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Environment

The EU Ecolabel shopping guide for the holiday season (2021)

The EU Ecolabel has 5 tips for you on how you can limit the environmental impact of your holiday spending spree!

Even if buying new material items may not always be needed and preferring second-hand items would be the most eco-friendly choice, the holiday season makes it sometimes difficult to hold back. It’s a time of year where we buy presents for ourselves or for our loved ones: presents for our family, a nice new dress or shirt for New Years’ Eve, or a well-deserved vacation. The EU Ecolabel has 5 tips for you how you can limit the environmental impact of your holiday spending spree!

1. Give thoughtfully

Christmas presents are somewhat of a delicate affair. We love seeing other people’s faces light up when they unwrap their gifts, and we love getting them. But next to the concerns of choosing the right present, many gifts come with a large environmental footprint. When doing your Christmas presents’ shopping, look for products bearing the EU Ecolabel, as a guarantee of their high environmental performance! 

Small do-it-yourself gifts can be an eco-friendly alternative which highlight the gesture of giving and creativity. Paper products certified with the EU Ecolabel are proven to be environmentally friendly, recyclable and produced with limited chemical emissions. They are great materials to make your own Christmas cards, or decorative objects such as paper snowflakes or paper lanterns.

2. Fashion treats

Perhaps your closet is already well-stocked, and so your consciousness is making you doubt if a new piece of clothing is necessary? Well, if buying a new dress or shirt will help you to shake off the pandemic blues, then look for the EU Ecolabel.

Textiles bearing the EU Ecolabel guarantee that they were produced with a low environmental impact, meaning a limited use of substances harmful to health and environment, and reduced water and air pollution. 

When you buy more environmentally friendly fashion items, you contribute to reducing the impact of fashion industry on the planet and the environment!

3. Relax without regrets

No matter if you are looking for a nice place to stay close to your family or wanting to explore your home country, holiday accommodations certified with the EU Ecolabel help reduce the environmental impact of your stay. These tourist accommodations limit their energy and water consumption, reduce waste, favour the use of renewable resources and substances that are less hazardous to the environment as well as promote environmental education and communication.

Use the EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodation Catalogue to find a place that meets our sustainability criteria to make sure you can relax without any regrets.

4. Pamper yourself

Why not use the quiet days of the year to treat a loved one to that home spa day usually nobody finds the time for? The EU Ecolabel now covers more cosmetics products than ever. After updating its strict criteria, the label now certifies a broader range of cosmetic products including body wash, shampoo, lotions, or sunscreen. 

And there is more good news: the EU Ecolabel is now also available for animal care products which means that soon you’ll be able to treat your beloved pet friends to the same standards. 

5. Go big!

If after months of working or spending more time at home, you may have the feeling that you know every detail and every scratch of your furniture and fancy a change. You may decide to go big this holiday season and redecorate your home.

Furniture certified with the EU Ecolabel is an environmentally conscious option for new furniture. It certifies that materials like wood, cork, bamboo or rattan come from sustainably managed forests. It also ensures that during production, use of hazardous substances as well as emissions to the environment are overall strictly limited.

Browse the EU Ecolabel product catalogue to find products available on the EU market, and next time you are shopping, make the right choice!