Celebrate Easter sustainably
Easter is just around the corner. You may be wondering, “How do Easter traditions and sustainability go together? How can I celebrate Easter in a more environmentally friendly manner? What adjustments can I make? In this blog post we would like to give you a few suggestions and tips on how you can celebrate Easter more sustainably.
Eggs! We need eggs!
For many of us, eggs are an integral and important part of Easter. They have become a widely known symbol. However, eggs are an animal product and like this not suitable for a vegan Easter celebration. If you don't want to do without the famous Easter egg, you quickly realize that buying a better and more sustainable product can be complex.
The following aspects can help you with your purchase:
Look at the stamp. Since 2004, raw eggs have had to be stamped throughout the EU, which is intended to provide information about the way the animals are kept. On each egg you will find a number between 0-3 (0 = organic farming, 1 = free-range farming, 2 = barn farming, 3 = cage farming). When going grocery shopping, make sure that the eggs come from organic farming (group 0). In addition, it can be useful to take a look at the seals. The green EU organic seal identifies products with ingredients of 95 % organic origin. Very strict rules apply to organic eggs.
It is also a good idea to look for eggs which are sold as part of the Bruder-Hahn initiative. You may have heard that male chicks are often killed after birth as they are of less use to the farm than female chicks. Male chickens are not as suitable as laying hens and also gain weight slower than female chickens. Farms that are part of the Bruder-Hahn Initiative made a promise not to kill male chicks for at least 16 weeks.
Additionally, if you pay attention to the Bioland and Demeter seals, you are making a good choice with regards to organic farming. However, it is also an excellent idea to buy directly from an organic farmer in your neighborhood, who makes you feel good about his way of animal farming.
Now that you have selected a product that is as sustainable and animal friendly as possible, you can start to dye your eggs. Natural colours are particularly suitable for this because there is no packaging waste involved. Natural colours are also harmless to health and all leftovers can be disposed of in your organic waste without any problems.
What do you need? Eggs, water, a cooking pot/ boiler, your natural paint (see below). First, boil the respective natural product in a pot with a little bit of water. Then pour off the brew and use it to cook the raw eggs in it. If you want a particularly intense and long-lasting color, it's worth adding some vinegar to the liquid. Et voilà! Your naturally colored eggs are ready.
Depending on the colour you want, you can use the following natural products:
Green: spinach, grass, nettle
Yellow: turmeric, curry powder
Orange: carrot, sweet potato
Purple: beets, red cabbage leaves, blueberries
Brown: coffee powder
Avoid colored eggs from the supermarket if possible! These are considered a "processed egg product", which is why no information about their origin and type of husbandry needs to be given. In addition, sometimes - due to possible cracks in the egg - colour gets into the egg mass and can be harmful to health.
Last but not least: According to Greenpeace, around 15 million eggs end up in the trash every year after Easter. This doesn't need to happen. Please only buy as many eggs as you will actually consume.
Sustainable Easter decoration - no problem!
Here are some ideas on how to replace traditional decor with sustainable alternatives:
Easter baskets and Easter bouquet
Use wooden Easter baskets instead of plastic.
Use real grass/hay instead of fake Easter grass.
Replace plastic twigs with natural twigs, branches and leaves.
CAVE: It is essential to avoid willow and palm catkins. These are protected by nature protection legislation and are an important food source for insects, especially in spring.
Eatable Easter nests made from cress
Simply sow cress seeds on leftover cotton wool in empty egg cartons/egg shells and wait a few days. Soon a cress meadow will be visible. This does not only look great, but is also edible and biodegradable.
Flower vases made from tin cans
Before you throw away empty tin cans, think about possibly upcycling them.
Turn the cans into flower vases, for example. If you like, you can paint them or decorate them with small branches from the outside using tie wire.
Pom-pom chickens made from leftover yarn
You can use leftover yarn to make pom-pom chickens. This cute DIY project makes a great colorful addition to any Easter bouquet. You can find instructions, for example, under the following link.
https://www.smarticular.net/pom-pom-kueken-basteln-mit-kindern-wollreste/
Sustainable Easter gifts
You can find many ideas for sustainable gifts in our blog post “Sustainable gift ideas”. Please have a look at it .
We have a few more ideas for you here:
Flowers for Easter
Would you like to give away flowers? How about a potted plant instead of a bouquet? This is not only more durable, but also an excellent decorative object for any apartment or garden. When choosing your potted plant, make sure that it comes from your home country. Even better if the plants were grown under ecological conditions and plastic packaging has been avoided.
Easter chocolate
If you want to give away Easter chocolate make sure to buy products that were organically certified and fairly produced. Perhaps even look out for the Fairtrade seal.
Vegan Easter chocolate offers a great, animal-free alternative. You can find this kind of Easter chocolate in health food stores, fair trade shops or even in many conventional supermarkets. Did you know that Lindt also carries vegan chocolate?
gepa-shop.de
denree.de
pausenfudder.de
Baking
It's always a nice idea to bring homemade baked goods as a gift. There are no limits to the ideas here. However, a home-baked Easter lamb, an Easter braid or a carrot cake are three popular easter treats. You can find numerous recipes - including vegan options - on the Internet.
Coupons
You can also make the recipient happy with a voucher. Coupons for common time, an event or a restaurant are particularly personal. But a voucher for organic cosmetics, items for the balcony and garden or a fashionable and sustainable fashion item are also great ideas. For the latter, please visit our shop .
Last but not least: Easter bonfire - Is this tradition still up to date?
There are traditional Easter bonfires in many towns and communities. Unfortunately, these are harmful to health and the environment due to the release of high levels of particulate matter. Even if it is a tradition, consider whether you can do without an Easter bonfire in the future and introduce a different ritual instead. For example, you could symbolically light a candle or a single branch. If you want to express your pacifism, the traditional Easter marches are a good opportunity to do so. Those who - despite the associated environmental pollution - do not want to do without the Easter bonfire should take into account that the stacked twigs and branches represent a refuge for various animals. It therefore makes sense to only pile up the branches on the day of the fire and/or to check out if animals are hiding under the branches before lighting the fire.
Author: Lea Marie