How to Celebrate Eco-friendly Diwali

While Diwali is a joyous occasion and must be celebrated with verve and enthusiasm, we also know that, of late, its unbridled celebration has been contributing to air pollution significantly, especially in large metros like Delhi. It then behoves us as responsible citizens that we celebrate our favourite festival in a manner that does not harm the environment; we make it a green Diwali. Here are some ideas from Cadbury Gifting on how to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali.

Eco-friendly Diwali Gifts

This Diwali, ensure that any gift that you present to family, friends or colleagues is eco-friendly. This will not only encourage the gift recipients to start using these eco-friendly products but also popularise these specific types and brands of gifts.

You could choose to gift chocolates from the vast range available on Cadbury Gifting such as Diwali Chocolate Gift Box & Personalised Cadbury Silk Box Hamper ; Diwali Cadbury Chocolate Gift Box ; Diwali Satin Potli with Large Silk; Personalised Diwali Cadbury Silk; Diwali Satin Potli with Chocolates; or the Diwali Satin Potli with Large Silk, to name a few.

Plants make a great Diwali gift. Indoor plants serve to enliven any room while also cleansing the air in it. Some plants such as mother-in-law’s tongue, ficus, aloe vera, English ivy, and dragon plant, to name a few, have excellent air-purifying qualities. Organic gifts are another way of showing how much you care for family and friends as well as the environment. Some gifting options could include pure forest honey, organic beauty and wellness products, ghee made from A2 milk, chyawanprash, or chemical-free dried fruit from Kashmir. Organic teas or organic coffee also make great gifts that not only boost health but also taste good. Organic cotton clothing also can be gifted on Diwali.

Eco-friendly Green Diwali

There are some very easy ways to ensure that your Diwali and that of your dear and near ones do not harm the environment. To begin with, do not purchase anything that you know contains chemicals or is harmful. Ensure that the rangoli powder that you use to create those beautiful motifs at the entrance of the house is completely chemical-free. Or you can use ingredients such as Haldi, coffee, flour, etc., to make the rangoli. Do not use inorganic incense sticks; instead, use fresh flowers so that their fragrance wafts through your home. For idols to be used in the puja, use the earthen ones without chemical colouring on them. Instead of candles, use earthen oil diyas that are unpainted to light up your home. Candles contain petroleum which releases toxins while burning. Use LED lights as they consume less power than traditional ones.

Chemical crackers are an absolute no-no on Diwali to cut back on noise and air pollution. There are some eco-friendly crackers available in the market that you can try out. If you like, you can also release lanterns into the sky to express your joy.

Decorate your home with fresh flowers or items that are not harmful to the environment such as plastic. Make sure that you use no plastic for home decoration or gift wrapping. And be sure to make sure that all waste, after the Diwali celebrations, is sorted into biodegradable and non-degradable lots before being disposed of. As far as possible, store diyas, etc., to be reused on the next Diwali.

Green Diwali Ideas

There are several things you can do to follow the green agenda on Diwali. For one, ensure that all your gifts and home décor and puja items are chemical-free and eco-friendly, as mentioned above. Apart from this, encourage your children and their friends to plant trees on Diwali. You can get permission to do so in the neighbourhood park. If you feel up to it, you can involve the entire local community in this tree plantation activity. Try and persuade your neighbourhood not to celebrate with loud crackers. If, however, they do burst crackers, ensure that all the indie dogs around your house have adequate shelter and are not petrified by the noise.

Instead of buying mithai from the shops, make sweetmeats at home and pack them in organic packaging to gift to family and friends. While serving them at home, use donna-pattal, instead of disposable plastic stuff.

Diwali is an occasion to bond and spend time with family, friends, neighbours and the larger community. This Diwali, take the initiative to organise an event in which your neighbourhood senior citizens, adults, and children can participate. You can hold competitions and games such as the Rangoli competition, flower arrangements designs and decorations with natural flowers, sweet making, and creative paper lanterns for the kids, and much more. You could also pool together as a community and organise a musical show, puppet show, talent show, and cultural event. In this way, everyone in the neighbourhood can feel involved as a community and the bonds between people can be strengthened – which is the entire purpose of the celebration. These occasions can also be used to create awareness about how to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali.