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Offer solidarity gifts
New Years Eve is approaching and you’ve used up your quota of ideas for last-minute gifts. Rather than buying without believing it, just to have something to put under the tree, think of “gifts and donations”. The principle is simple: we offer a donation.
The NGO World Vision (on www.lescadeauxsolidaires.fr), at the initiative of this concept, offers for example a birth kit at 65 euros. This set makes it possible to offer medical assistance and all the care necessary for a safe childbirth to a future mother in a developing country. A gift that will undoubtedly raise the awareness of your cousin who has just had a baby.
For your little nephews, Breeding without borders (www.elevagessansfrontieres.org) allows you to participate in the creation of a farm or the constitution of a henhouse to provide poor families with the resources they need. A good deed which is also very educational for children used to being covered with material gifts.
Some fashion houses are also joining the solidarity trend, notably by offering handbags and teddy bears, sales of which are donated to associations. The bag Boston “Gucci for UNICEF”, created by Gucci will thus be the most beautiful effect on the arm of your fashion sister-in-law and at the same time allow Unicef to provide one year of medicine to 250 children with AIDS.
Prepare an ethical holiday meal
No New Years Eve worthy of the name without a good feast. The choice of the menu remains most of the time quite traditional, but foie gras, salmon and frozen log are to be avoided if you want a ecologically correct festive meal (non-perishable products) and respectful of biodiversityé and animal welfare.
To get as close as possible, bet on Oysters, winter vegetables from the local organic producer and labeled meats. For dessert, it’s time to rediscover the seasonal fruits and those of our undergrowth, like Chestnut that can be prepared as a crème brûlée or a cake. And to accompany it all, local organic wine and champagne.
Le chocolat, a must-have at this time of year, is perfectly suited if you choose it organic and fair trade. A principle that also applies to most of the food products you will need. La Vie Claire stores offer a whole range of quality organic products (www.lavieclaire.com), while many sites today specialize in fair trade foods, such as www.epicerie-equitable.com or the site of.
Dress in natural materials
The whole family is there, it’s the moment to dress yourself in your finery. Today we can be beautiful and supportive both through ethical fashion. This notion is still unclear, some of the companies mainly engaging in environmental level (recyclable products) and others at social level (safeguard of local know-how). To be sure you are not mistaken, take a look at what fabrics the clothes are made with and choose natural materials.
On New Year’s Eve, a little black organic cotton dress (www.machja.com) will go perfectly with recycled PVC shoes (Alexandre Herchcovitch). And to complete your outfit, add a handbag made of leather scraps or a silk stole. the small detail that changes everything : a necklace in glass beads or mother-of-pearl (www.artisansdumonde.org).
Choose an artisanal decoration
If you haven’t bought your tree yet, don’t beat yourself up and choose a natural one. Contrary to popular belief, this does not contribute to the deforestation of forests since they come from agricultural land. What’s more, the natural tree is 100% biodegradable. Much more ecological than an artificial tree, which requires petroleum products during its manufacture!
To decorate it, you can make yourself or buy on specialized sites (100pour100equitable.oxatis.com) Christmas balls surrounded by silk threads or small bells made of papier-mâché and hand painted. There are also pretty cribs on the market made of clay by local artisans, with painted ceramic figures.
On the table, a few handcrafted golden paraffin candles arranged here and there will be enough to give it an air of celebration!