Give Don't Take Guide
GIVE, DON'T TAKE
CHECKLIST FOR A BETTER CHRISTMAS
The darkest time of the year is a time of giving and togetherness. However, the perfect gift also gives to its creators and the nature behind the product. Together with professionals from various fields, we wanted to make it easier for you to come up with ideas by compiling a lifestyle guide that offers tips for both intangible and tangible gifts as well as a sustainable festive table. With these, you will remember not only yourself and your loved ones, but also the creators and the environment.
ACCELERATED CONSUMPTION RATE DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Christmas is a time of giving and coming together. We rarely stop to think about the impact we, as celebrants, have together. In Finnish terms, Christmas looks like this in numbers:
7M Christmas ham
1.5M Christmas trees
€100M worth of Christmas flowers
1M Christmas packages sent
12% of annual household income
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY IN GIFTS
The perfect gift will be useful to the recipient, so feel free to ask what they want before you buy. When purchasing, attention has been paid to the country of manufacture, materials and usability, ecological burden and ethics. It is not always easy to find out the answer, but it is worth asking tough questions in the store. You can quickly conclude from the answers how deep the values are in the company. If the brand's operations are not transparent, vote with your wallet. There are also companies in the world that openly talk about their production processes and the origin of their products.
"If it's a more expensive item, ask others to contribute to the cost of the gift. One desired item is worth more than a pile of meaningless gifts."
- Amanda Rejström, Spark Sustainability -
You can also give a gift of goods to someone who needs it more. If you are not sure what your loved one wants, you can direct the gift of goods through charity to brighten up the Christmas of others, and at the same time the recipient of the gift. For example, through Venneri you can purchase a Christmas food bag with recipes for a needy Finnish family. You can also avoid buying a new one by looking for a recycled gift. At a flea market you can make a unique find that also gives new life to an abandoned treasure.
"Buy recycled! If you know you're buying something for a gift, check to see if you can find it used. You can make it a habit for the whole family to only give recycled gifts at Christmas."
- Noora Hautakangas, Relove -
"This Christmas, I want to give the gift of courses and services, meaning time together or time savings.
"For those who don't want gifts, I'm going to write a poem."
- Anna Kesti, Sugar Helsinki -
AN INTANGIBLE GIFT IS AN EXPERIENCE
An environmentally friendly, non-material gift is more meaningful to the recipient than a paper-wrapped cookie. In the best case, it is also more personal than a physical item. An intangible gift is a better option, especially when you are not sure whether the item will be useful to the recipient.An intangible gift often requires a little more from the giver, as it must be chosen taking into account the recipient's preferences, personality and needs. It can be something that the recipient might not be able to buy for themselves. An intangible gift can provide an experience or help with personal growth, for example in the form of a course or cultural retreat.
"Massage is a gift that rarely goes wrong. Giving it brings intimacy, relaxation, and good mood. The effects of touch are visible not only immediately, but also on a person's mental level."
- Meeri Koutaniemi, photographer and journalist -
CLIMATE-FRIENDLY CHRISTMAS TABLE
Traditional Finnish Christmas dishes are based on seasonal thinking, and you can find additional tips on seasonal vegetables in the harvest calendar. Use domestic ingredients and, for example, replace the rice in Christmas porridge and boxes with barley. If traditional flavors seem boring, you can create new flavors from the same ingredients by experimenting with different preparation methods and spices. You shouldn't prepare Christmas dishes just because they've always been offered. It's better to leave out foods that you won't eat than to throw most of them in the trash at the end of the night. It's a good idea to calculate the amount of food according to the eaters to minimize waste. No one's stomach is bigger at Christmas than it is on weekdays. So focus more on quality than quantity."I once cooked an entirely vegan Christmas meal, and it was the most delicious Christmas dinner of my life!"
- Noora Shingler, Chemical cocktail -
"Freeze extra food unless you can think of a use for it during the break. Buy as much as possible without packaging, for example by reusing paper or cloth bags, and avoid anything individually wrapped. Choose 100% recyclable packaging.
- Otso Sillanaukee, Nollahukka -
Try oat cream instead of regular cream and choose Christmas fish from the green list in the WWF fish guide. Choose domestic lake fish, as catching it prevents eutrophication of lakes. Game is also a green choice. If you don't catch the Christmas ham, you can skip buying it. The average Finn's carbon footprint is about 10,000 kg, of which a vegetarian diet saves 600-700 kg of carbon dioxide per year and a vegan diet about 1,000 kg. Veganism reduces your personal carbon footprint by about 10 percent. Of course, all kinds of choices matter. A Christmas trip to Thailand easily increases the same footprint by 2,000 kg.
"I recommend critical questioning in a world where corporate social and environmental responsibility feels more like an incidental marketing tool than a programmed way of doing things."
- Jukka Peltola, Goodio -
"Transparency in production is an important aspect if you are looking for a sustainably produced gift. I want my choice to also be a gift to those behind the product, both people and nature."
