Welcoming a baby into this world can be the most loving and exciting experience for the parents. It is natural for the parents-to-be to celebrate and share this feeling with their loved ones. Whether parents are planning a baby shower or receiving one from friends or family, people are more mindful of adopting eco-friendly ways to execute it.
Although the baby showers we frequently see on social media look fun and exciting, hardly any of them (or maybe just a few) are safe for the environment. Most contribute to different forms of pollution, such as the use of colorful smoke canons or firecrackers.
So what to do if you are a parent-to-be who wants a creative and fun-filled baby shower that is also pro-environment? We have got you covered! Here are some easy and doable tips to make your baby shower environment-friendly.
Why & How To Be Eco-Friendly?
Parents adopting eco-friendly ways of life, such as recycling, will also get their future generations invested in looking after the environment. Some ways to reduce carbon footprint and waste are:
- Purchasing and consuming environmentally friendly products
- Practicing recycling techniques
- Avoid wasting valuable resources like water and electricity
- Encourage children to avoid polluting
- Carpooling whenever possible instead of using multiple vehicles
- Riding a bicycle or walking whenever going somewhere near
- Reusing clothes and items for your children instead of buying new ones every time a baby is born
Adopting a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle will help your children grow up to be the same, as kids learn more from actions as compared to words. It is worth to note the current situation of pollution is as follows:
- Around 20-50 million metric tons of electrical waste is produced worldwide yearly, and only 11.4% is saved for recycling. Even out of the 11.4%, only a tiny amount gets recycled, leaving the rest in landfills.
- Around five trillion bags made out of plastic are utilized globally, and this can be reduced by reusing cloth bags instead.
The New Climate Economy’s report showed that the human population can save $26 trillion by 2030 if sustainable living is practiced.
Find out more at How to be more eco-friendly
Benefits to Individuals and Society
Adopting a sustainable way of living and being more aware of protecting the environment will help society and even you as an individual. Some of the benefits are:
- Saving earth from toxins by reducing the use of plastic
- Less pollution means better health conditions, fewer diseases, and longer lives.
- Less water waste and pollution also mean healthier marine life, fewer water-borne diseases, and reduced chances of droughts.
- Maintaining natural forests leads to clean air and more absorption of greenhouse gasses, which are otherwise harmful to the environment.
- Reduced eco-anxiety, which develops from being worried about the deterioration of the environment
Learn more about eco-anxiety, and the benefits of going green at Ways to Reduce Eco-anxiety
What to Avoid When Throwing an Eco-Friendly Baby Shower
Avoiding the use of certain materials from your baby shower doesn’t mean it will get any less fun. You can still get creative with healthy ideas for you and the environment. Such as cutting a blue or pink cake as a gender reveal or performing a fun race to see which color wins by pre-planning the outcome. Some materials you should avoid using to protect the environment are:
- Smoke canons for gender reveal
- Adding paints in pools
- Water fights
- Plastic cutlery
- Wrapping papers that go to waste
- Use of firecrackers
- Balloons for decoration
Tips for Hosting the Best Eco-Friendly Baby Shower
Here is a list of ways you can host the best environmentally friendly and fun baby shower. It will also help spread awareness about the importance of being eco-friendly amongst your friends and family.
Green Baby Shower Invitations
Instead of wasting paper and ink on invitation cards, you can take advantage of technology and design aesthetic ecards. It will also save the time and energy, such as fuel, consumed in delivering the cards.
Sustainable Eco-Friendly Cutlery
Avoid using disposable plastic plates, forks, knives, and cups. If you’re worried about your guests, especially children breaking your glass cutlery, then you can provide reusable plastic cutlery that you use at home on a daily basis. If you’re getting your food catered from elsewhere, they will likely offer glass and metal cutlery on their own.
Eco-Friendly Food and Drinks
Avoid cooking food with animal-based products, such as meat, dairy, and eggs. These items aren’t good for the environment and produce greenhouse gases. Instead, opt for healthier choices, like beans, greens, mushrooms, fruit salads, etc. Moreover, having more nutritious drinks, like fresh juices, is preferred over fizzy drinks.
Eco-Friendly Games and Activities
There are a lot of fun activities and games you can play to make the event enjoyable. You don’t necessarily need to use wasteful materials or pollute the environment. Guessing games, passing the parcel, musical chairs, scavenger hunts, and similar games don’t produce any waste and are also very nostalgic.
Eco-Friendly Décor
Instead of using balloons, use artificial flowers or other types of backdrops provided by organizers that are reused at events. Moreover, avoid using paper items for decoration; instead, use sustainable materials like cloth. If your event is at night, you can make use of a projector to create a creative background along with aesthetic lighting.
Parting Thoughts
Having fun and being environmentally conscious does not have to be two different ideas – you can combine them to create a memorable baby shower event. In fact, going green won’t only spread awareness and protect the environment, but it will also make you feel good about yourself as a responsible citizen.
Don’t wait for others to be eco-friendly; sometimes, you must take the first step and inspire others toward a healthier life.
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