How to Throw a Mother Nature-Approved Baby Shower

Here at Saje, we love to celebrate—and a growing baby bump is an opportunity to do just that. The nine-month journey to motherhood is filled with exciting moments: ultrasound visits, baby’s first kick and of course, the highly anticipated baby shower!

Friends, mimosas (virgin for you), cake, gifts and games are some of the many highlights a shower can bring. However, these events can also lead to a lot of waste: the paper cups and plates, the straws, the gift wrap—oh, frankincense, it can add up quickly!

1. Skip the balloons and opt for local floral arrangements

Whether they’re released into the air or deflated and tossed away, balloons are not kind to our environment. Flowers, on the other hand, can last for days or even weeks after the party, are beautiful, aromatic and best of all, biodegradable.

Try working with a florist that sources flowers from local, organic growers; this will reduce your carbon footprint by avoiding flowers that had to be flown in from different parts of the world.

2. Serve a plant-based meal

We all know that eating a vegan diet can do wonders for some people’s health, but did you know it can help the environment, too? Serving a plant-based meal at your shower is one small way to help conserve water, reduce air pollutants, decrease energy consumption and more.

3. Use reusable or compostable dishware and straws

Reduce your waste footprint by serving up your plant-based treats on glass platters and compostable plates and cutlery made from wood fibres. You may have noticed that many major cities have banished plastic straws from their restaurants, as they can have harmful effects on the ocean and its wildlife. A baby shower should be no exception to the rule: try using stainless steel or biodegradable paper straws as an alternative.

4. Set up a plastic-free play zone

Tell your friends to bring their kids along to the party! Chemicals in plastics are known to be harmful to you and the environment, which is why we suggest setting up a plastic-free play zone with non-toxic crayons, wood building blocks, instruments and a canvas teepee to keep them safely sheltered from the sun. Added benefit: your guests will get a hand-coloured picture for their refrigerators.

5. Request your guests skip the wrapping

Bridal showers, weddings, birthdays and congratulatory gifts, the list of gift-giving opportunities goes on and on. Each of these celebratory occasions usually requires wrapping paper, and the waste can sometimes be excessive. To reduce the amount of paper waste at your shower, we recommend asking that everyone bring their gifts in a reusable bag—like our burlap shopper.

6. Send them home with an ethical, fair-trade thank-you gift

This isn’t a must, but after spending a day being showered in gifts, it’s nice to share the love with your guests. Make a conscious choice to shop brands known to make or sell ethical, fair-trade goods. We love The Little Market, an online fair-trade shop where you can find beautiful products, all handmade by artisans around the world.

Similar to making the transition to a 100% natural lifestyle, the journey to leading a sustainable life can feel overwhelming. Sometimes making a positive impact on the planet means just making a few simple choices in your day-to-day life, like remembering to bring a reusable coffee mug with you every morning before work; eating more local, organic and plant-based foods; or committing to throwing an environmentally-friendly baby shower.

These simple adjustments can all help to better our world and the future world our children will grow up in.