Nov 14, 2020

Let this Diwali be Green!

All traditional Indian festivals have an ecologically conscious message at their heart. As a people, we gather at various times of the year to express our gratitude to Mother Nature and each other for always being there for us. Diwali is no different, but in modern times, we have tended to eschew traditional, environment-friendly options in favour of store-bought convenience. We are here to tell you that this shouldn’t be the case and you’ll agree with us once you see how easy it is to practice.

Go through the cycles

From recycling to upcycling, there are plenty of options at your disposal to make the best use of unwanted household items. With a little bit of imagination, you can create your own works of decorative art with old bottles, cans, jars, tires and ropes. You can even use the peels of citrus fruits like oranges and lemons to make your own scented lamps! Make sure that everything you use this Diwali can either be reused through the year or discarded with minimal impact on the environment.

A friendly dinner table

Forego the use of plastic at the dinner table and invest in degradable alternatives made from bamboo, areca, banana and coconut leaves instead. We would also recommend using steel and ceramic crockery as better options, but with the deluge of guests during this time of the year, that may lead to a lot of cleaning up and usage of water, which can be reduced with these alternatives.

Gift to nature

Wrap all your gifts with an old newspaper that you can add decorations to yourself. You can also use fragments of old clothes to tie a bow on your packages. Sarees and dupattas can also be reused as tablecloths or cushion covers for a personalised touch of glam.

At the end of the day, all you need to keep in mind is that your festivities need not impact the environment or your fellow citizens in a negative way. Besides the usage of ‘green’ crackers that reduce the amount of noise and smoke produced, these are a few steps that you can take to ensure that this festival of lights and colours is painted green, for this year and all the upcoming ones!

We wish you all a Happy Diwali!