Diwali 2022 was a blast for me. From the perfect Diwali rangoli designs to an eco-friendly upcycled banderwal or bunting, I had the best time. But what did I do to celebrate a sustainable Diwali? And how can you celebrate an eco-friendly and ethical Diwali in a realistic manner?
Well, here’s what I did for Diwali 2022 and what you can too to celebrate in a manner that aligns with traditions without harming the planet.
Use What You Own and Shop Sustainably
Yes, I know, I know. Diwali is the festival where we must buy new clothes and items for the house. It is auspicious. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be sustainable with what we buy or even better, reuse what we have.
But how can we do that?
Well, for Diwali 2023, I am using tips I used to decorate my home for Navratri and Dushhera, such as putting an idol of Lord Ganesh near the door, painting the matka in my kitchen, and using wall-hangings for décor in place of fresh flowers where possible.
For clothing, I am looking at the FreeUp app, Gift Green India, and Relove for my shopping. While not everyone will be okay with getting thrifted clothes for the festival of lights, Freeup contains clothes with their tags attached. To me that’s good as new.
But if you would rather have realistic thrifting alternatives other than cloth swaps or fully new clothing, Relove is a great option. They carry factory discards alongside thrifted items. Factory discards are items which have minor errors and this can’t be sold at the store. So, you get new items while also reducing waste! Saving us from landfills, this Diwali y’all.
Bad jokes aside, you can always shop small and support local businesses. Upcycled items such as Gift Green India’s blouses are a good idea too. You can always look up how sustainable a brand is on Good On You.
But the most sustainable thing that you can do is use what you own. Whether it be in décor placing the showpieces you have in your home at strategic locations, incorporating your plants in your décor, or wearing a heritage saree from your nani, using what already exists is the one of the most eco-friendly actions you can take.
But that was clothing, what about makeup? Décor? How am I going green with those for Diwali 2023?
Well, I am doing what I did last year aka for Green Diwali 2022.
Let’s start with makeup.
Zoobop It
While most of the makeup I use, I have had for a while- don’t worry it’s not expired stuff, I rarely thrift makeup. My OCD just can’t.
What I do instead is go to sustainable e-commerce stores like Our Better Plane, Amala Earth, or Brown Living India and then check the makeup brands they carry on Zoobop. The ones which seem financially viable, vegan, sustainable and necessary end up in my cart for when I need them. You can always check for certifications and if you wish to go the extra mile, check the brand’s impact page and take-back programs. Remember, vague could be a mistake, or it could be greenwashing, so don’t hesitate to email and ask questions.
Another thing I do is go to websites which I know are sustainable like Karmakattu Ecostore or Daughter Earth.
Finally, if I can’t find anything, I try and support local plant-based businesses. I did that recently with the jewellery I am reusing from my Durga Puja 2023 outfit for my Diwali fit. There’s nothing that quite compares to the joy of nipping down to the nearest multi-purpose store to find a nose ring that goes with your mix-and match outfit before hitting the pandals.
After all, festivals are a chance to deck up ourselves and our homes. Sustainably, of course.
But where can we get sustainable puja samagri and décor?
There are many sustainable or natural material carrying e-commerce stores like Our Better Planet with their pooja plates and hampers. Then there are brands like Phool.co. From eco-friendly incense, dhoop, and havan cups, to rangolis, they have quite the selection. Or so I found my sister, trying to gift me a green Diwali gift, bought their collection for our family.
As you can see, we have already dug into the havan cups! And the smell, while overpowering, is heavenly for me. Just make sure to blow it out to ensure it’s not a fire hazard and never leave it unattended.
Though, you can see, I didn’t get the set with a rangoli kit in it. And you must be wondering why.
Well, while using organic colours for your rangoli is eco-friendly, my preferred way is reusing rangolis from previous years.
Reusable and Eco-friendly Diwali Rangolis
My mom got these rangolis when I was a kid and they’ve been part of the household ever since. They are made of wood with glue on the back and after the first year, we just place them where they need o go and decorate around them.
And yes, the glue may not be vegan and I am not sure if the product was eco-friendly or ethical but after being used for at least half a decade we can say it has become good for the planet. This year I am also hoping to follow Sonika Bashin and TrashySisters’ advices and get sustainable flower looking upcycled cloth décor from companies such as Oh Scrap Madras and Use Me Works.
Yes, I know that not everyone can reuse rangolis and flowers because of cultural context. In such cases, I would recommend using organic colours and flowers instead of those made using pesticides. Or you can support local and seasonal businesses. That’s good for the community and thus helpful for the planet. From paintings to upcycled buntings and good smelling incense, there’s no shortage of ways to dress up your house for Diwali and other festivals.
Sustainable and Eco-friendly Diwali Banderwals
For Diwali 2023, I am really excited to reuse my left over banderwals that I bought from a small sustainable shop in my community last year. But if you wish to get something new online, I would recommend Use Me Works or Oh Scarp Madras for realistic flower décor and Gift Green India for upcycled fabric banderwals or buntings.
Or you can do what my gran does and string up leaves that naturally fall from your plants and put them on your door.
But buntings aren’t the only part of sustainable festive décor for Diwali 2023, now, are they?
Financially Viable and Eco-friendly Terracotta Diyas
Diwali needs candles, lights, lamps and diyas. After all, it’s called the festive of lights.
While I will be using handcrafted cermanic diyas that came with my Phool.co set, another option I am consider is buying terracotta diyas from local shops, especially pottery stores as I saw in a reel on Instagram that I have lost.
Another option, all of us susty folks can look at is getting reusable decorative lamps and hanging them. Sustainable lamps such as the ones found on Our Better Planet claim to use less energy than traditional ones. Sustainable candles such as soya wax ones or coconut base candles are also a good option. Just remember your sustainable candle safety tips.
Incorporate Your Plants
Are all plants eco-friendly in every environment? The sad answer is no. But the plants that you do have, from your tulsi ka podha to your jade plants can be a part of your décor. Replace flowers with pollinator-friendly flowering plants and you will have year-long décor for your home and support pollinators, which is the need of the hour.
And even if you can’t buy new plants, there are options such as buying plantable décor and such which post usage you can incorporate in your next Diwali celebrations.
Eco-friendly Cracker Alternatives
Patakas or crackers is a highlight of Diwali celebrations but we all know they aren’t the best for our respiratory systems, pets, or the environment. What I do is simply sit back and watch the community fireworks but I am trying to help my folks go green alongside going eco-friendly myself. And thus, I am looking at seed crackers.
While green crackers are coming up, the folks at Net Zero Living and other stores sell these Plantable Seed Crackers. And the folks at Net Zero were kind enough to explain how theirs worked.
No, they don’t explode with seeds like crackers do with fire and light. Sad, I know.
But these are seed bombs in the shape of crackers which you can open over a pot of soil and start a green tradition on a very auspicious day. What isn’t to like about that? And in a few weeks, you have a wee little plant too!
Eco-friendly Jewellery
Speaking of auspiciousness, it is tradition t buy jewellery on Diwali. While investing is great thing to do, when investing in jewellery, we tend to look at what’s best value for our money. And realistic sustainability would acknowledge that.
Yet, there was ways to be green, especially since mining has huge impacts.
And the way to do that is to look for recycled materials, low-impact jewellery and metals, responsibly sourced stones, and ensure that fair wages were paid at every step of the making of the jewels you are buying. If the products were mined, you can ask for certification to make sure they were mined in a responsible manner. Etsy is one place I go for small jewellery purchases, but I am not sure if they carry anything that would work for Diwali.
But remember, if this change is overwhelming it’s fine. Green and sustainable living beings with small manageable steps, such as ensuring the gifts we give to people do not end up in waste.
Ethical and Green Gifts
If I have said it once, I have said it at least seven times. Gift-giving is a love language and thus quoting Studio Beej’s research that says 1 in 6 gifts go to waste, isn’t a good enough reason to ask people to stop expressing their love.
No, the answer should be we need to express our love in individual and meaningful ways. Whether it be Mother’s Day gifts or Diwali ones, gifting experiences, time, and eco-friendly or local gifts that actually add value to the recipient’s life is one good way to ensure you aren’t sending stuff to landfills.
If you wish to go a step further, try and shop from small ethical businesses, local shops, and upcycled or recycled gifts as well as from sustainable stores like Studio Beej.
Where applicable, you can also look for gifts packaged in reusable or fabric wraps.
But other than gifts, the most important part of Diwali pujan are the idols and the samagri. Yes, we have briefly touched on them, but trust you me, they deserve a whole section.
Eco-friendly Idols and Puja Samagri for Diwali 2023
While there are DIY idols, clay idols, and even idols made of silver that are available, all I think of when shopping for an idol is visarjan. Whether you are drawing on a page or getting a clay idol, the point is to look at the entire life cycle yes, which is why we avoid petroleum-based plaster of Paris in idols, but we must also avoid immersion of idols in our waterbodies if they are made of non-natural and non-biodegradable materials or if non-organic colours have been used to decorate. Take off any jewels, flowers, or robes you have put on the idol as well.
But it’s not just the idol. Dr. Aarti Bhandare was kind enough to point out that nowadays most puja samagri like kumkum comes in small plastic sachets which are terrible for the environment. Again, shopping from local stores which give package free items or even bulk stores, if they’re available can be an option. Otherwise, there’s always sustainable e-commerce stores as long as you research the brand and ingredients when possible.
Personally, for items like brown sugar to use in my puja, I prefer Aadrish Zero Waste store as it’s available in my city despite how little I use it. But sugar leads us to the next point…
Climate-Friendly Food
I know I mention this in almost every blog so I will keep it short here. Making traditional dishes is important but if we can incorporate plant-based, local, and seasonal items in those dishes, that’s best for the environment. Organic items are a wonderful additional, especially if bought from ethical companies which pay people fairly and source their raw materials in a responsible manner.
And if you are ordering in, this Diwali, try and opt for compostable plates, should you need single-use items. While we can try and order from companies which reduce waste when delivering food, and we can definitely do things like refusing single-use cutlery, napkins, and sachets of ketchup and such, it is not possible to control what our food comes in. And thus, proper disposal of such items is important.
For food waste composting as far as possible comes in, provided the food cannot be shared with those in need or people in your community. And this leads to the final point in every festival blog, which is responsible disposal.
Responsible Disposal
And finally, we come to the other often mentioned item in my festive blogs. Proper disposal. While food can be shared or composted, and idols will be immersed, what about décor and flowers?
Well, the flowers can either be composted or turned into bioenzyme but décor needs to be sent to recycling or upcycled or reused. Sending it to the landfills should be the last option.
Yet, we are imperfect as people and so is our realistic sustainability. Realistic imperfect sustainability.
So, keep going with small changes and build up to as much as you can.
And so that’s it- my plans for a realistic yet sustainable Diwali 2023. It’s a little too to say that if you must fly home, try and book tickets with low emissions and in advance to save your wallet. But if you can still do it, great. Otherwise, remember you deserve to spend the holidays with people you cherish and that sustainability can come in many many forms. Like advocacy, life-style changes, education, and awareness.
Let me know in the comments which form of green living you prefer. Oh, and how you spent Diwali 2023.
Disclaimer 1- The link to Net Zero Living’s Plantable Seed Crcakers is an affiliate link. Every purchase supports my blog, but I have never used the product. Please only buy what adds value to your life and stay sustainable y’all!
Disclaimer 2- While the author is working as a freelance Content Writer for Our Better Planet, the author has tried to ensure there has been no unnecessary promotions.
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A very good internary for a meaningful Diwali.