Have an ethical Easter celebration
Have an ethical Easter celebration
4 April 2022
It’s possible to get through the Easter long weekend without a plethora of disposable products – and have fun while you’re doing it! Photo by Bianca Ackermann on Unsplash
Another year is speeding by – my youngest is almost one, and my local supermarket has had Easter eggs and hot cross buns since 11:59pm on Christmas Eve (or so it seems). While I actively try to rally against the early purchase of Easter products, I do have to admit there have been a few marshmallow eggs and mini crème eggs that have snuck into my trolley from their strategically placed checkout lane shelves.
Chocolate is great, and hopefully, with the help of our list you will be well on your way to a guilt-free Easter experience (or at least ethically guilt-free. I can’t promise they will do anything for your diet!).
But what about a sustainable Easter? Is it even possible to get through the long weekend without a plethora of disposable products like tiny plastic chickens, the baskets I seem to lose every year and therefore need to buy more of, or the inevitable foil-wrapped eggs that get lost in the garden when you forget where you hid them all?
Being the selfless team we are, we have put ourselves and our kids back into the testing lab to come up with a few ideas on just how to up your Easter game and wow loved ones of all ages without cutting back on the fun.
Easter baskets
If you are blessed with the talent of sewing, you could use old or thrift material to sew small bags for people to hunt with: Two rectangles of material stitched together on three sides with a ribbon for the handles would work brilliantly. Or, if you have paper lying around, you could fold a box using one of many Origami techniques you can find online and let everyone decorate them themselves.
Easter egg hunts
Have you ever seen those little plastic eggs in the craft or two-dollar shops that you can pop open and fill yourself? Yes, they are plastic, but if you reuse them every year then that is okay, we promise! The perfect egg-hunting idea is to pick up a couple of packs of the eggs and fill them with things. They often come in packs of different colours, so you can even assign a different colour to each person and personalise the contents with anything small. This could include Fairtrade eggs, jellybeans, toy cars, stickers, stamps or hair clips. Not only will you not have tiny eggs melting in your garden quite as much, but your hunters will love the variety and individualisation you have so effortlessly put together.
Easter bonnets
This is still a thing in many primary schools and childcare centres across the nation. Whether you recycle an old hat you already have or get one from an op shop, you will often have things around the house to make something worthy of a parade. Maybe you could use leaves to create a nest shape; an old egg carton cut up to look like a caterpillar or even just give the hat itself some bunny ears from recycled cardboard.
Gift hampers
Why not grab a second-hand basket or nice box and fill it with all the things someone needs to make their own Easter eggs? You can get a block of Fairtrade chocolate or melts, a silicone egg or shaped mould (available at places like Spotlight), and little paper bags of sprinkles, lollies, and marshmallows. Or what about a recipe card and all the ingredients for them to make their own hot cross buns?
A do-it-yourself gift can be easy to put together but looks effective and lets people know they are worth the extra effort and thought.
Decorations
How about using all those colourful cardboard boxes and spare paper around the house to cut out egg shapes and turn them into bunting? Perhaps make potato stamps (you know, when you cut shapes into a potato cut in half) and let the kids stamp brown paper to make your own wrapping paper. Or even hunt in your local op shop for bunny statues and decorations. You never know, you might just find your next family heirloom in someone else’s donated goods.
Shop local
If creating isn’t your thing but you still want to be a little more sustainable, why not check out a farmers or craft market? You can usually find a whole range of goods made by small businesses that often have personally made each item. Shop local, support small businesses and find those great gifts your family and friends will love.
So, whether you are a chocolate partaker, a parent searching for the compulsory egg-hunt items, or just a generous loved one wanting to give the perfect give – we hope that this year making your Easter an ethical and sustainable one will be a simple choice!
Hoppy Easter every-bunny!
*Fairtrade
Fairtrade is the process of buying and selling produce from developing countries. It allows and mandates that farmers earn what they deserve for their labour under suitable working conditions. This enables farmers to support their families. Children can go to school instead of working. People are treated justly and fairly, as is the environment.
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