I recently threw my engagement party as well as a small and intimate 25th birthday party. Since it’s me, of course, I wanted it to be as sustainable and local as possible . 

Did I get a 100% eco-friendly and ethical celebration? 

Of course not. 

Not only was  a lack of possible options and cultural restrictions something that we had to contend with, but there was a lot I was still learning about hosting a sustainable party. Then I thought, hey why not share all I have learnt and am learning with you all. So, in this series I would like to compile all of that to show you how to throw an eco-friendly and sustainable party, staring with food and decor. Geronimo!

Look for Waste Management and Food Redistribution

The first thing that I will suggest – and this is one of the things I I forgot to arrange for- is waste management and food redistribution. 

While I like to believe that the local in-city business I had supported with my choice of venue and food would have composted the food we could not finish, I wish I had contacted an agency like Greenmyna or Hum Prtihvi Se and made sure any food we couldn’t finish got composted or distributed among people who would benefit from it. After all, food waste is one of the biggest drivers of climate change.

That is not to say we did nothing. Our menu was notably smaller than what engagement parties usually have. 

What you can do is get the food packed and take it home or give it to your guests and save them a day of cooking, if that’s more your speed. The idea is just to ensure that none of the food gets wasted or enters the landfill, where it’ll simply rot and release methane, because nothing biodegrades in a landfill, as said by Shelby Orme. 

Food takes me to the second point, which is, you should try and get…

Local and Seasonal Food When You Can

Seasonal is more important here, of course, as shared by Gittemarie Johanson.

You can also try and get organic ingredients if the venue or catering allows. This is a good financial decision and some have said the organic food is better for health.

Or you can get a cook or maharaj to come and make the food for you, if that works for the party you are throwing.

If you can support a local farm, that’s one of the best things for your community. Plus, eating what’s in season means it’s easier to grow and requires fewer  resources. 

Also, try and get plant-based dishes over meat where you can. I know, it isn’t always possible or even desired to replace traditional dishes with local, seasonal, or plant-based alternatives but there are ways to keep your traditions alive and be sustainable. For example, you can simply replace panner with tofu if that’s a possibility given the dietary needs of your guests and yourself. 

For my birthday, which was the day before we celebrated our engagement to reduce the amount of travel required, we got a delicious vegan cake from Vegan Cravings by Shilpa and ate at the buffet of a local hotel, which I am unsure of how eco-friendly or ethical it was or even if it was owned locally. Yes, these choices aren’t the best but it was quite literally booked by others and healthy sustainability means being adaptable. Also, yes, buffets aren’t always the most sustainable, but I feel it’s better to eat at that if that’s there than order different items. I don’t exactly remember, but for one party we might have ordered anew as well, which we should have ensured was redistributed or sustainable managed. 

For items like sweets and fruits, you can do what we did and go to the local sabjiwala or vegetable vendor in your area and get fruits from them. While options like Big Basket and Instamart might support local businesses to an extent, we decided to go ourselves and get the items, as well as, get locally made bamboo baskets made to carry and gift them in. 

It’s important to honour culture, tradition, and have fun at celebrations, but if we can innovate a little and reduce burden on the planet at the time, why not do it?

Reducing the burden reminds me, unless you are going to a club which does not let the music get out…

Keep the Music Sane

I know it’s a lot of fun to jam to the beat but neither do you want to increase noise pollution with the loudspeakers,  nor do you want the police complaints. Instead, perhaps try and invest in local talent, get a DJ or ask your family  to show their skills. Trust me, you’ll treasure the memories forever. And there’s always karaoke. 

Just saying. I would love to hear my cousins try and sing. 

Use What You Own

This was something that helped make my engagement décor unique. We wanted a Star Wars/ Erebor themed wedding so for the tabletops instead of buying new, I used tokens from my Star Wars monopoly game. How cool is that? When I saw everyone asked about them, trust me, everyone did.

Of course, the show stopper was my R2D2 funko pop which I had brought in 2021. Not the most sustainable item in my house but it adds tremendous value to my life and not many microplastics. I hope. 

Yet, say you have to buy décor or other items. There’s always thrifted. Instead of reusing ethnic clothing I had, I thrifted a skirt and choli, which people had bought but couldn’t use. That is good for the planet and doesn’t offend my culture because it’s technically unused. You can also swap with friends and family. Another option is to…

Support Local Businesses and Green Art

Say you are looking for décor like we were before we realized the Monopoly tokens were right there, you can go to local stores, owned by people in your city or community, and hire them. Our décor was done by a vendor from our community, whose very first project was our function, and the food and venue was from a restaurant that people in the community frequent, though I am sure a locally owned far away hotel gives back to the community just as much if they hire locals. One mistake I made that you can avoid was to forget to ask if this was a locally owned venue. While it is not essential to kill you wants and only support local, if you can pick local it goes a long way.  

When we were looking for more décor other than what we had at home, we asked the vendor to buy items he could  reuse or give them to use for further functions, and we looked at sustainable or vintage options on Etsy.

You can also look at student-owned  art stalls, which might even customize the décor and other items for you.

You can buy from local thrift stores or you can look at vendors like Gift Green India for festive décor or Oh Scrap Madras for torans and such. While plastic reusable décor is an option, wood décor or upcycled fabric décor can be more sustainable as they don’t release microplastics. Another thing I could have done better? Let me know in the comments!

If you need to use flowers, you can use organically grown fresh flowers and get them composted or turn them into bio-enzyme later. 

One fun thing I learned from Greenmyna is that drapes in decor are not really reused due to stains and mostly synthetic fabrics are preferred by decorators, so you have to be extremely conscious in either ensuring they are reused by you or someone else or they are sustainably sourced. This can be difficult but thankfully, the next part is much easier.

Get Eco-friendly and Ethical Crookery or Hire Someone Who Uses Reusables

Shelby Orme shared how she thrifted her wedding dishes and mason jars and got utensils from her mother’s kitchen. While that wasn’t what I did, instead going to a restaurant which had its own reusable cutlery, you can always get utensils, plates, and such, with the cooking team or catering you hire, where I live. That’s part of how they serve the food and make the budget, to be honest. Sustainably speaking that is super cool, as the plates aren’t single-use. Less waste. Less microplastic. More sustainability. And another way you can do that is…

Get Reusable Upcycled Décor or Organic Flowers Instead of the Balloons 

When it comes to party décor, especially birthdays, balloons are a big part. Yet, they can be extremely harmful to the environment. Have I bought balloons to support local vendors? Definitely…but if you can, try and replace balloons in your décor with eco-friendly and ethical reusable décor as we discussed above. 

At the end of the day, there is a lot more that you can do to have a sustainable and ethical celebration, whether it is a party, a festival like Durga Puja, or a wedding. But in any sustainable event, the most important part of the planning is, in my opinion is to…

Allow Yourself the Space to Make Mistakes. 

While aiming for a 100% zero-waste and ethical party is a great move, it is important to realize not everything might be in  our control. Budget, forgetfulness, undeniable expectations, culture, and more can  ease the way or make it difficult to be sustainable. After all, we are often living in a system that does not reward sustainable living. Thus, the idea is to do the best you can and give yourself grace for the rest. After all, healthy sustainability means being realistic. 

Before we end, here are some additional tips that may be event specific, or were in my case. Allons-y!

Extra How to Have a Sustainable Birthday Party- Candles, and Cake

As I said, my engagement party was around the same time as my birthday. I wore a thrifted dress, skipped the décor, and spent time playing games and interacting with my people over everything else, which worked to make me happy and be sustainable.

One of the most important things in a birthday party is the cake, which I got from Vegan Cravings by Shilpa to make it more eco-friendly. It was made locally using ingredients easily available in my city. 

Would I have preferred it have all seasonal ingredients?  Sure.  

But I don’t think cakes work like that.

Why am I mentioning all this again? Because candles.

The thing I skipped was  the candles due to cultural reasons. I don’t light candles for the same reasons. Thus, I can reuse them on a different cake, but if I had to light a candle, I would go for something edible, eco-friendly, and sustainable. In terms of sustainability, I have heard beeswax candles are good and soy wax candles as well, as long as we use them with the same level of responsibility as a conventional candle. 

And that’s it! My two cents on how to ensure the food and decor at your  eco-friendly and ethical party matches your values. I welcome your thoughts in the comments section! Stay tuned to Anjali’s Musings and The Brown Journal(s) for more tips on how to have a sustainable celebration which supports the local economy and cares for the planet!

Oh and remember to hydrate and take a break from the screen before you jump to the next blog in this series. 

Editor- Shubhr Aakriti