The holiday season brings about warm feelings of community and festivity to many people. At the same time, however, these celebrations are harming our environment and contributing to climate change.
Consumerism is prevalent during the holidays. Many people splurge on new decorations, expensive gifts, and food. The waste and pollution produced are unignorable; Americans produce 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than the rest of the year, according to the Colombia Climate School.
One of the most prominent sources of holiday waste is excessive gift-giving. Most packaging is discarded right away. According to the Colombia Climate School, Americans throw away 38,000 miles of ribbon during the holiday season, which could wrap around the earth about 1.5 times. Many gifts are also single-use or non-durable, ultimately adding to the amount of waste produced.
There are ways to reduce the amount of gift packaging thrown away each year. For instance, Mary Woodward says, “I reuse as much wrapping paper as I can, and the rest I use as kindling in my fireplace.” She also always wraps her dog’s gifts in recyclable brown wrapping paper, since, “they don’t know and don’t care.”
Still, gift-giving is a cherished tradition that expresses affection and care for one another. Sara Woodward says, “Gift-giving is one of my love languages. I try to find gifts that the person is going to use or is going to make their life easier or is an experience.” She believes that quality over quantity is most important when picking out gifts, as it is more thoughtful and sustainable.
Another major contributor to pollution and climate change over the holiday season is food waste. Every American wastes an average of about 100 pounds of food. The production and transportation of food already emits large amounts of greenhouse gasses, but when it is discarded in landfills, it generates even more.
While reducing individual food waste seems insignificant, it could actually cut global emissions by 8 percent. It doesn’t take much to make an effort to keep food out of landfills. For instance, Jordyn Moore ‘26 says, “My family and I don’t throw out food during holidays, and we give out our leftovers to other family members or neighbors.” She and her family also eat off of glassware instead of paper or plastic products to make their meals as sustainable as possible.
Some people also get creative with ways to use up their leftovers if eating the same meals for a week doesn’t appeal to them. Sara Woodward says, “I always enjoy making Bobbies with my leftovers.” “The Bobbie”, a Delaware classic from Capriotti’s, is a sandwich with turkey, cranberry, and stuffing. Sara also gives her unwanted leftovers to her dogs.
Holiday decorations also contribute greatly to climate change and pollution. Most are single-use and not eco-friendly. For example, according to The Nature Conservancy, about 10 million artificial Christmas trees are purchased in the U.S. every year. Most of them are shipped from China, which results in more carbon emissions. Furthermore, while artificial trees last longer, they eventually must be discarded. They are not biodegradable, so they accumulate in landfills forever.
Additionally, according to the Smithsonian Magazine, over 150 million holiday light sets are sold in the U.S. every year. Many people leave these lights on all day long, which increases light pollution and electricity usage. As a result, more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere.
Although he has reused the same Christmas lights for many years, Josh Fung ‘26 recognizes that there are more ways to reduce the amount of energy used and waste produced. He says, “Maybe we could turn the lights off outside from around 2:00 am to 5:00 am.” He believes that holiday decorations are crucial to the celebrations, but building human connections should be the main focus.
Like Josh, many people want to reduce waste and consumerism during the holiday season. According to a 2022 survey done by the American Psychiatric Association, 87% of respondents believe that the holidays should focus more on caring for others. Piper Roskovesky ‘26 says, “Big parts of the holidays are quality time with people, music, and the spirit. I think those parts are more important than materialism.”
Holiday shopping and consumerism are not only stressful and expensive, but they are speeding up climate change and hurting the environment. Keep simplicity and sustainability in mind over the upcoming holidays, and think about the true meaning and importance of the celebrations.
