Summer is the time of festivals! And what could me more fantastic than dancing along to your favourite music and getting carried away by the exuberant atmosphere? Unfortunately, festivals are anything but sustainable. On otherwise empty spaces, toilets, stages, temporary street, restaurants and tent cities are specially built; crowds of people are extra travelling to see the event and are producing masses of garbage. We will reveal what every individual can do to reduce his own ecological footprint:

Before the festival

One can already pay attention to the choice of the festival outfit by purchasing fashion from sustainable and fair eco-labels. Or you could go bargain hunting in some cool secondhand shops. Then, it is not so tragic if the clothes suffer on the festival. Missing equipment which you would only need for the festival anyway, like tents, sleeping bags or wellington boots, can easily be borrowed from friends so that you do not have to buy it extra. Also travelling by train or bus is much more environmentally sparing or you could at least build a carpool if you cannot go without your car. Aside from that, you could bring your own lunch boxes and drinking cups from at home that you let get filled at the food stands on site instead of producing masses of one-way plastic waste.

On site

And if you want to barbecue near your tent, you can of course do it in a sustainable manner as we have already explained in a blog article. Additionally, you should bring your own bin liners and sort every garbage in different bags immediately instead of throwing it on the floor. And also the tent must not be left on site if you do not need it anymore after the festival, but must be taken along and deposed properly. If you need to wash your hair or clean your teeth near the tent, you should do it with biodegradable products which do not harm our nature. Moreover, there are already some green festivals which contribute to sustainability themselves and therefore make it easier for you to celebrate in a non-polluting manner, like for example the Melt! Festival, the Fusion Festival, the Maifeld Derby, the Open Source Festival, the Tollwood-Festival, the Chiemsee Summer, or the Highfield-Festival.