“Staycation”.
Although the trendy moniker makes me cringe, the concept is certainly alive and well given our current economic blues. With high gas prices and premiums on airline flights, we’ve seen high numbers of people staying local for the dog days of summer.
And while these waning sunny days hang just a bit longer, why not hit your local parks and green spaces with a good old picnic lunch?
Here’s a few ways to green-up your picnic, whether it’s in the Tuileries Gardens of Paris or in the park down the street.
photo by Stuck in Customs / Creative Commons
WRAP-N-MAT
This simple cloth octagon does double duty – wrap your sandwich or snacks in it, then when you unwrap at the park, use it as a placemat! Velcro holds your food in place while you are en route, and it can be cleaned easily and used again and again.
Leaf plates by Ganesha
Going gourmet and need to bring plates? Check out these disposable plates made from sal and siali leaves, from the forests of Orissa, east India. Sourced from fair trade workshops, they are sewn together with cotton thread and biodegrade quickly after use.
SIGG water bottles
Bring your favorite drink along in one of Sigg’s fantastic aluminum water bottles. These babies are not only rugged and recyclable, they are stylish too! (Love those Swiss designs) They boast an interior lining that is 100% against leaching toxins and combats residue build-up.
Yellow+Blue Organic Wine in TetraPak
Maybe you want to sip a fine organic Malbec while watching the sunset? Innovative winemakers around the world are responding to the energy crisis and starting to offer wine-to-go in eco-friendly TetraPak containers. I know, I know – box wine is a tacky remnant of my own suburban memories too. But these wines, such as Yellow+Blue’s Organic Malbec, are a step in quality and conciousness – the containers are recycleable, light to carry in your picnic basket, and use less fossil fuels overall, from manufacture to transport.
Make your picnic even greener by:
– packing out your recyclables to be sure they don’t end up in the landfill
– walk, bike or take mass-transit to the picnic site
– use locally grown organic foods
– incorporate as much reusable packaging as possible