Did you know that some Easter Eggs contain 80% packaging and only 20% egg!!?? Like most festivities, Easter can be pretty wasteful! So here are five tips for a more eco-friendly Easter this year (without having to ditch the chocolate).

1. Look for ‘less-packaged’ eggs, particularly plastic-free ones. There are lots of options and it’s just about being conscious…progress, not perfection. You can even buy packaging-free eggs from many bulk stores.
2. Great news (for some of you)…If you are in Dunedin, Tauranga or Auckland, then the foil off your Easter Eggs CAN be recycled in your curbside recycling! Collect up your egg wrappers over Easter and then ball them up. The bigger the ball the better, as it’s less likely to get lost in recycling machinery. If you’re outside of these areas, another option is to try getting in touch with a local Sustainable Salons hairdresser, and ask if you can bring your foil into them to recycle.
3. Opt for quality over quantity! Is Easter for your family going to be about tonnes of cheap chocolate, plastic and packaging? Or could it be about a few truly delicious special treats? A few things to keep an eye out for when selecting your quality Easter treats are:
   • Buy Fairtrade – Look out for the little logo which shows that the product supports farmers and workers as they work to improve their livelihoods and provide better support to their communities. The Rainforest Alliance certification is another one you may spot. It is a fast-growing sustainable certification, which also helps farmers and communities, but is a step down from Fairtrade in terms of its stringency.
   • Palm Oil Free – Palm oil has been and continues to be, the biggest cause of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitats of endangered species and contributing to climate change. As there is no legal requirement for palm oil to be labelled on product packaging in NZ, it can be a challenge to know which Easter Eggs do and don’t have palm oil. However most products WITHOUT palm oil tend to promote the fact, and Auckland Zoo has also created this great Palm Oil Free Shopping Guide which has a confectionary section, where you’ll find Whittakers, The Seriously Good Chocolate Company and some Cadbury and Trade Aid chocolate.
   • Buy NZ Made – This reduces the carbon footprint that your Easter Egg has and supports local businesses.

4.  Try a new tradition – while I’m not suggesting you give up the chocolate altogether, there are some great ideas from all around the world that make chocolate not the only thing on your Easter-agenda. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Making hot cross buns.
• Easter egg decorating – this is huge in Central Europe! Decorating/dying hard-boiled eggs and using them as table decorations.
• Ice eggs – blow an egg and then fill it with water and flower petals, freeze it completely before peeling.
• Fly kites like they do in Bermuda.
• Watch an Easter movie together as a family, like Hop, Peter Rabbit or The Dog Who Saved Easter.
• Tap the Egg – a traditional game where you tap your hard-boiled egg against other players’ eggs in an attempt to crack theirs, but keep your own intact.
• Egg Roll – The White House holds an annual Easter Egg Roll, how about hosting your own?
• Make Easter cards or crafts.
• Make an Easter Tree with homemade easter decorations.
• Have a water fight like they do in Poland.
• Go to church / read the Easter story – even if you are not religious, Easter could be a time to honour ancestors’ religious traditions or teach your children about the beliefs of others.

5. Take it to the next level and have a go at making your own eggs! Last year we had fun (and mixed results) making these marshmallow eggs.

Whatever way you choose to celebrate yours, we hope you have an EGGCELLENT Easter!

Here are some seriously good chocolate brands to explore:

• The Seriously Good Chocolate Company – Handcrafted in Invercargill, made from locally sourced ingredients, these guys have a very creative Easter range including Bad Bunnies, Easter bombs and DIY Hot Chocolate kits.
• Honest Chocolate – This ethically sourced chocolate is hand made in Matakana, and their Easter Collection contains some beautiful eggs that look almost too good to eat!
• Trade Aid – Trade Aid chocolate is made in NZ from completely organic ingredients with fully transparent supply chains.  They may not have any eggs or bunnies, but their bars are beautifully packaged, and they have some Easter specials too.
• GoodFor Store package free eggs – Made in NZ from fairtrade chocolate, GoodFor have packaging-free eggs.  Just take along your own jar (or something bigger!) and fill it with their Dark Chocolate or Salted Caramel mini eggs.
• Wellington Chocolate Factory – Organic, ethically-sourced and traded chocolate made in Wellington.  The packaging of their bars is beautiful and their flavours and themes will make you smile.
• Bennetto Chocolate – Fairtrade and organic chocolate bars and drinking powders, mostly made in Christchurch (the 100g bars are co-produced with a Swiss manufacturer).  Look out for the quirky bird-themed packaging.

Juliet is the founder of The Great Eco Journey.  You can follow along with her & her family’s journey on Instagram & Facebook