GOING GREEN IS THE NEW RED

5 tips to help you & your tykes usher in a climate-friendly & joyful Year of Tiger!

What’s not to love about Chinese New Year (CNY) - family gatherings, counting Lai See, red everywhere and spoiling you with more belly satisfaction! However, excessive waste shouldn’t add to the list of customs and traditions. While you & your family are fighting over the bill for a CNY meal, the environment might also be picking up the bill. This is because during this holiday, the waste stats get ugly.

It doesn’t have to be this way, here’s our 5 tips to help you & your tykes usher in a climate-friendly & joyful Year of Tiger!

Lai See: treasures to be passed down from generation to generation

Let’s be real - what’s inside is more important than what’s outside so why not opt for reused or recycled Lai See? Greeners Action, a Hong Kong charitable environmental group, reported an astronomical figure of 320 million red packets doled out every year, amounting to deforesting 16,300 trees! And that’s just HK’s number, not to mention Singapore, mainland China and all the people who celebrate CNY around the world!

If you prefer purchasing new, our tip is to choose Lai See which do not have self-adhesive seals, Chinese Zodiac names, years or surnames. In this way, they can be used for a longer time. Merchants are producing more exquisite designs and packaging in recent years - bronzing, use of leather, plastic, velcro, to name just a few. These materials reduce the efficiency of waste paper recycling. In other words, the simpler the design, the higher the chance it gets recycled.

At RETYKLE, you can get free Reborn Lai See from Greeners Action in a bundle of 8 (lucky number that associates with wealth) with order online on RETYKLE.COM as well as at the Hong Kong Causeway Bay Pop Up. These Lai See are all screened and mostly new!

An eco-friendly clean for your home

It’s that time of the year to whip out your feather duster and declutter. Spring cleaning is about sweeping away bad luck but the "out with the old" mantra does not necessarily mean sweeping everything into the landfill.

Here are the handy lists put together by Green is the New Black for Hong Kong & Singapore where you can donate and recycle you and your tyke’s once-loved clothing, books, furniture, electronics responsibly. Your effort makes a great impact for the planet and for those who might be less fortunate.

Your unwanted items may be someone else’s treasure. Reselling your tyke’s outgrown clothes and items with us benefit both your wallet and the environment, learn how to sell at RETYKLE here.

Zero environmental cost for a new wardrobe

“New year, new wardrobe.” CNY is when an annual clothing splurge happens, red clothes, red underwear are flying off the racks as the colour signifies happiness and luck. The tradition of wearing new clothes symbolizes a fresh start, a herald of good fortunes in the new year. Before placing an order for the holiday’s new attire, here're some facts that might raise a few eyebrows.

Did you know that 12,000 pieces of garments enter Hong Kong landfill every hour and that waste is one of the city’s top three sources of carbon emissions? Garment production waste comes from both production and consumption. Estimation shows that 15% of textiles end up on the cutting room floor and there’s a 60% rise in fashion consumption (but items are kept for half as long).

Perhaps it’s time to put an end to the throwaway culture & consider wearing second hand. It may be met with disapproval due to the stigma around it - “you don’t know who has worn this before”, “it’s dirty”, “it’s just not new!”. The truth is, with the exorbitant amounts of clothing that exists, we can find beautiful, good as new or even unworn and tags on clothes easily. Explore more conscious and second hand choices here.

You can also find preloved designer baby & kidswear in all shades of red for your tykes at RETYKLE!

Shop CNY Collection on RETYKLE.COM
Shop CNY Collection on RETYKLE.SG

Craft with your tykes: upcycled CNY decorations
Photo: Instagram @littlecitytales

Decorating your home for CNY is to keep evil away and encourage peace, health and prosperity, rather than buying new, try make your own decorations at home this year. You can even get your tykes involved.

We love the upcycled CNY hanging ornaments by @littlecitytales with toilet rolls and fruit boxes. For more tyke-approved CNY craft ideas, click here.

Let the feast begin!

CNY is a rare opportunity for families to indulge and celebrate “surplus.” - village gatherings for Poon Choi (traditional Cantonese festival meal composed of many layers of different ingredients), families hosting banquets and ordering more food than their guests could finish. Unfortunately, the “surplus” that leaves behind is food waste. 282 tonnes of food are wasted each day in Hong Kong. This number rises to 338 tones during CNY, which is 20% more than that during normal days.

As simple as having small dishes, choosing sustainable seafood recipes, incorporating vegetarian options, and donating leftovers to local food banks can make a difference.

Share with us how you & your tykes will ring in the Year of Tiger in the comments below, or share with us on Instagram or Facebook @retykle!

WRITTEN BY JENNIFER CHEUNG