In search of eco-friendly tinsel? Strive these ten sustainable alternate options to deck the halls in an environmentally-friendly approach.
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Tinsel could also be a ubiquitous a part of adorning your tree. It’s the season of sparkle and pleasure in any case. Nonetheless, tinsel tends to be product of PVC plastic, which isn’t simply recyclable and is derived from non-renewable fossil fuels. In brief, that string of tinsel is bad news for the environment.
If plastic-based tinsel provides you tinsel-itis then don’t fear – there are sustainable and eco-friendly alternate options on the market that look simply pretty much as good, if not higher. Whether or not you wish to DIY or purchase, there are heaps of choices to make your house extra sustainable this Christmas time.
Eco-Pleasant Tinsel Options
When you’ve got a field of tinsel in your loft, then don’t discard it. Probably the most environmentally pleasant factor to do is to maintain utilizing it till it reaches the tip of its life.
In case your outdated tinsel has misplaced its sparkle, and also you’re trying to exchange it, then strive these eco-friendly alternate options:
1. Eco-Pleasant & Recyclable Paper Tinsel

At £4 per strand, paper tinsel* is a superb budget-friendly and eco-friendly various to tinsel.
Made solely from paper and stitched to order in Scotland, these enjoyable Christmas fringed streamers are good for injecting some color wherever you select to position them.
Every streamer is product of two colors of paper stitched collectively, then hand-cut for a fringed impact. At roughly 10 cm huge and a pair of m lengthy, these fluffy ruffles are good for draping round your tree, or alongside your bannister.
Accessible in a wide range of colors, you’re positive to search out one to match your color scheme. After Christmas, you may fastidiously retailer it away till subsequent Christmas.
Purchase from Paper Street Dolls at Etsy*.
2. Oxfam’s Recycled Tinsel

Oxfam makes it simple to ditch the plastic tinsel with planet-friendly alternate options. This distinctive sari tinsel* is handmade by feminine artisans in India from recycled saris. Giving a enjoyable festive look, this can be utilized to brighten your Christmas tree, or your hearth or staircase, similar to you’ll with common tinsel.
Accessible in festive pink or inexperienced, in 2-metre lengths, it’s the proper strategy to give your house a festive really feel with out the plastic.
As every strand is hand made from recycled cloth, each bit is exclusive. The precise color will differ inside the pictured color scheme.
Discover this eco-friendly tinsel at Oxfam online for £15.99* for two metres.
3. Felt Eco-Pleasant Tinsel

This felt garland* can also be an excellent eco-friendly various to tinsel. But it’s not so Christmassy, that it may’t be used to brighten at events all year long.
Every plastic-free garland is handmade in Nepal utilizing conventional needle felting strategies from sustainable and biodegradable supplies.
It is available in a cotton bag for storage, to assist maintain it trying contemporary 12 months after 12 months.
Purchase from Not On The High Street for £34* for a 1.2 m size.
4. Felt Ball Garlands

Alone Christmas tree are felt ball garlands that I’ve collected over the previous few years. It’s a enjoyable and festive approach so as to add some color and texture to your tree or your mantlepiece, with out having to resort to plastic-based tinsel.
What I like is that while tinsel could be very Christmas-specific, felt ball garlands can be utilized all year long. Planning a celebration? Wanting so as to add a little bit of enjoyable to your kitchen? Simply string up your garland!
The felt ball garland pictured is from Not On The High St*. This vibrant string of pom poms is hand made by Truthful Commerce artisans, who felt the wool utilizing conventional strategies.
As a substitute of weaving the wool, warmth, moisture, and stress are utilized to entangle the fibres and create the felt. The colourful colors are additionally created utilizing solely pure, colourfast dyes.
Purchase this eco-friendly tinsel various from Not On The High Street for £14.95* for a 1.85 m garland.
5. Strinsel Eco-Pleasant Tinsel

Nope, that’s not a typo! Strinsel is a plastic-free various to PVC tinsel, made by Etsy vendor This Factor Is String.
Constructed from nothing however jute, 100% cotton baker’s twine and cotton thread, it’s hand-sewn to create these enjoyable festive garlands. With a little bit cautious storage, these will be reused time and again.
No glue or plastic is used to create these eco-friendly alternate options to tinsel. What’s extra, all of the packaging used will be reused, composted or extensively recycled.
Accessible in 2-metre and 3-metre lengths, from £14.
Store the Strinsel range at Etsy*.
6. Paper Chains

Whether or not you wish to DIY or purchase a package, like this festive-themed kit from Etsy*, then paper chains are a enjoyable eco-friendly various to tinsel.
The chains on this package slot collectively, with out the necessity for a stapler or glue. Nonetheless, you may arm your self with pages from magazines, vibrant paper, or offcuts of wrapping paper to make chains you could drape throughout your own home.
These can then be recycled after Christmas, or fastidiously saved for subsequent 12 months.
7. Popcorn Garlands

Popcorn isn’t only for munching on throughout your favorite films. Utilizing some popcorn and a few contemporary cranberries, you may create some fairly garlands on your tree which are solely home-compostable. This makes for a zero-waste method to tinsel.
Need to give it a go? Right here’s all you should learn about making a popcorn garland this Christmas.
8. Dried Orange Garlands

For one more DIY choice that’s once more solely home-compostable, why not strive drying some orange slices? As soon as dried, you may make fairly garlands that glisten within the gentle. And, as a bonus, your own home smells superb too.
Prepared for the complete how-to? Right here’s methods to dry orange slices.
9. Clay Garlands

Selfmade clay star garlands are eco-friendly and make for a reasonably various to tinsel. All you want is a few cornflour and a few bicarbonate of soda and also you’re good to go! Right here’s methods to make these selfmade clay garlands in minutes!
10. Ribbon

Lastly, ribbon is a superb sustainable and low-cost addition to your Christmas tree, that’s reusable 12 months after 12 months. For the bottom environmental impression, re-use what you’ve got, or go for ribbons created from sustainable materials.
To embellish, merely drape the ribbon round your tree like a garland, to convey a little bit of color and curiosity to your tree with out the necessity for tinsel. Alternatively, blogger Kelley Nan exhibits you methods to make your Christmas tree look extremely fancy with ribbon.
For extra methods to have fun Christmas the eco-conscious approach, then do take a look at my final information on methods to have an eco-friendly Christmas.
I’ve tons of concepts, taken from nearly a decade’s price of writing right here on Ethical Fibres. From probably the most eco-friendly Christmas tree to zero-waste decorations you may make, to present concepts in addition to Christmas dinner concepts, it’s all there!
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