Q What’s the green way to update ancient Christmas decorations?

A There’s nothing wrong with a few threadbare angels dangling from the tree. Decorations are supposed to be dog-eared and dusty, battered by cats, chewed by visiting children and held together with yellowing Sellotape.

Sticking with what you’ve already got – even if it means a night spent doing repairs – is better than endorsing overpackaged updates that are likely to arrive on ships such as the Emma Maersk 3, which made headlines last year when it travelled from China to Felixstowe laden with nearly two million decorations. You could plump for ethically made, good-quality baubles, such as those sold by the naturalcollection.com and ethicalpartybags.com .

Sprucing up what’s in the cupboard is an act of rebellion against the rise of the trendy Christmas. If we all decked our homes with elegant strings of beads and obeyed the bossy women’s magazines that insist on your crockery matching crackers, we would mourn Christmas naffness.

Chic modernity should be banished. Look what happened when John Lewis tried to turn a traditional concept on its head. The upside down Christmas tree, that’s what (pictured right). A 6ft plastic affair, bound to make children cry and adults to worry about where to put the angel ( www.johnlewis.co.uk ; £75).

Should you be caught without a swirl of tinsel to brighten your home (not everyone inherits Edwardian baubles from their Aunty Mildred), what about tarting up the house with some of nature’s winter bounty? As well as holly and mistletoe, you could snip at evergreen branches. Or order greenery online (try buyatree.com).

Q I was given an old fur coat, but I will never wear it. What should I do with it?

A I’m guessing that it is principle that stops you from wrapping up in a dead animal’s pelt this winter, in which case you will probably dismiss handing it over to a charity shop, advertising it on Freecycle (freecycle.org ) or selling it on eBay.

All these stop it from ending up in landfill, but you could be seen as endorsing fur. Its production is a murky business, however long ago the skin was processed, it is virtually impossible to know where it originated and whether the poor animal – or animals – was killed humanely.

Some charity shops have stopped accepting fur. Bombarded with our excess clothing, they can afford to avoid anything that might risk their reputation.

A quick internet trawl throws up options such as donating to a local animal shelter or a theatre company looking for props. Last year, my friend decided to sell several of her moulting family heirlooms to a vintage shop, donating the cash to an antifur charity. This seemed odd to me, as she was giving fur a boost with one hand and attacking it with the other, but it was better than bundling it into a bin bag. It will biodegrade in landfill, producing methane, contributing to global warming.

The most ethically sound option would be donating it to Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; peta.org.uk ). Send an e-mail to info@peta.org.uk with the words “I wish to donate a fur item” in the subject line. It will advise on the best way of donating it, depending on where you live. The charity gives fur garments to homeless charities in the UK and refugees in war-torn parts of the world, where the mistreatment of animals is the least of their worries. Any remaining stock is used for antifur fashion shows and publicity stunts designed to convince consumers not to let animals become fashion victims.

ECO-BLOG

Readers’ postings on food leftovers

Lumps of two-day-old mashed potato and soggy veg are the subject of the Waste and Resources Action Programme campaign to cut food waste. Its site, lovefoodhatewaste.com , featuring leftover-friendly recipes, says we tend to throw food away at the end of the meal.

It suggests that we “cook once; eat twice”; by cooking a large spag bol at the beginning of the week and then turning it into shepherd’s pie, for instance. Of course, this could be extended, depending on how inventive you are.

My main problem is rice, I always seem to cook too much. To which, many of you had a solution. Rice pudding, for one, or egg-fried rice, made with vegetables wilting in the fridge (make sure to keep the rice in the fridge before reheating). Mashed potato is a handy soup thickener; cream can be frozen in an ice tray for use in stews and soups. In Tuscany uneaten pasta is kept in the fridge for a week and reheated with milk.

But what can be done with cabbage, asks Mel? “Turn it into a tasty layer below the potato in a shepherd’s pie,” responds David C.

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