When we say “Mardi Gras,” you most likely think of inebriated, poorly behaved people wandering through New Orleans’ French Quarter and wearing plastic beads and feathered masks. While it’s true that this is what Mardi Gras has often become associated with, we think that there are some postconsumer elements that can be easily mixed into the concepts of Mardi Gras to make this a very postconsumer carnival season for all!

A Little Mardi Gras History
Mardi Gras precedes Ash Wednesday in the Catholic religion, and starting on Ash Wednesday, Catholics are expected to fast as well as give up one “vice” for the Lenten season. The “carnival” or “Fat Tuesday” atmosphere is designed to give participants one last chance to indulge in excess before the fasting begins and Lent starts. Of course, over the years, the celebration has lost much of its religious connotations and has simply become a communal celebration. That’s unfortunate, because excess without balance is only one side of the coin!
Bringing Postconsumer Ideals to Mardi Gras
It’s often difficult to apply postconsumer ideals to an event that’s designed to be decadent, but it can be done! It’s easy to pinpoint one of the biggest sources of waste at Mardi Gras – it’s the infamous plastic beads. You can improve the postconsumer elements of Mardi Gras simply by choosing to not participate in the plastic bead phenomenon. However, there are many other ways to make Mardi Gras a bit more postconsumer in nature!
  • Embrace the spirit of carnival, but not the excess of carnival! You can celebrate spring and luxury without creating a ton of waste.
  • Celebrate the idea of Lent even if you’re not Catholic! You don’t need to be Catholic to utilize this time of year to give up a vice. We’d recommend credit cards, unnecessary purchases or impulse shopping!
  • Throw your own, smaller party! Create a carnival environment at your home. Just do it on a smaller, less wasteful scale!
Parties are great, but everything needs balance. Look for ways to celebrate “Fat Tuesday” that lessen cost, impact and waste where possible.
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