In India, every season is a festival season! Be it Diwali, Holi, Durga Puja, Ganesh Utsav, Eid, Christmas, Pongal, Baisakhi or so many others, our festivals aren’t only about religious devotion or spiritual awakening, but are larger than life, joyous celebrations. They are about a riot of colours, new clothes, traditional decorations, feasting and having fun with friends and family. But with great fun comes severe repercussions, especially on the environment.
Modern festival celebrations have become tainted with the rampant use of plastic, toxic chemicals and waste that are environmentally damaging. Let’s take the example of the upcoming Ganesh Utsav. Most Ganesh idols, or for that matter any idols, are made of Plaster of Paris or PoP. While these are beautiful, cheap and easy to make, PoP is non-biodegradable. This means that after visarjan, when the idol is taken for immersion, it doesn’t fully decompose. Even the dyes in traditional idols often contain mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and carbon. On immersion, the water gets contaminated with these toxic metals which, when ingested by aquatic beings or even humans, interfere with the nervous, circulatory and digestive systems, leading to health hazards.
Immersing non-biodegradable idols is just one example of how our celebrations are damaging the environment. Loud firecrackers on Diwali, littering the streets and neighbourhood parks with the remnants of community celebrations, unbridled use of water on Holi, and single-use plastic cutlery and cups, all hurt the environment.
Keep The Faith
The good news is that there are ways and means to celebrate responsibly without compromising on the fun and enjoyment! Awareness of environmental concerns along with creativity and innovations now allow families and communities to come together to celebrate our incredible diversity, without harming the planet. Eco-conscious entrepreneurs and businesses are marrying age-old traditions with progressive thinking to offer solutions that are sustainable and earth-friendly.
Awareness of environmental concerns along with creativity and innovations now allow families and communities to come together to celebrate our incredible diversity, without harming the planet.
Here are some ideas and brands to you plan an eco-friendly festival season.
- The ‘Idol’ Way To Celebrate
Old is gold: The best way of celebrating festivals sustainably is by reusing your idol. Get your family and friends, re-decorate your old idol, and conduct your ceremonies. Avoid immersing the idols in rivers and other water bodies, and consider performing symbolic rituals at home instead.
Sustainably new: In one of our recent stories, we spoke about seed rakhis. Similarly, you can now choose plantable Ganesh idols that are made of natural clay or paper pulp, organic fertilizer and seeds. Instead of a visarjan (immersion) in lakes or other water bodies, you can place them in a pot with soil, and water them at the end of the festival, so they dissolve and eventually grow into a plant. There are also other biodegradable alternatives like edible idols, compostable paper idols and clay idols painted with natural colours like Multani mitti, Haldi, kumkum and gerua that get dissolved over time. Local brands like My Pooja Box, My Eco Ganesh, Paper Ganesh and sustainable marketplaces and brands like Amala Earth, Tree Ganesha, Seed Ganapathy and Sow And Grow also have eco-friendly idols that don’t leave behind sludge like their PoP alternatives. Last year, Flury’s unveiled a 4ft Durga idol made completely out of edible chocolate. Maybe this year you take a cue from them and make your idol courtesy recipes from chefs like Sanjeev Kapoor or check if your local bakery will make one for you.
Source: Sow and Grow
- Eco Decor
Festivals often mean decking up our homes with elaborate decorations. But these decorations, if made of thermocol or plastic mean pollutants and non-biodegradable waste. Choose natural flowers and leaves to decorate your homes or wood, bamboo and paper to make the new decor. As always, choosing to reuse or upcycle is the more economical, sustainable and safer option than buying new. Recycle everyday items such as newspapers for wrapping, use old sarees to spruce up your walls and paint old plastic bottles for decoration. Get children involved in a creative upcycling activity. Reuse decorating items like mirror strings, fairy lights, diyas, candle votives etc and store them away after the celebrations for the next year. For decorative lights, look at investing in LED lamps that have high energy efficiency and long service life.
Read 7 Ways To Make Your Christmas Green And Merry for plastic-free decoration ideas.
If you do wish to buy readymade, swap your single-use plastic or non-biodegradable items with unique and eco-friendly options like khus torans and paddy hangings from platforms like Klaasik, handcrafted latkans from brands like Okhai, and a variety of upcycled decor like Banana Paper Rose Lamp and upcycled pooja sets from sustainable marketplaces.
Source: Okhai
- Green Colours
From gulaal to rangolis, many festivals are about bright, vibrant colours. Here, the simplest swap is to switch to herbal gulaal instead of using chemical-laden colours as they are better for your skin as well as the environment. You can even use turmeric, sandalwood or henna to create your colours, or buy from local bands like Phool, iTokri and Antarkranti. (Some products may be seasonal and available only for a limited period).
For Rangoli, you can use flowers or natural ingredients such as rice powder for white, turmeric for yellow, sandalwood powder for red, mehendi for green and beetroot for pink. You can also choose edible, chemical-free colours handcrafted by BHIL Tribals from The Monks Bouffe or eco-friendly ones from StonKraft amongst many other brands.
More inspiration and ideas here.
Source: The Monks Bouffe
- Entertaining In (Sustainable) Style
Our kitchens are usually well stocked with reusable dinnerware and cutlery in steel, ceramic etc. for regular use and special occasions. Instead of buying new disposable tableware, use what’s already at your home. Do note that, contrary to the misconception, it’s better to stay away from paper plates, because even though they look harmless, most of them cannot be reused or recycled because of food stains. This means that unless you compost the waste properly, disposed paper plates are left to decompose in landfills. And since most of these paper plates have bleaches or chemicals in them or are lined with aluminium foils, they can never be fully recycled.
But if you’re expecting many guests, a viable alternative is to buy biodegradable disposable options like compostable cutlery from brands like Ecoware (which makes cutlery from plant biomass), Areca Palm Leaf cutlery from Adke Tablewear or Chuk which makes tableware out of bagasse (sugarcane leftovers), among others.
Source: Ecoware
- Gifts That Give Back
Come Christmas, Eid or Diwali and even the most minimalists amongst us succumb to the joys of gifting! But did you know that In India alone approximately 707 million metric tons of plastic products are manufactured each year, and a majority of the plastic material goes to packaging applications? This means, that in India about 80% of the plastics consumed are used in the packaging sector! Swapping elaborate synthetic ribbons, shiny plastic wrapping paper, thermocol etc, for newspapers, pages from discarded books, or scarves (wrapped using the Furoshiki technique) is a sensible option to cut down on this waste.
You can also pick your festive zero-waste gift hampers from Bare Necessities, Clan Earth, and Gift Green amongst others or if you aren’t sure of what your loved one will like, sustainable gift cards from Green Feels, Green DNA, and Arture.
Source: Bare Necessities
- Let There Be Light, Not Pollution
The bursting of crackers during Diwali is not the only cause for worsening air quality, but firecrackers do increase the concentration of dust and pollutants in the air and exacerbate the poor air quality. Our traditions must evolve with changing times and, in a country which has cities with the worst air pollution in the world, it is foolhardy and self-harming to burst firecrackers. Light diyas and celebrate light, love and togetherness instead!
If raising planet-loving kids is on your mind, our detailed piece on the subject here can be your starting guide.
- Conserve Water And Other Natural Resources
Festivals, particularly those lasting for several days can use considerable amounts of water. Take small steps like close your taps well and reusing the wastewater wherever possible. You can also opt for a dry Holi every year and avoid the consumption of wood for Holika bonfires by opting to use waste materials and recycled goods for bonfires.
- Do It Yourself
A fun way of having eco-friendly celebrations are DIY celebrations. Get yourself some natural clay, and natural water-based colours like multani mitti, haldi, kumkum or others. and get creative with idols, rangoli and décor, UpcycleD decorations and unique gifts. You can find a lot of DIY tips online. While you’re at it, you can involve your kids in the process, making traditional celebrations fun while also incorporating green values from a young age.
- Clean Up
It is no good to get our homes sparkling clean on festivals while looking away from the mess caused around us! Participate in cleaning up. Many NGOs and local organizations (and even some city corporations) like Bhumi, PAA Foundation, Ken Foundation, Cambay Tiger, Earthlings and Shuddhi, and individuals like Afroz Shah, conduct mass cleaning drives to remove heaps of waste generated during festivals. Find an NGO in your city and join the drive after the festivities. We owe it to the environment!
‘Tis All About Love!
The pandemic had dampened the festivities for two years, but it is time again to reconnect with our friends and family (in keeping the Covid protocols in our areas) and celebrate the true spirit of festivals.
After all, festivals are about coming together, loving, caring and sharing. And that includes caring for the planet we share!