovely. Yeah. And many of their friends chose to change their wish list for Christmas, too. They had this, you know, they challenge each other in class every day to think of things that could go on Agnes wish list because obviously she needed some help. So, yeah, it became the talking point of everyone around us. People started sharing their ideas with us, and I believe we affected a lot of people to at least question the tradition of accelerated consumerism. And I think what you're highlighting here is we have traditionally done Christmas in a particular way, and that has almost got out of hand in the fact that it's all become about buying instead of actually about Christmas. So even though those traditions, you don't want to let go of them. If we Start now by introducing our children to a different way. They will take that with them and always bring that into their lives and that's all they will know. So that's particularly with you, Beth, because you have a 20 month old baby and he won't know about any of this traditional Christmas things that we do. You're just gonna start. I feel like it's a great chance for me to start from scratch or since bringing my, my little person into the world, I've had a huge eco conscious shift and what a more perfect time than to start new environmentally conscious Christmas traditions. I'm trying to be mindful in my everyday life. So why should Christmas be any different is how I'm feeling about it. And you've got amazing, I mean, I've looked at your blog and your Instagram. You have so many amazing ideas that you're going to share with us today about recycling presents and just little things that you're doing that you know, are incredibly good fun as well as, you know, very kind to the planet. Yeah, there's a world of opportunities out there and it's about just getting creative. I think it's just, just when I remember clearing up from Christmas on, on Christmas Day and just thinking how much of a challenge it was to fill all of these rubbish bins full of all of this tat and just imagining it spread across the country and even the planet, it was just staggering. So I think we just all need to be mindful. Just reducing a small bit each can have a significant impact. I think that's a really relevant point. I mean, Sandra did the whole thing last year, but even if you do two or three things this year, you'll just get into the swing of it and before you know it, you'll be Sandra Frey doing the whole Christmas. But don't put any pressure on yourselves, you know, and try and enjoy it and make it fun because then you'll get the whole family involved and you, they'll all be embracing and being empowered by the eco Christmas. We're going to go to a short break pretty soon, but do get in touch. Carolinasradiostation.com that's carolinemensradiostation.com and don't forget, if you are a little bit keen on your eco Christmas, you can check out the Parents of Future website. We're going to be talking to Sandra and Beth in just a few minutes about the 12 hours of Christmas. I love what you've done there. The 12 hours of Christmas. Brilliant. So we'll be talking about that Just after the break. But that's actually up on your website. You've started that campaign already, haven't you? Yes, yes. Yeah. We wanted to roll it out as, as soon as possible so to get people thinking well, in time for the Christmas period. And that covers literally, it's like the A to Z of Christmas. It's everything from the Christmas wraps to the presents to the cards, everything. You kind of thought of everything. So there's lots of ideas on the website for you. What's your website for parents of future? Www.parentsofthefuture.org UK Yay, we've got it. Okay, we're back in a few. Welcome to Women's Radio Station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons live on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Julie Mae is listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at Women's Radio Station supporting women's wellbeing and we're talking all things autism women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Lauren Mishkon. I'm a birth doula and mum of three and I'm passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show, From Tummy to Mummy here on Women's Radio Station. 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And you can listen to my show get booked here at Women's Radio station daily at 5am and 5pm throughout my shows, we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers and book enthusiasts, all with the theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well being. If you have a book to tell us about. Get in touch@presentersomensradiostation.com join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring and empowering? At Nurturing Birth we offer approved doula training courses across the UK which are facilitated by an award winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more@nurturingbirth.co.uk. You're listening to Women's Radio Station supporting women's well being. Women's radio stations creating a global network for the empowerment of women and we want you to be involved. Join us on Instagram and Twitter womensradio Station, that's womensradio STN or Facebook. Women's Radio Station to keep up to date with all our exciting programs. Welcome back to Mother's Hour with me, Carolyn Van Beers here on Women's Radio Station. We are in the middle of our Christmas special. It's our Eco Christmas Special, a quintessential guide to an environmentally conscious Christmas. I'm here with my lovely guests today. I've got Sandra Frey and Beth Mark. They're two of the founding members of Parents of Future and they've started their Christmas campaign with the 12 Hours of Christmas which we're going to be coming to in just a second. I am going to put that on the website guys, because if you are listening to this show and you don't want to be writing things down on a piece of paper, just dive onto the website under, on the toolbar, under materials and the 12 Rs of Christmas will be on there courtesy of our friends from Parents for Future. So this guide is awesome, ladies. I love it. And as well as being so much kinder to the planet, don't forget you're saving money, you're avoiding excessive consumerism, feeling empowered and guilt free. And it's also great fun and very good for your well being. Beth, the 12 Rs. Yeah, I like it. It's a nice play. What have we got there? Right, so to give your Christmas that eco facelift that so desperately needs, our first is. Well, I'll just list them. Yes. Resist, rethink, reduce, reuse, replant, reach out, re home repair, repurpose, recycle, recharge and then repeat. Lovely. I like the repeat at the end. That is absolutely fantastic. And besides each one, obviously you give some lovely examples of where you can go. I mean the resist is pretty obvious. Re home. What we got there re home is looking into the whole second hand world and making sure that things stay within circulation. Absolutely. And that's to do with where you buy your items from and also to do with what you do with your items that you don't no longer want or need. Right, ladies, I think we're going to make a start. This is your quintessential guide. We're going to start with Christmas cards. Now you've got a bit of a frightening fact here about the Christmas cards. Yeah. So apparently in the UK alone, 1 billion Christmas cards are bought and this is the equivalent of 33 million trees. Oh, and that's 33 million. Let's just say that again. 33 million trees. Yeah. Clearly that's 33 million that we can't afford to lose, in my opinion. Yes, well, and mine, I think Sandra's. Absolutely. So what can we do? What are some of the alternatives? I think, well, a huge one is going electronic instead. I think that most of us can agree that in this day and age you're a lot more likely to know somebody's email address opposed to their actual address. And I, I do appreciate that children who do love giving to their classmates, there does have to be other options there. So I think where that's the case, we, we're looking at being able to reuse the cards that they receive for, for gift tags and being able to reuse them for decorations. So making paper chains out of them or even like Christmas bunting activities for the kids to decorate your home or just to reuse the image that you are receiving in your cards for next year or even within this year. A great idea that my kids are doing is instead of actually giving a Christmas card, they punched a little hole in the top and made it into something you can pop on the tree. So it's just a tiny little piece of card and they just punched a hole in and put some string around and then, and it's just, it's so it's still a little card, but. And it's all from old Christmas cards that we've got over the years. So we're just reusing those and hopefully people will keep those and maybe reuse those. So definitely think about that when you're going out to buy packets and packets and packets of Christmas cards, maybe think of an alternative way where you can perhaps use what you've already got or if you're not at that stage. If you get any Christmas cards this year, as Beth said, keep them in a box. You need a box. Your reuse box. Okay. For next year, you've got to start a reuse box this year if you don't do anything else with the Christmas cards. Okay, let's move on to presents. It's huge. It's very expensive. Please don't make me go to the shops. Okay, let's start. Because you love making things and so do I, with some homemade presents ideas. Yeah. So saying I love making things, this has all been very new to me as well. I can't say that I am naturally gifted in the creative world, but what I have found really useful is online and looking at in Pinterest and similar things is really inspirational. And it's actually a huge amount of it is incredibly doable. Give me some examples of what you think. So things that I've done is that I've been collecting things that I would ordinarily throw away as waste. Anything that I think looks useful and I've been keeping it aside in a huge reusable tub that I have. And I've been exploring ways to decorate it and to sort of upcycle it into things like candle holders or plant pots or even like a glass jar is fantastic that it can be used for near enough anything. And I'm talking about that. You can create soaps for people, you can create hand creams. All of these recipes and ingredients are out there. And like you said, they are on Pinterest. So my top children, I've got quite a few, but particularly the triplets, who are eight and in that kind of. I still want to really make things. They are so excited by this. They've started their own little YouTube channel, if you would like to check that out. It's called the Eco Triplets. And they've got loads of ideas of presents that they can make for grandma, granddad, mums and dads that they can actually make themselves. And it's also fun to make with your kids. It's time you spend with them making things. So we've made beeswax wraps, which is the are to the most beautiful fabrics. I had a whole thing of old clothing that couldn't perhaps be used, but, you know, the fabric was still quite nice. So we've really got very repurposing with that. Baked edible goods. Can't go wrong there. Cookies in a jar. Like you said, the glass jars are brilliant for decorating. Make your own little labels, you know, shortbread cookies. I tell you another thing, we made cookie balls the other day, dipped them in chocolate and we put them in a really large glass jar, you know, like a pesto jar, and put a little ribbon around the top and it's beautiful. So lots of ideas there. As Beth said, do look on Pinterest potato printing on tote bags. Make lovely presents. And like you said, soap making. And I tell you, my favourite, favourite one that I make for my girlfriends, like other mums who need a bit of pampering, is make a face cream or a scrub or, you know, oats, honey, all that kind of stuff is great. Put it together with a lovely face cloth and teach them the little message saying, learn how to use your hot cloth. Hot cloth is amazing. And it's a whole new way because I'm teaching my mum to stop using wipes and actually have a new way of cleansing, which I think can be very exciting as well. So what else have we got? Okay, Beth. Experiences. Yeah. So this idea of stepping away from physical gifts, I suppose, and really thinking of scenarios where you can actually spend time together, I think this is what we've touched on a lot, that that is what Christmas is about. Or to give someone an experience to remember and really this is very personal to the individual, but it's about finding that out. It's anything from going to the cinema to going to the theater or some sort of membership, so National Trust or museum, and maybe, maybe things that people wouldn't necessarily think to buy for themselves, but they would really, really enjoy. And so it's. And. And also the. The looking at what skills you can offer and what other people can offer. So in terms of the pampering, you could even buy someone a massage voucher or keep it local to local businesses. Exactly. And also say the gift of learning. And I would definitely double check with this one before signing someone up to a course. But for children, something like a music lesson or language lesson, something that's actually going to help them develop rather than spending a lot of money on potentially meaning meaningless objects and putting it to much better use. Absolutely. Subscriptions as well to. So my children are getting this week, Junior, as part of their present from Granny. And that's something that comes through. It's the gift that keeps giving. It comes through for them to kind of like, you know, research and enjoy throughout the year. Other things that you could do. Think about buying, say, the one present, maybe if you're doing a bike or something like that. But there are other options for stocking fillers that you can get at Charity shops now, charity shop buying. A lot of people like, oh, don't know what to buy there, honestly, books and toys, especially if you pick your area, you will find there are brand new toys there, there are brand new books and other things that you just, you never imagined that you could get. For example, if you're in London, definitely check out Hampstead and Highgate because they have particularly good charity shops. Think where rock stars, pop stars, people who are given loads of things for free off PR companies. They literally dump all that in the charity shops. Get down there and start, you know, stocking up because that's reusing things that are already in circulation. So that's absolutely fantastic. Also you can get books for grown ups, you know, so you don't have to buy new. So all these books are, you know, the charity shops have so many books and I think they make a lovely, lovely choice and obviously very reasonable as well. We are steadily hurtling towards the end. You touched on ebay for secondhand. Yeah. So I think when people do freak out. But going into a charity shop, what's fantastic is online second hand stores really and there's a huge amount out there. You've got Facebook, Marketplace, ebay, Gumtree, pre loved and you can literally type in exactly what you're looking for. And if you're patient and you look in a very variable amount of sites, you probably are going to find exactly what you would like and at a fraction of the price. Oh, that is such good advice. So stay with us. We are going to talk next to Sandra about should we buy new this Christmas and if we do, how do we buy new? We'll talk to you in just a few minutes after these few short messages. Don't forget it's the Eco Christmas here on Women's Radio Station. Welcome to the Women's radio station supporting women's well being. Women's Radio Station is all about diversity from a opinions, career, ethnicity, education and most importantly, women's well being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website womensradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. @empowerandenrich.org you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me@empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have quality of compassion, listening, caring and empowering? At Nurturing Birth we offer approved doula training courses across the UK which are facilitated by an award winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more@nurturingbirth.co.uk hi, Carolyn Van Beers here from Mother's Hour. Please do check out my latest show, the Menopause with Meg Matthews. We talk about perimenopause, the symptoms and most importantly, what treatments are out there to help you physically and mentally get through this very challenging time in your life. Just click on my Mother's Hour page on the website to download the podcast now. It's an amazing, informative and empowering show to help you get the menopause sorted. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity, helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help visit turntous.org.uk welcome to the women's radio station supporting women's well being. Women's radio station can give voice to your brand. With a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programs, we can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com Women's radio stations supporting women's well being welcome back to Mother's Hour with me, Carolyn Rambiers here on Women's Radio Station. We're in part three of our Eco Christmas special and we're talking about presents. We've done making presents, we've done buying secondhand presents. Sandra when is it okay to buy new or is it okay to buy new? I think I would say always try to avoid buying new. But obviously there's a few occasions where you know buying when when you buy new you make wise decisions and I wanted to share with you some of the my favorite presents that I came across last year. Whilst I did the reversed Christmas. So topping my list would be to purchase items by an organization called shoeslove. So last year Shoes Love had a pop up shop around the corner from Oxford street where you can go in, it's a physical shop, you can actually purchase items that are being sent to refugees. So items of great need. So you can choose to purchase a tent or schooling material for a child or a warm coat for a child. Loads of the items that are, you know that, that is in great need. So you, you'll, you'll buy, you'll shoot. Yeah, you choose your item and you get a gift certificate which you then can pass on as a present to someone. I think that's money and carbon well spent. So my second this year, I think topping my list is my second tips which is to buy, you can buy rainforest. So through an organization called World Land Trust, you can literally buy an acre of rainforest for £100 and give away? Yes. And what happens when, when you buy it? Yes, of course this is all through very well recognized schemes and so on. You can read everything about it on their website, www.worldandtrust.org. now trees, buying trees or investing in trees is quite high up and there's loads of different organizations giving you that opportunity. Parents for Future has been working with an organization called justonetree.com which, where you can buy one tree for one pound. So you should have a look at that as well. There's also the Woodland Trust which has similar schemes and they actually have a Christmas shop on their website where there's several different options for helping reforestation across the world. Surely that's a beautiful thing to get each one of your children to plant a tree and to do it. That's a lovely thing to do with your children, isn't it? So that they can see, you know, either you go together or you do it online together, you know, and they can see that you're buying a tree because that will become part of their nature to want to do that, won't it? Absolutely. We do need a lot of trees. But I also, I just realized I've actually gone away slightly from your brief here because these are definitely not a carbon gift, it's a reduced carbon gift. So shall I go on to a carbon gift again then? So our granny wanted a kettle. Last a year, her kettle was broken and she really wanted a kettle. That boiling water in the kettle consumes an incredible amount of energy. So much that when during the breaks, for for example, Coronation street, the National Grid has to pump in masses of extra electricity. To cater for all of these kettles being put on. But the worst thing about boiling water in a kettle is that mostly you just take a cup and the rest of the water is left to, to cool down and then you press the button again an hour later to have your second cotton soil. Now there is an insulated kettle that will keep water warm for up to five to six hours. And it's called Vectra. So this went on our Christmas list last year as a carbon present to Vita. An innovative bit of electronics that will, that will help you know that that will have a positive impact in comparison to what's available on the market. Right. Where do we get those from? Www.vectra.uk vectra.uk. thank you for that. Another really favorite, well, relatively carbon present of mine is an eco kit because I think it might seem daunting to a lot of families to have a look around in their house and try to change all their products such as cleaning products. But maybe if you give them a little help along the way so you could create a little kit together with household items such as you could. For example, they could contain a water bottle to encourage people not to buy any plastic water bottles anymore. It could contain charcoal to encourage people to use just a tap water, but you can filtrate it with the charcoal. It could contain a bamboo cup. It could contain shopping bags to point out that we do not use plastic, single use plastic bags anymore. It could also contain things as shampoo bars which I've started using lately. And really it's kind of revolutionized my life because I don't buy shampoo anymore in plastic bottles and such other things as bamboo toothbrushes and so on. These things are available at Planet Organic, but there's. They are also available actually a company called the Wise House has made an eco care kit that you can buy in in quite a beautiful little box on the basis of this idea. I think it's. I think it could be a good gift because you'll also somehow send a message perhaps to someone that hasn't been prepared to make these changes before. And perhaps if you make the solutions more easier for them, then they'll follow suit and they'll continue choosing these products moving forward. I think that's a great point they just brought up there. Don't blame Auntie Margaret for coming over with a packet of crackers Quincy Christmas crackers that are all wrapped in silver foil. It's just that. Show her. We've made our own this year and without actually forcing it down someone's neck and judging them. You're actually presenting a new idea and I think it's. That it's trickling it in. Yeah. To. And not scare people with this, but just to introduce these ideas because I think most people are open to them as long as they don't feel too threatened and like they're being judged. Absolutely. So I'm just gonna mention a few more. Quite a few of the environmental organization has actually initiated gift lists or ideas for gift buying this year. Friends of the Earth, for example, if you Visit their website www.friendsofthearth.uk you will see you will find prints that you can purchase which are made by artists and activists. It's a collaboration together with the Guardian and they have some really beautiful prints available there. They also sell biodegradable yoga mats. Yes. Which is a partnership with Life for Me. So ideas are available through some of the environmental organizations websites as well. Going to Parents for Future, I have chosen a few tips that comes from an initiative called the Shift, which is initiated by one of the Parents for Future mothers called Ellie. She runs a website and social media which is all about greener living. And one of her tips on her list is a company called Millican. So they make backpacks and bags from recycled and natural materials which are seriously sturdy and built to last. What's the name of the site again? Millikan. Millican. But the very exciting ones that I found on her list though was a company called Elvis and Cressy. They make bags out of old London fire brigade, old fire hoses. Wow. That's quite exciting, isn't it? I think I've seen those and they are. They're very vibrant and. Yeah, yeah. Great for teenagers. Yes, yes, yes. Always very tricky to buy for. I wonder if I need to move on a little quicker. Maybe something for the little people, my children. You can go to Lush. Lush is a really good initiative. They make products which are 100% vegetarian, they fight animal testing. They are really progressive in their environmental packaging and as a company they are helping to keep the debate alive and they have the environment at the heart of their policies. So I would recommend visiting Lush if you're looking for a concrete gift to give to a child. And they smell great. They smell great and they're good for any age group. So, you know, one trip to Lush and you're probably done. Exactly, exactly. Last one for kids because I know a lot of people. So at the Shift again, I have found Ellie recommending Green Toys. It's a they apparently make all sorts of sturdy playthings for babies, toddlers and children out of recycled plastic, mainly out of milk bottles and yogurt pots. Yes. And I think, I think that's the end of my. Somewhat carbon more sustainable. Yes. But you've got to remember, you know, your two year old, your three year old will have no idea whether something's new or secondhand. They literally won't know. As long as it's wrapped up, you know, in recycled paper or wrapping paper, then I think, you know, you'll get away with it. You've got to think a little bit more if they're a bit more conscious. 8, 9, 10. But it's all really, really, really doable. Very briefly, we're just going to hit on wrapping paper because I know, Sandra, you had a great idea last year where you used old newspaper and you did potato prints, is that right? Well, yes, we made wrapping paper of loads of different things, newspaper, but also we used old packing paper that had been left over from us moving. And we actually made organic dye using beetroots or turmeric. There's loads of recipes available online and kids were just amazed by how you could actually use vegetables to, to draw. And then we just did the simple, you know, potato printing on the papers and it was fun and created really amazing, beautiful gift wrapping. And I've got children who still believe in Father Christmas and obviously the presents that normally come for Father Christmas are in one colour of wrapping paper. So this year I've said to them, oh, Father Christmas has gone eco and all your presents will be in recycled wrapping paper. So I've explained so that they, you know, know and expect that and I think that that way it gets them on board and it kind of gets you over that hurdle of trying to keep Father Christmas alive. If that's important for you and your kids, we're going to talk more. We got so much to get through. Girls, we're going to do your food shop in a little while. We're also going to talk about Christmas trees as well. And what else have we got? We've got a lot more to get through, so we'll be back in just a few minutes with your Eco Christmas guide. Welcome to women's Radio Station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to. Julie Mae is listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at Women's radio station supporting women's well being and we're talking all things autism women. The possibilities are endless. 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Find out more at nurturingbirth.co.uk. You're listening to Women's Radio Station supporting women's well being. Women's Radio Station's creating a global network for the empowerment of women and we want you to be involved. Join us on Instagram and Twitter @WomensRadiostation. That's WomensRadiostn or Facebook Women's Radio Station to keep up to date with all our exciting programs. Welcome back to part four of Mothers Hour with me, Carolyn Van Beers here on Women's Radio Station. It is our Christmas special, our Eco Christmas guide to an environmentally conscious Christmas. And we are going to dive straight in. I've got my lovely guests, Sandra and Beth from Parents for Future. Beth, Christmas trees. Can we have an eco Christmas tree? Yes, I think that we can. I think it's looking at that some practices are more. And some practices are less damaging. So we just want to look at what options we have available. I mean, how many Christmas trees do we get through? I think it's 8 million. Yes. Huge amount chopped down. And also you've got to remember a lot of them are coming from abroad, so that's also big lorries bringing them in. You know, you've got to think about the impact of these Christmas trees. It is enormous. Yeah. So. And yeah, as well as being abroad, a lot of the places that are growing these things abroad are from monocultural farms where nothing else grows and they're using a huge amount of pesticides. So I'd say the first thing that we can do is find out a bit about our tree. This is if you do really, really, really feel you want the cut. The cut tree. So there's places like the Forestry Commission and they have a list of Christmas tree sale centres where you can buy sustainably grown local trees. If you want to step away from the cut tree, the best thing that you can do is to buy a live tree. And this is also thinking outside the box a little bit and thinking beyond maybe a conifer that you could even decorate, a fruit tree, a nut tree that you can just then introduce into your garden at a later date that is going to provide food for animals and birds and even yourself in the future. And it's about, yeah, decorating it and celebrating it. And if you don't have that space to replant, which I understand a lot of people don't, we. We now do have a lot of rental rent a tree companies available and they're doing exactly the same thing, that they're renting it out and then they're replanting it after it's used. If we just think back to the cut tree, these trees are grown for 10 years to then be cut down, used for what, a three week period at most or. And then to be discarded. And yeah, it doesn't sit right with me. Anyway, when we look at other options as well, there's a lot of us opt for the artificial tree. I did hear a very Scary stat the other day that 14% of people will actually throw away the artificial tree after one use. I think that this is a lot to do with maybe the, the quality of the tree and that it's broken, that people are throwing it. So I think that's really mindful if you are, if you don't have the space to store, please, please, please donate it or try and sell it on a second hand and then equally, if you really want an artificial tree, try and buy it secondhand. I actually have an artificial tree and I'm on my 10th year now and that is what we need to aim for. My tree was also secondhand when I got it, but I think it is the 10 year mark. That actually means that its environmental impact is actually lower than a cut tree. So yeah, the message here is just keep reusing, reusing, reusing. I think the really main thing here is we're saying, yes, really think about what you're going to decorate because the fun thing is actually the decorating. You know, I mean I've got a hand me down for my mum and dad, an artificial tree that the kids, it's their own thing and they've made the decorations and they absolutely love it. Only quite small, but it's their big, big deal that they've got their own tree. And then we have the family Christmas tree and again we're going to be doing the replant option by renting a tree which I have to say I'm really looking forward to doing that this year and still having a lovely tree but having a guilt free conscience about it as well. Another thing that is incredibly damaging because they can't really be recycled is Christmas crackers. Okay, super fun, a bit of a tradition. A lot of people don't want to let go of that. So if you are still in love with the idea of having Christmas crackers, maybe you could think about making your own again. Get onto Pinterest, they are in abundance, but all you actually need is the snaps because everything else you will have in your home, you know, from toilet rolls to start collecting those now by the way. But you can make your own and it's so much fun to make them. Put your own jokes in, put your own forfeits in. Four fits are great. Get granny running around the garden, you know, truth or dares, lots and lots of fun things. Again, if you put those into your own and little edible things inside, then you've just got beautiful Christmas crackers that you can use year on year if you make them quite nicely Another thing about Christmas crackers is maybe you don't have Christmas crackers. Maybe you have boxes or something else with little things inside that you've put together yourself. Like everyone in the family has to come up with their own joke or find a joke. Again, really, really good fun and everyone's putting a bit more effort into it. So lots of thoughts then, but as we're saying, do use Pinterest because they are full of brilliant, brilliant ideas. Moving on, Sandra, because I know we're running out of time. The food shop. Now, the thing for me is seeing all my fruit wrapped in plastic. Do we have any options there? Yes, there's plenty of options, as I've discovered this last year, since I actually I've. I find myself, if I go into the supermarkets that wrap all of the vegetables and plastics these days, I just turn around, I just can't do it. So I'm very lucky. I live in an area in London where there's loads and loads, green lanes where there's loads of vegetable shops and the vegetables are not wrapped in plastic. It's not all organic, but there's no plastic inside. So you can go there with a box or bags and you can basically fill up your entire trolley with vegetables. Without plastic, it's absolutely fine. You put them on the, you know, at the cashier and they're happily to, you know, weigh them without and then you just take them home. You don't need the plastic. Nothing. Throw away. We visit a lot of farmers markets. There's markets all around the UK where you can buy locally produced and you can support the farmers and so on, and it tastes much better. There's also several foodbox schemes such as Farm Drop or Able and Cole, which are really useful. I think the key thing is buy vegetables without plastic, reduce your amount of meat intake. It's been so fun to experiment with cooking and the kids partook in us cooking loads more vegetarian dishes last year. And also shop local and do everything you can to reduce your food waste. Yes. And actually shopping at markets actually can be cheaper than the supermarket, so definitely take that option. We are coming to the end of our lovely eco special. We have a little treat for you at the end of the show with a beautiful song. But, Sana, before we go, what message do you want to give out to all the mums who are listening today? Well, first of all, doing a sustainable Christmas can be such a fun challenge and something that your children will always treasure and thank you for in the future. But more on the. Also, it's not only for yourself and your family, it's the message you send to all of your friends and relatives because you can talk about. You meet so many people over Christmas dinners and it can become a talking point. And the more we talk, the more we affect more people to do the same thing. And that is definitely the difference and that's what makes the difference. And that's the most important thing here. And it's so empowering. Honestly, you will feel so, so good about it. That is is just about it for our Christmas special. Thank you so much to Beth, thank you to Sandra. Don't forget to check out their website, Parents for Future and also my mother's hour page. I will leave you with this beautiful song from the SOS from the kids which is all about the environment and the planet. This is an SOS from the kids. All the grown ups take note of this. We're finding our voice calling you out. You can't leave the world in fire and drought. This is an SOS from the kids. Please change the story, rewrite the applause. This beautiful love cannot be lost. Stop hurting our planet like you don't care. There's only one world for us to share. This is an sos from the kids. All the grown ups take note of this. Wake up and see that you must make a change. The riches you seek will all be washed away. This is an SOS from the kids. Please change the story, rewrite the plot. This beautiful love cannot be lost. Slow padding. Don't listen to the fat cats. They only want their cream. Always needing oil for feeding their machines. We must care about the animals, care about the trees. Please, I'll need help from you. You get help from me. Please change the story, rewrite the plot. This beautiful earth cannot be lost. Stop hurting our planet like you don't care. There's only one world for us to share. Welcome to the women's radio station supporting women's well being. Women's radio station is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education and most importantly, women's well being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website womensradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money? Or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. 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