Celebrate a Low-Waste, Mindful Diwali with Conscious Choices

Diwali, the festival of lights, is a cherished time for gathering, sharing love, and rejoicing with family and friends. On this joyous occasion, let's come together to take mindful steps towards celebrating a low-waste Diwali, showing our care for both people and the planet. Going green with our celebrations means showing extra consideration for our environment. Here are a few sustainable practices that, while small, can start us on the path to making a significant difference.

UPCYCLED FASHION

Say yes to eco-friendly fashion this Diwali, and carry your clothes with a conscious, adopting sustainable wear. There are many sustainable options with boundless creative varieties: restyle from your wardrobe, mix and match traditional wear, upcycle a used saree or one that's sleeping in yours or your mum's closet into a kurti or lehenga; get it stitched from your local tailor. Try looking for thrift options in your city or online. Organize a swap party with your friends or cousins, rewear each other's previous years' Diwali looks, or just exchange any clothes from each other's wardrobes for fun re-wearing and restyling.

We also have a curated festive collection that is entirely upcycled, featuring artisanal craftsmanship and quality upcycled festive wear. Shop here: Shringaar Collection.

(Image Credits Chambray & Co: Left - Zaira Saree Set, Right - Aniha Kurta Set) 

ECO-GIFTS

Gift giving is a big part of Diwali celebrations. Consider gifts that are both thoughtful and sustainable. Make Diwali celebrations special with gifting potted plants, seeds, memories to sustainably grow with life, or choosing to go upcycled. Create special handmade gifts like a scrap fabric bookmark, scrap fabric diya toran for you and your friends and family, and since it's Diwali, a painted clay diya. Upcycled gifts can be the most unique and are totally a winner in being the most one-of-a-kind, where no two items will be the same, making it extra special and extra unique.

We also got you covered with a range of artisanal upcycled gifts, from home decor to personal care gifts, made from a variety of upcycled materials. Each item is crafted with skilled craftsmanship, diverting waste and created mindfully with love and care for the planet and the people. Shop the festive collections here: Aahar and Uphaar.

 (Image Credits: Left - Gift Hamper by Eknama, Right - Gift Box by Ecoshi)

SUSTAINABLE GIFT WRAP

Gifts don’t necessarily need wrapping, especially considering the waste generated by the traditional wrapping materials. However, for the element of surprise, you can always wrap them in newspaper in creative ways or scrap fabric from your wardrobe. Since it's Diwali time and to add the festive touch, you can try adopting biodegradable banana leaves as a cover for your gift.

Materials required: Banana leaf, glue, thread or scrap fabric, flowers for decorating

Steps to make the gift wrap:

• Take a banana leaf depending on the gift size, slice it down the center lengthwise to give you two long halves.
• Place one long half of the banana leaf on a flat surface with the shiny side facing down and place the gift in the center of the leaf and fold it.
• Now take the wrapped gift and place it on the other half of the leaf and wrap it again, cut the excess or glue the remaining part.
• Take a scrap thread or thin fabric or ribbon to use to tie the gift box and bow-knot it.
• Use flowers or leaves, or a scrap cardboard tag, to decorate and place it in the knot.

(Image Credits: Left - Gift Wrap by Meenakshi, Right - Experimental_insights)

UPCYCLED TORAN DECOR

Coconut shells, which are usually discarded, can be upcycled into beautiful decor by reusing natural materials. Given the firm texture and shape of the coconut, they can be used as unique decor pieces. The shells can be repurposed as toran or even as diyas with candles in them, or you can add ghee and a wick. This festive celebration can give a makeover to landfill-bound materials, providing them with a second life as customized decorations.

Materials required: Coconut shells, scrap fabric or ribbon, adhesive, sandpaper (if needed)

Steps to make upcycled coconut shell toran:

• Carefully warm the coconut in the center and break it slowly into two equal halves.
• Remove the entire coir, scoop out the coconut flesh for later use, and sand the outer side to smoothen it.
• Paint your coconut shells with organic vibrant paint and decorate with scrap beads, lace, or bright shiny fabric pieces.
• Reuse old ribbons or any firm thread or fabric offcut and stick them to the coconut firmly to tie them for toran.
• Take a used cloth bag and cut it into a long strip, use rings to tie each coconut thread or simply tie them tightly making a toran.

(Image and Content Credits: Coconut Toran by Sumati @cozyyylilcorner)

SUSTAINABLE RANGOLI POWDER

For vibrant, decorative rangoli this Diwali, use sustainable materials like rice powder and flowers, or mix food colours into cornstarch or rice powder, avoiding any chemicals and toxic colour powders. There are also techniques to DIY basic colours by upcycling leftover fruits and vegetables and their peels by drying them completely and grinding them into colour powders for an eco-friendly rangoli.

Materials required: Dried (sun-dry or use a dehydrator or bake) - Lemon Peel, Green Lime Peel, Orange Peel, Beetroot or Hibiscus Flower

Steps to make sustainable colour powder:

• For green and yellow: Boil lime and lemon peels, spread them, and bake or dehydrate until peels are hard and finely powder them.
• For orange: Evenly spread orange peels, dehydrate or bake until fully dried with no moisture, and grind them to a fine powder with a mixer.

• For pink/red: Grind leftover raw beetroot pieces into a fine paste and extract its juice, mix it with rice powder or arrowroot powder, spread it on a plate, and let it dry completely.
• For mauve red: Steep organic Hibiscus dried flowers for a few minutes in hot water to extract the dye, mix it with cornstarch, spread on a tray to completely dry.

(Image and Content Credits: Dried Hibiscus Powder by Jyotsna Pippal)

Sustainable alternatives for Diwali celebrations allow us to carry forward the spirit of sustainability and mindfulness. Small changes in our festive routines can lead to big impacts on our environment. Remember, every sustainable choice counts towards a greener, more thoughtful world. Let's continue to spread light and love, making every celebration an opportunity to care for our planet.