AN award-winning campaign aimed at avoiding waste at Christmas is being introduced to Jersey today.
Launched in partnership with the Jersey Evening Post, Conscious Christmas sees four local artists – Ian Rolls, Glen Fox, Margarida Lourenco Olivier and Will Bertram – designing a sheet of wrapping paper each. The sheets all feature an original tree-based artwork and are being given away free to JEP readers with today’s paper.
The Conscious Christmas campaign – which is supported by charity Creative Conscience – was devised by artists Helga Askehave and Alerte Anderson two years ago. Following a successful pilot with Danish newspaper Politiken, the campaign was then expanded to multiple other newspapers around the world.
The primary aim is to cut down on waste by encouraging people to use less wrapping paper over the festive season.
Creative Conscience, a not-for-profit organisation, was devised and launched by Chrissy Levett in 2012 and aims to empower, mentor and support creative-minded individuals of all ages, with an emphasis on those whose work has a positive social or environmental impact.
Ms Levett said: ‘Consumers in the UK use 227,000 miles of wrapping paper each year – over 83km of which ends up in bins. This figure means the average household gets through four rolls of wrapping paper each.’
The initial idea for bringing the Conscious Christmas campaign to Jersey stemmed from a meeting between Ms Levett and Mr Rolls.
‘Shortly after I first met Chrissy, she mentioned the idea of printing designs in the Jersey Evening Post for use as Christmas wrapping paper,’ said Mr Rolls.
‘I thought it was a genius idea.
‘We, as a family, have for many years made our own wrapping paper by painting on cheap brown paper or old newspapers, sometimes even reusing it the following year to wrap a present for someone else.
‘But we realised this was not normal practice and that glossy, non-recyclable, often plastic-coated wrapping paper was being used in massive quantities every Christmas.
‘Add to this the cost of wrapping paper at a time when purse strings for many are severely frayed and it makes sense to think carefully about what we wrap around our presents.’
With this in mind, Mr Rolls approached the three other artists and JEP editor Andy Sibcy, who agreed to collaborate on the eco-friendly project.
‘We are delighted to be able to work with some amazing local artists and the team at Creative Conscience to help share such a worthwhile message,’ said Mr Sibcy.
‘While Christmas can be a welcome time of indulgence, I am sure many people will share a sense of frustration that the annual festivities also generate a significant amount of waste.
‘I hope people not only make use of the designs in today’s edition to wrap gifts, but also stop to reflect on how much they consume and its environmental impact.
‘The JEP is printed on recycled paper using water-based ink which is far more environmentally friendly than the alternative oil-based option.
‘In so many ways, large and small, we can all do our bit to work towards a more sustainable future.
‘A huge thank-you to the artists who have created such amazing designs that remind us of the importance and beauty of trees.’
Mr Rolls added that the artistic wrapping paper could have other uses outside of the Christmas season. ‘Who knows? Perhaps these newspaper artworks may end up as framed collectables or as wallpaper in someone’s bedroom,’ he said.
lFor your free Conscious Christmas wrapping paper, see the supplement in the centre pages of today’s JEP. For more on Creative Conscience, or to donate, visit creative-conscience.org.uk.
