With the Festival of Lights (Diwali 2025) just around the corner, the promise of fun and laughter is undeniable. Diwali is a time of excitement and celebration. The very mention of Diwali fills our minds with images of colourful night skies, delicious sweets, new clothes, and festive programs on TV.

But amidst all the joy, it’s important to keep in mind the current global situation, the fragile state of our planet, and those less privileged than ourselves. Pollution rises alarmingly when people burst crackers without a second thought, making the air hazardous for everyone. We often go overboard with celebrations, putting the environment — and the health of people and animals — at risk.

For a safer environment, we don’t need to have a reason to move away from harmful traditions and embrace a greener, safer, and more sustainable Diwali that everyone can enjoy.

Here are 26 ways you can go eco-friendly this Diwali:

1. Use Earthen Diyas Instead of Candles and Lights

Replace harmful, imported candles and fancy lights with indigenous, handmade oil diyas. These not only embody the true spirit of the festival but also support local craftsmen.

While candles emit harmful gases and electric lights strain power supplies, earthen diyas are eco-friendly and help sustain livelihoods.

You can even make your own DIY diyas and decorations to save money and add a personal touch.

2. Make Biodegradable Rangolis

Originally, rangolis were made from rice, pulses, and other natural ingredients — a way to share food with birds and animals. Over time, synthetic colours have replaced these natural materials.

This Diwali, go back to tradition. Use rice, pulses, turmeric, and flowers like marigold, rose, and lotus. These are safe, biodegradable, and easy to clean.

3. Give What You Don’t Need

The spirit of Diwali is about giving and sharing. Declutter your home and donate what you no longer need to those who do.

You can give directly to people in need or through NGOs that distribute donations responsibly. Brighten your home — and someone else’s life.

4. Wrap Greener Gifts

Avoid store-bought, characterless gifts and choose meaningful ones like plants, bonsai, or handmade items.

Say no to plastic gift wrapping — use paper, newspaper, or cloth instead. It’s easier to recycle and looks beautiful too.

5. Choose Green Crackers

While the best choice is to avoid crackers altogether, transitioning gradually is understandable. Opt for eco-friendly green crackers that emit fewer pollutants while still producing light and sound.

Though slightly more expensive, they are much safer — especially for children, elders, and pets.

6. Festive Treats the Greener Way

Say no to fancy, wasteful sweet packaging. Gift homemade sweets and dishes instead. If you must buy sweets, reduce unnecessary packaging or reuse containers creatively.

7. Celebrate Collectively

The best way to celebrate is together. Gather friends and family for a community celebration. A shared bonfire or small fireworks display can be more cost-effective and reduce waste. It also brings people closer and spreads joy sustainably.

8. Innovate Your Gifts

Instead of gifting traditional sweets that can add to health risks, choose eco-friendly and healthy gifts such as air-purifying plants, kitchen herbs, solar gadgets, or khadi clothes.

9. Unleash Your Creativity

Design your own decorations using recycled materials. Old silk stoles and sarees can become elegant drapes or wall décor. Add a personal, artistic, and eco-friendly touch to your home.

10. Support Local Artisans

Light up the lives of local craftsmen by buying their biodegradable products. You’ll help sustain traditional art and brighten their Diwali too.

11. Opt for Homemade Sweets

Commercial sweets often contain artificial colours and excess sugar.

Make your own using natural ingredients like milk, besan (chickpea flour), jaggery, coconut, and dry fruits. Some of the choicest Diwali sweets you can try making at home include:

Besan or rava laddoos
Coconut barfi
Kheer made of milk, rice, and jaggery
Shakkarpare made of flour, ghee, and sugar
Gajar ka halwa made of carrots and milk

12. Don’t Waste Food

Food is a luxury for many. Avoid waste, not only during Diwali but every day. Share food with the needy — it’s the best way to spread happiness.

13. Organise Community Events

Skip disposable crockery — use banana leaves or earthen cups. Host community competitions like rangoli, flower arrangement, sweet-making, or paper lantern design competition for kids.

Organise music shows, puppet shows, or dance nights — all fun, interactive, and noise-free ways to celebrate.

14. Use Eco-Friendly Paints

If you’re painting your home this Diwali, choose eco-friendly paints to keep the air pollution-free.

15. Personalise Your Gifts

If you are shopping for gifts, don’t buy wrapping paper; save on it and stop trees from being cut.

Instead, wrap your gifts with painted newspaper, make your own gift bags with newspaper, or use pieces of cloth lying around the house, which you can embroider, hand-paint, or even use jute.
As for the gifts, instead of buying them, make them at home. Some options:

Bake cookies or cakes
Make homemade sweets
Make candles of different shapes and colours
Paint a picture
Create artwork using pieces of bright-coloured cloth on a canvas
A potted paper plant or a bouquet of paper flowers
Try your hand at pottery and make a small decorative vase

If you do want to buy gifts, then:

Opt for organic cosmetics, plants (or seeds), dry fruits, artwork, wind chimes, etc.
Gift likenesses of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi to your near and dear ones — the traditional silver coins are also in accordance with a green Diwali.

16. Go Organic

Use organic incense sticks and fresh flowers instead of synthetic room fresheners.

17. Make Handmade Diwali Cards

Create your own Diwali cards or go digital — send wishes via text, social media, or WhatsApp. It’s personal and paper-free.

18. Decorate Naturally

If you must paint, use eco-friendly paint. Besides, here are a few ideas to decorate your home without painting it:

Twist colourful saris and dupattas to create streamers, or paint old newspapers and hang them up as wall decorations.
Use brocade saris or gold-embroidered dupattas as drapes and curtains instead of going on a shopping spree.
Use your child’s leftover craft materials like tissue, sandwich, or rice paper to make paper lanterns (kandeel). You could use matchsticks to form the spokes.
Save on electricity and stop using the doorbell for a few days. Instead, hang a bell at the entrance and let visitors ring that — it will add to the puja feeling.
Bandanwars or traditional door hangings are the first things that welcome every guest. Make these with leftover papers or bright-coloured cloth, then add glitter or paper flowers.
Don’t throw away fused bulbs — turn them into small flower vases by placing an orchid in the centre as a decorative accessory. You can also paint them different colours and hang them from the ceiling.
Use organic incense sticks and fresh flowers to create that heady fragrance associated with a puja. Do away with synthetic room fresheners.

19. Gift a Plant

Gifting is a given during Diwali, and you just cannot visit your friends or relatives without a gift.

Instead of carrying sweets and other edible items (which again come packed in plastic), why not gift some decorative plants? There are umpteen options available. Gift a plant this Diwali and set a new trend altogether.

20. Tone Down the Music

Loud music in any form is simply a nuisance. Tone it down. You will not only feel good but also help those who need to rest.

You never know — your aged neighbour next door may be unwell and wanting some rest, or there might be a little child in the neighbourhood waking up from her sleep due to the loud music being played. Have a quiet and peaceful Diwali.

21. Use Biodegradable Plates and Glasses

Instead of plastic disposables, use biodegradable crockery. It looks elegant and saves you Guests pour in during any festive occasion, so it is natural that food and drinks are to be served, which eventually leads to many dishes to be cleaned.

At such times, we tend to veer towards using disposable plates and glasses, which unfortunately are very damaging to the environment.

To counter that and resolve both problems, opt for biodegradable crockery. It looks chic and elegant and will also save you the effort of cleaning up afterward.

22. Shop with Jute Bags

Diwali is a time to shop! That also means carrying home not just what you’ve bought but also the bags they come in. Do the environment a favour — carry your own bags next time you go shopping.

The best part is you save yourself the trouble of disposing of all the unwanted plastic at home when it’s cleaning time! A win-win for you and the environment!

23. Reuse Leftover Materials for Crafts

Old saris, dupattas, and newspapers can be transformed into creative decorations and hangings. Small changes make a big difference.

24. Say No to Crackers

You all are aware of the harmful effects of crackers on our environment. On the day of Diwali and the next day, the news channels are full of reports regarding damage caused to people, animals, and property. I want to share something with you — I lost my dog Gollu, a street dog who lived in my house, due to fear of crackers. He ran away and never came back.

25. Cut Out the Noise

Diwali is a festival of lights, not of noise and pollution, so use these holidays as an opportunity to spend time with every beloved member of your family. Use this time to get together, share concerns, or simply talk, as most of us rarely get to spend time with the whole family. When you finally do, you’d surely want to hear their voices and not get deafened by noisy crackers. So, make sure that this Diwali, you cut out the noise.

26. Eat Light

Believe it or not, the festive season is when you eat countless calories. Apparently, you cannot give intimidating festive foods a miss, but you can surely do the following:

Avoid consuming heavy, deep-fried snacks and other fast foods.
Dismiss any craving for chocolates and sweets.
Say no to chilled drinks, as these can aggravate wheezing.

A Final Thought

As a responsible generation, we must preserve our environment so that future generations can enjoy life as we do today. Let’s not leave behind pollution, but a planet full of light, love, and life.

Encourage everyone to go green and celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali!

Happy Diwali 2025 from the whatSHELikes team!