One less geansaí Nollaig isn’t all the planet wants for Christmas, but it’s a start

Are Christmas jumpers falling out of favour? The fact that garments like these are fuelling the plastic pollution crisis could mean they are at least due a rethink.
A festive knit featuring alpine scenes, candy canes, prancing reindeer, Santa on a moped, baubles, bells and even flashing lights – what’s not to like? You’ll pick up an adult jumper on the high street for about €16 to €20, or kit out a baby for just €6.
At that price, you might wager that the cost per those one or two wears is worth the joke or a social media post.
One in three people under 35 buy a new Christmas jumper every year, a survey of 3,000 UK adults by environmental charity Hubbub found. However, only 29 per cent of shoppers know that most Christmas jumpers contain plastic.
An analysis of 108 garments from 11 high street and online retailers, including Primark and Asda, found that 95 per cent of jumpers were made wholly or partly of plastic materials, says Hubbub.
Polyester is a kind of plastic usually derived from petroleum. It needs a lot of energy to produce and pollutes the water and air. Polyester jumpers last for years, they’re headed for landfill and they never biodegrade. When it comes to our environmental future, landfilled Christmas jumpers really will be the ghosts of Christmas past.
The garment has become one of the worst examples of fast fashion, Hubbub says. Two-fifths of the festive tops are worn just once during the Christmas period.
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Not so long ago, we were all on board with embracing Christmas jumpers wholeheartedly. What could be so wrong with donning a Santa sweater at work, college or school to raise money or spread some festive cheer? There was even a State-sponsored element to it.
In 2016, a record 1,513 people responded to the call by Dublin City Council to gather on O’Connell Street – wearing a Christmas jumper – for the switching on of the Christmas tree lights. Numbers were up on the council’s previous Geansaí Nollaig event which aimed to get the largest number of people gathered in one place wearing Christmas jumpers.
The 2016 turnout was encouraged by a special Luas incentive offering free travel throughout the day to anyone wearing a Christmas jumper. Ho, ho, ho?
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Right about now, we used to see teaser pics of the latest Christmas jumper to be worn by a former Late Late Toy Show host; that seems to have fizzled out too.
Eight years on from Dublin City Council’s record Geansaí Nollaig event, things have moved on. The messaging around this year’s Dublin Winter Lights festival is about joy for sure, but not at the expense of the planet.
The lights this year will be from more environmentally friendly LEDs, the projections will have low power requirements, and hydrotreated vegetable oil will be used as a fuel source.
The power used to light the GPO is comparable to that used in six kettles, with the Custom House projections using the same amount of power as an electric shower. No one is being encouraged to buy a Christmas jumper.
If you do want to wear one this Christmas, buy one second hand or swap old ones with friends. If there is a Christmas jumper day at your child’s school, organise a swap session where families can donate and swap preloved jumpers. You could go avant-garde and attach some bits and bobs to an existing jumper. One less Christmas jumper isn’t all the planet wants for Christmas, but it’s a start.