The Recycle for Cornwall campaign has been developed to raise public awareness of recycling and to provide consumers with a compelling reason to recycle.
Birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, weddings, engagements, new homes, Easter and valentines…it seems as though not one week can go by without you needing to think about buying a card and gift for some important event in the life of someone you are close to; and there can be a real pressure to be original and not to disappoint.
The UK gift and home industry is worth around £10 billion (according to the Gift Association the national trade body for the UK) with the UK Greetings card market alone being valued at £377 million back in 1999. The positive impact that all this consumerism has on the UK retail sector is obvious but the negative effect it has on our environment is perhaps less obvious to some.
Extravagantly packaged ‘gift’ or ‘limited editions’ of standard products such as perfume or chocolates lure us into buying them for our nearest and dearest thinking we are being generous; but how about giving gift that not only requires no packaging but will also be much more memorable and worth your pennies too? Membership to the local health club or supporting a charity in the name of your friend may be the just the ticket to becoming the best present giver! If there is a long awaited concert coming up you could buy tickets for all you friends and kill several birds with one stone, crossing off all their birthdays and Christmas presents in one go! Alternatively just giving your time to someone who is renovating a house or doing up their garden is a really valuable gift and really shows you care.
If you have racked your brains and can’t think of any experiences/show tickets or club membership suitable to give to your friend or family, remember there are loads of amazing products made from recycled materials on the market, and many available locally. Just look out for our products pages soon to appear on the website for some inspiration. Put some icing on the cake by wrapping the present up in recycled wrapping paper.
So don’t let this Christmas be like all the others where you are swamped by the masses of plastic packaging and glittery wrapping paper that can’t be recycled…give your friends and family a gift with a difference and bask in the glory of being the best present giver!
Make a difference TODAY
Next time you need to buy a gift, opt for a present that requires no wrapping like a day out.
