For many people, sending a Christmas greetings card is a long-standing tradition and a joyful part of their holiday preparation. In the corporate world, choosing and sending a Christmas card to your clients is a great way to thank them for their business, wish them well for the holidays, and show that you recognise their custom and loyalty.

Did you know that: according to Business Leader: “We send enough Christmas cards that if we placed them alongside each other, they’d cover the world’s circumference 500 times!”

That’s a lot of Christmas cards!

You may think that sending Christmas cards is a friendly and harmless gesture filled with goodwill. However, unfortunately, there are negative implications for the environment.

Here at eCO2 Greetings, sustainability and making better choices for the environment is a cause that we feel passionate about and devote our business towards.

We want to help you better understand the environmental impact of sending Christmas cards and also inspire you on how you can make changes to go green and support the environment during the festive season.

Three ways that the production, delivery and disposal of Christmas cards are damaging to the environment

1. Deforestation

Thousands of trees are cut down annually to create paper products such as Christmas cards. 

According to Local Gardener: “The UK sends around 1 billion Christmas cards yearly. It takes one tree to make roughly 3000 standard cards. That means over 300,000 trees a year can be cut down to make cards over the holidays.”

Tragically, not all paper production companies have well-meaning intentions to replace the trees that have been felled. This leads to large areas of the rainforest and natural habitats being destroyed and never replaced.

Related: Forest lost vs forest gained: Where is the world losing the most trees?

2. Postage and delivery emissions

Whether you post a batch of 200 Christmas cards or just one, there is still an environmental cost. The sheer volume of emissions created by the trucks, vans and planes that play a part in their delivery contribute to the overall carbon footprint of Christmas cards. 

According to Brightly. eco, a study by Exeter University found that sending one card produces about 140 grams (0.3086472 pounds) of carbon dioxide. They also found that the U.S. mails around 1.3 billion holiday cards annually—the same CO2 emissions as charging 22 billion smartphones or 22,000 homes’ energy use for one year!

Related: The carbon footprint of email vs postal mail

3. Christmas cards that include foil, glitter or plastic components are impossible to recycle or compost

Non-biodegradable Christmas cards end up in landfill sites where they can remain for many years. When the plastic finally breaks down, microplastic traces are left behind in the soil, which means that the plastics are never truly removed.

What is the environmentally friendly way to send a Christmas card?

With Christmas cards being such a seasonal entity and only appreciated for a few weeks of the year, everyone has an obligation to make positive changes in this space. 

We know that more and more businesses are looking to reduce their carbon footprint and make better environmental choices. So why not make this yuletide the year that your company makes sustainable changes that contribute to a more environmentally friendly world? 

eCards are part of the solution for going greener. You can save time and money by sending a bespoke holiday eCard. 

A Christmas eCard is a fantastic way to send your clients a sustainable and environmentally friendly Christmas greeting. 

After all, when you choose to send a creative holiday eCard, you don’t have to wait for the postal service to deliver it. What’s more, messy ink splodges and time spent cutting and sticking signatures are all a thing of the past! 

How do eCards help the environment?

• Using eCards helps to prevent deforestation.
• eCards don’t require physical delivery.
• eCards are digital, so there is no unnecessary waste.

Did you know? eCO2 Greetings plants ten trees for every eCard purchased!

We are proud to support the American Forests’ Resilient Forests Program. Read more about social responsibility efforts here.

The key benefits of sending a holiday eCard:

• Holiday eCards can be personalised to suit your clients and your client relationship.
• Christmas eCards are a green and sustainable option.
• Your eCard will reach its recipient as soon as you send it!
• You can save time and money by sending an eCard over a traditional Christmas card.

Related: How Corporate Christmas eCards can Benefit your Company

Naturally, we recommend choosing an eCard to send your holiday greeting; however, there are other ways that you can reduce your environmental impact when sending physical Christmas cards. 

Examples include only using 100% recyclable Christmas cards that do not feature foil, glitter or plastic and reducing the number of people you send cards to.

We hope you have found this article helpful and are now more informed on how Christmas cards can damage the environment. Make the switch and choose an eCard this Christmas!

Browse our fantastic range of Christmas eCards

Discover more from the eCO2greetings blog…

Which Countries Celebrate Christmas? | The Best Alternative Messages to Write in Christmas Cards | Protecting Employee Mental Wellbeing at Christmas

Eco 2 Greetings is here to help your business with our selection of high-quality eco-friendly eCards – you can quickly design your own with a choice of templates available, choose from our range of Premium eCards which will include animation, or get something extra special with our completely bespoke eCard service!