Have an ethical Easter - 2022

26 March 2022

Making sustainable, fun, and personalised Easter treats 

Words Alexis McKeand

Another year is speeding by – my youngest is almost one, and my local supermarket has had Easter eggs and hot cross buns since 11:59pm on Christmas Eve (or so it seems). While Iactively try to rally against the early purchase of Easter products, I do have to admit there have been a few marshmallow eggs and mini crème eggs that have snuck into my trolley from their strategically placed checkout lane shelves. 

Last year (20 March 2021 edition), Salvos Magazine brought you an article on how to have an ethical Easter and all the great Fairtrade products available to satisfy those chocolate needs at this time of the year. Splitting them into four categories, we brought you our favourites. Our quick summary for this year is on our back cover. 

Chocolate is great, and hopefully with the help of our list you will be well on your way to a guilt-free Easter experience (or at least ethically guilt-free. Ican’t promise they will do anything for your diet!). 

But what about a sustainable Easter? Is it even possible to get through the long weekend without a plethora of disposable products like tiny plastic chickens, the baskets Iseem to lose every year and therefore need to buy more of, or the inevitable foil-wrapped eggs that get lost in the garden when you forget where you hid them all? 

Being the selfless team we are, we have put ourselves and our kids back into the testing lab to come up with a few ideas on just how to up your Easter game and wow loved ones of all ages without cutting back on the fun. 

EASTER BASKETS 

If you are blessed with the talent of sewing, you could use old or thrifted material to sew small bags for people to hunt with: Two rectangles of material stitched together on three sides with a ribbon for the handles would work brilliantly. Or, if you have paper lying around, you could fold a box using one of many Origami techniques you can find online and let everyone decorate them themselves. 

EASTER EGG HUNTS 

Have you ever seen those little plastic eggs in the craft or two-dollar shops that you can pop open and fill yourself? Yes, they are plastic, but if you reuse them every year then that is okay, we promise! The perfect egg-hunting idea is to pick up a couple of packs of the eggs and fill them with things. They often come in different colours, so you can even assign a colour to each person and personalise the contents with anything small. This could include Fairtrade eggs, jellybeans, toy cars, stickers, stamps or hair clips. Not only will you not have tiny eggs melting in your garden quite as much, but your hunters will love the variety and individualisation you have so effortlessly put together. 

EASTER BONNETS 

This is still a thing in many primary schools and childcare centres across the nation. Whether you recycle an old hat you already have or get one from an op shop, you will often have things around the house to make something worthy of a parade. Maybe you could use leaves to create a nest shape; an old egg carton cut up to look like a caterpillar or even just give the hat itself some bunny ears from recycled cardboard. 

GIFT HAMPERS 

Why not grab a second-hand basket or nice box and fill it with all the things someone needs to make their own Easter eggs? You can get a block of Fairtrade chocolate or melts, a silicone egg or shaped mould (available at places like Spotlight), and little paper bags of sprinkles, lollies, and marshmallows. Or what about a recipe card and all the ingredients for them to make their own hot cross buns? 

A do-it-yourself gift can be easy to put together but looks effective and lets people know they are worth the extra effort and thought. 

DECORATIONS 

How about using all those colourful cardboard boxes and spare paper around the house to cut out egg shapes and turn them into bunting? Perhaps make potato stamps (you know, when you cut shapes into a potato cut in half) and let the kids stamp brown paper to make your own wrapping paper. Or even hunt in your local op shop for bunny statues and decorations. You never know, you might just find your next family heirloom in someone else’s donated goods. 

SHOP LOCAL 

If creating isn’t your thing but you still want to be more sustainable, why not check out a farmers or craft market? You can usually find a range of goods from small businesses that often have personally made each item. Shop local, support small businesses, and find those great gifts your family and friends will love. 

So, whether you are a chocolate partaker, a parent searching for the compulsory egg-hunt items, or just a generous loved one wanting to give the perfect gift – we hope that this year making your Easter an ethical and sustainable one will be a simple choice! 

Hoppy Easter every-bunny!

ETHICALLY SOURCED EASTER EGGS

CHEAP AND CHEERFUL 

Dairy Fine and Moser Roth – Aldi

Woolworths Select

Cadbury – Only a select few, so do your searching for the Fairtrade and related symbols (see box).

MID-RANGE

Darrell Lea

Lindt

Chocolatier – Foodworks and IGA

Ferrero

GOURMET 

These are available mostly online.

Haigh’s

Poppy’s Chocolate

ALLERGY AND DIETARY REQUIREMENT FRIENDLY

Treat Dreams – Vegan-friendly and online (this year’s new flavour is apple crumble)

Moo Free – David Jones and independent supermarkets

FAIRTRADE

Fairtrade is the process of buying and selling produce from developing countries. It allows and mandates that farmers earn what they deserve for their labour under suitable working conditions. This enables farmers to support their families. Children can go to school instead of working. People are treated justly and fairly, as is the environment.

SYMBOLS TO LOOK FOR

There are three main symbols that indicate that the ‘chocolatey’ treats you are buying are making a difference in the lives and communities of farmers and their communities in developing countries:

Fairtrade is about stable prices, decent working conditions and the empowerment of farmers and workers around the world.

The UTZ logo means the company supports sustainable farming by sourcing UTZ certified coffee, cocoa, tea or hazelnuts.

The Rainforest Alliance certification on a product means the product or company has been audited to meet standards that require environmental, social and economic stability.

 Captain Alexis McKeand is a Policy and Social Justice Adviser for The Salvation Army Australia.