This blog post will help you have an eco-friendly Easter in 2024!
Spring is finally here, so Easter is right around the corner!
But like with most holidays, there is a huge amount of waste created each year during the Easter weekend.
As someone who tries to live sustainably and consume mindfully, this bothers me a lot.
Thankfully, I’ve learned over the years that I do not have to contribute to this, and instead, I can choose to have an eco-friendly Easter.
Nowadays, I like remembering how my family used to celebrate this holiday when I was a child, and I strive to do the same.
My parents chose to have a simple Easter, but it was still a wonderful holiday and I have very happy and fond memories of those times.
Let me tell you, we can have an unforgettable Easter without being wasteful and unsustainable!
If you and your family celebrate Easter, this article will guide you to make things a lot more sustainable without sacrificing the fun part.
You will learn how you can easily have an amazing, eco-friendly Easter this year!
This blog post contains affiliate links which means that if you buy something through such links, I will get a small commission without any extra cost for you. It is also partly sponsored by Original Duckhead. As always, I love and recommend all the brands I mention on this blog, and my views are genuine. Please read my Disclosure for more details.
Why you may want to have an eco-friendly Easter?
Easter is a religious holiday celebrated by a considerable number of people all around the world.
It is even estimated that around 79% of Americans usually celebrate this holiday.
But with the explosion of overconsumption in the past few decades, it has become yet another hyper-commercialized holiday.
According to the National Retail Federation, consumers spent on average $180 for Easter 2021, the highest figure on record.
They usually buy Easter gifts, large amounts of food and candies, Easter decorations, and many more.
And this has a significant environmental impact!
Easter celebrations are often very wasteful and unsustainable
Many families plan to organize an Easter egg hunt, which means they will buy new plastic eggs and plastic-wrapped egg fillers.
Lots of them!
In the 2000s, the only American manufacturer of plastic Easter eggs was producing 250 million pieces a year.
China has then overtaken plastic egg production, and these numbers have likely increased considerably over the last two decades.
Since they are made of plastic, the high number of plastic eggs we buy contributes to the growth of the oil industry.
This industry is incredibly polluting and detrimental to the environment!
Plastic Easter eggs are also very poorly made, which means that they break easily and families need to buy them again every single year.
The used ones are often thrown away, and they will sit in a landfill for hundreds of years.
We should also not forget about the cheap plastic toys and fake plastic grass we put in Easter baskets.
And what about all the Easter decorations we buy every year, and all the packaging that comes from chocolates, candies, and gifts?
These have a significant impact on the planet too!
Plus, most of us tend to overcook during the Easter weekend, which can generate a lot of food waste.
So as you can see, Easter celebrations can be very wasteful and polluting!
But it does not mean you should stop celebrating or not have a great time with your friends and family.
Here are 10 easy tips to have an eco-friendly Easter this year!
How can we make Easter eco-friendly?
1. Choose eco-friendly Easter eggs
If you want to organize an eco-friendly Easter egg hunt and are looking for alternatives to plastic Easter eggs, there are plenty of options to choose from!
Of course, if you already have Easter eggs from previous years, reuse them.
But if you need to buy new ones, check the following options.
Reusable Easter eggs
Some of the best ones I found are Eco Eggs, which are colorful, refillable Easter eggs made from plants.
You can hide little treats inside, hide them for your eco-friendly Easter egg hunt, and reuse them year after year!
Since they are produced in the United States using 100% renewable, plant-based content, they are compostable at the end of their lives.
Another sustainable option is to buy Easter eggs made of recycled plastic or recycled paper if you can find them.
You can also buy these wooden ones, which you can embellish them as you wish.
Consumable Easter eggs
When I was a child, my parents used to hide chocolate eggs in the garden.
This might be something you might want to try as well.
While we cannot put things in them, children love finding them and eating them all at the end!
You may also want to use real (free-range and organic) eggs.
You can decorate them with your kids before Easter as a nice family craft project.
Just make sure to use non-toxic, sustainable Easter egg dyeing techniques, like this natural egg dye made with non-GMO herbs, fruits, and vegetables.
Don’t forget to eat them afterward so that they do not go to waste, and compost the shells if you can.
2. Eco-friendly Easter egg fillers
If you opted for fillable Easter eggs, refrain from filling them with plastic-wrapped candies or cheap plastic toys.
Instead, consider putting some healthy homemade treats inside of them, or Fairtrade-certified organic chocolates (check if you can get them package-free).
You could also choose useful goodies made using sustainable materials, or even organic seeds that you will then plant with your kids.
Some families choose to fill their Easter eggs with money, which is a great idea!
Who wouldn’t like receiving free cash at an Easter egg hunt?!
There are many other ideas for eco-friendly Easter egg fillers, so choose what works best for your family and what is available to you.
3. Use eco-friendly Easter baskets
You cannot organize an eco-friendly Easter egg hunt without a couple of baskets to put your eggs in.
You may also want to gift your loved ones a basket filled with little gifts, eggs, and chocolates.
Here again, I recommend that you reuse the ones you already have at home.
The most sustainable ones are those you don’t have to buy!
But if you don’t have any and are looking for eco-friendly Easter baskets, see if you can get them second-hand.
Check your local thrift store or vintage shop, or on Facebook Marketplace.
If you cannot find what you are looking for and you’re thinking about buying new baskets, stay away from cheap plastic ones.
They don’t look good and are very unsustainable!
Instead, support a sustainable home decor brand and go for baskets made with natural materials, like wicker baskets.
You can find some gorgeous handwoven models at The Citizenry, Made Trade, and Ten Thousand Villages!
Reuse them year after year for Easter, as well as for picnics, storing things around the house, or going to the farmer’s market.
If you love being crafty, you can also DIY Easter baskets yourself with any unused paper bags you have cluttering up your space!
4. Eco-friendly Easter grass alternatives
People usually fill their Easter baskets with shreds of plastic grass, which can be easily avoided.
Instead, opt for recycled paper shreds.
You can then reuse them the following Easters or as shipping fluff, or simply compost them when you’re done with them.
You can also use a green scarf you already have, or collect some leaves from your garden or from around your neighborhood and use them in your Easter basket.
It’s completely free!
5. Give sustainable Easter gifts
Many of us love including little gifts in Easter baskets.
The issue is that most Easter gifts are far from sustainable.
They are often made of plastic or are presents we or our children only use a handful of times, and they then end up forgotten in a drawer somewhere.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
We can give meaningful gifts that will be cherished for years and that do not harm the planet.
The following sustainable Easter gifts can be given to both children and adults, and everyone should enjoy them!
If you need more inspiration, read the following posts with tons of gift ideas:
- 24 sustainable gifts for environmentalists
- 18 unique sustainable gifts for her
- 15 unique sustainable gifts for him
- 16 gift ideas for minimalists
A unique, sustainable umbrella
If you want to gift something unique and fun, you might want to include an umbrella from Original Duckhead in your eco-friendly Easter basket.
With their duck head-shaped handles, the brand’s umbrellas are the cutest you will ever see!
Their canopy is made from 9 recycled plastic bottles with a PFC-free waterproof coating, so they help remove plastic from landfills and oceans.
The lovely handle is handmade using sustainably-harvested birch wood, and I find that it is very comfortable to hold in my hand.
Original Duckhead gifted me one six months ago, and let me tell you, these umbrellas are not the type that breaks easily!
With their high-quality, wind-resistant steel and aluminum frames, they are built to last you many years.
I have the Denim Moon model, which is stunning, but you can also choose from many other colors and prints.
Original Duckhead’s umbrellas will make everyone smile, even on those gloomy rainy days!
It will be loved by both children and adults and will encourage everyone to go outside no matter the weather.
Comfy organic cotton socks
Who doesn’t like receiving a comfy pair of socks?
These always come in handy, so why not gift some pairs for Easter!
Pact has some cool models for both women and men, all made from GOTS-certified organic cotton and recycled nylon.
The brand offers fun patterns as well as neutral solid colors, so there are styles for everyone.
There are even non-slip silicone grips on the footbeds of the toddlers’ socks, which is convenient!
Pact also makes its socks in a Fair Trade factory, and it offsets the carbon footprint of all its products.
So they are all ethically and sustainably made!
A coloring book
Coloring books are amazing tools for developing our children’s creativity.
But they are also more and more used by adults as they are awesome for relaxing and relieving anxiety.
You can find coloring books made using sustainable materials, like recycled paper.
I recommend these for small children and toddlers.
Coloring books made of FSC-certified paper are another option if you cannot find any recycled ones.
Craft or office supplies
A great gift for the children in your life is art supplies.
For instance, you can give them a set of non-toxic beeswax crayons, or colored pencils that can be planted at the end of their lives and grow into plants.
Eco-conscious adults will love a bamboo fountain pen or an elegant notebook made with recycled cotton, reclaimed wool, and banana stalk fibers.
Zero-waste swaps
Some of the best sustainable Easter gifts to give your loved ones are practical zero-waste swaps that will help them reduce waste and be more sustainable.
Here are some ideas of items that can be used and loved by most children and adults, depending on their needs and preferences:
Consumables
Consumables are some of my favorite things to give and receive, whether that’s at Christmas, Easter, or my birthday.
And that’s the case for many people, children included.
When I was a child, my parents would often give me a big chocolate rabbit at Easter, and I was always super excited to get it.
So this Easter, consider filling your Easter baskets with Fairtrade-certified organic chocolates.
Both adults and kids will love them!
Other sustainable consumable products that are great gifts for adults are loose-leaf tea, Fairtrade-certified organic coffee, or even all-natural bars of soap.
A fun experience
Sometimes, we don’t have to gift a physical item to give an amazing present.
Instead of filling your loved ones’ Easter baskets with things, gift them a wonderful experience that they will not forget.
Take them on a trip, to a museum or a nice restaurant.
Book a pottery class for the whole family.
Or organize a picnic at a nearby beach or in the forest.
It doesn’t even have to cost a lot of money!
6. Be mindful when buying Easter decorations
As soon as spring arrives, stores put out their Easter decorations and use clever marketing techniques to make us want to buy them.
Don’t fall into their trap, and be mindful of your Easter decor consumption.
Try to reuse what you already have from previous years.
If you need something “new”, check Facebook Marketplace or your local thrift store.
You’ll see there are many pre-loved Easter decorations available nearby, and they cost a fraction of their retail price!
You can also buy some from sustainable home decor brands, or even create Easter decor with your kids, which is super fun to make.
Paint beautiful rabbit paintings with them, or color rocks in pastel colors.
You might also want to bake some bunny-shaped treats and display them before eating them.
Read more: 18 eco-friendly alternatives to balloons for sustainable parties
7. Cook sustainable food
During the Easter weekend, try to prepare more sustainable types of food.
For instance, consider cooking more plant-based options instead of cooking meat at every meal.
You might not want to cut meat entirely from your Easter meals, but reducing even a little bit helps!
Also, if you can, cook and prepare your meals using locally-grown and organic food.
Doing so will significantly reduce your environmental impact!
8. Avoid food waste
If you are hosting and preparing your Easter meals, make sure not to cook too much food.
Food waste has a significant environmental footprint, and some people don’t even have enough food to eat, so we shouldn’t be throwing it away.
If you happen to have leftovers, remember to eat them the following days, or freeze them for later.
9. Don’t use disposables
When hosting, do not use any disposable plates, cups, or utensils.
These are all very wasteful and we do not need any more of them in the landfill.
Plus, your dining room table will be a lot more beautiful and elegant with reusable dinnerware!
And if you can, consider providing everyone with reusable napkins.
10. Pick a sustainable Easter outfit
If you and your family like wearing special outfits for Easter, do not go and buy new clothes or costumes just for the holiday.
Be creative and reuse clothing you and your kids already have.
If you need other pieces, look for them second-hand or ask your friends if they have anything you can borrow for the weekend.
Final thoughts on how to have an eco-friendly Easter
Easter celebrations are often very joyous and filled with fun times.
However, they are usually very wasteful and can have a considerable impact on the planet.
I think we need to remember what Easter is all about.
It’s a religious holiday that we celebrate with our loved ones.
So make it your priority to spend quality time with your family and friends above anything else.
Easter is not about overconsumption and being wasteful.
So if you want to have an eco-friendly Easter this year, try to be mindful of that and apply some of these tips to reduce your environmental footprint.
If you cannot apply all of them, that’s okay.
Do what you can and do your best.
It’s all that matters.
What are your best tips to have an eco-friendly Easter?
I’d love to read about them!
Don’t forget to share this article with your friends to help them have a more eco-friendly Easter this year!
Happy eco-friendly Easter everyone! <3