With the return of summer and sunny days, it's the opportunity to head outside again to meet our loved ones around a fresh fruit juice and some fun times in the open air.

After many months of staying at home, we almost forgot the big outdoor summer events.

Unmissable meetings for fans of sound gatherings , festivals bring together more than 7 million people each year across the world, around themes such as music, fashion, and history.

Not spared by the health crisis in 2020 and the vast majority canceled, organizers and festival-goers hope to recover this year and return in force to the front of the stage (no pun intended)!

Among them, the return of ethical festivals - also called eco festivals - the number of which has been constantly growing in Europe for a decade.

So, neither one nor two, we'll let you take out your sunscreen, tents and earplugs from the drawers, and we'll take you on a quick overview of the ethical festivals to discover or rediscover this summer.

But what is an eco festival?

Music and exchange to raise awareness of ecology you will adopt.

Like any festival organized around a stage on which concerts follow one another, the eco festival is also an opportunity to bring people together around artists and speakers committed to the defense of ethical and solidarity causes. .

The site is thus set up with stands on which associations, volunteers and speakers come to express themselves, exchange and interact with the public around environmental, humanitarian, social, anti-speciesist themes, etc.

The speakers share tips and give workshops to better understand issues such as the fight against food waste, permaculture, urban agriculture, zero waste, the fight against excess plastic packaging, eco-citizenship, and many others.

Festival-goers can, for example, take part in introductions to cooking and thus rethink their way of eating, thanks to advice for a healthier and eco-responsible diet; how to find short-circuit, local and organic foods, or look for amap and regional players.

 

From a responsible organization, your festival will be.

Of course, setting up an eco festival is not just about calling on committed artists and exhibitors; the logistical organization must also be exemplary in terms of eco-responsibility.

And since a day of festival - or even two - is tiring and tiring, we must be able to offer the public solutions to entertain themselves, nourish themselves and feel at ease, while taking into account the question of transition towards consumption that respects the planet.

Also, from the transportation facilities for visitors on and off site, to food supplies, waste management, including the choice of energy used, we are thinking about making the event an ecological model leaving behind a carbon footprint. minimal, and a maximum footprint of good memories.

 

With a reduced environmental footprint, the transport you will take.

Transport is said to be the source of more than 70% of the carbon emissions emitted as part of a festival (material supplies, food supply and human travel, both personal and visitors combined), which constitutes a considerable source of pollution.

To limit greenhouse gas emissions, eco-festival organizers invite visitors to use public transport to reach and leave the festival. Failing this, the public coming from far away is advised to fall back on eco-mobility solutions, such as the train or carpooling.

Everything is done to make participants responsible for considering the need for effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

On site, green means of transport are favored, and bicycles are made available to visitors at advantageous rates.

Eco festivals like WeAreGreen , Terres du Son or the Lyon Woodstower eco-festival . have also set up relay shuttle systems to facilitate access to their site for festival-goers.

On the use of renewable energies, your festival you will build.

To meet the electricity needs of the festival (stage and aisle lighting, power supply for instruments and sound systems, stands, refrigerators and hotplates, etc.), ENR solutions, in particular solar panels, are installed on the site. , the idea being to be as energetically independent as possible, but also to avoid overconsumption of energy by using suitable devices, and by inviting stand staff to monitor their own electricity consumption.

Ecological food solutions, your eco-festival will distribute.

Who says festival, says good musical programming, but also a well-deserved picnic after a long hesitation faced with a multitude of stands with dishes each more tempting than the last.

Here, we are served, since if the main objective of an eco-festival is to raise public awareness of an eco-responsible approach to living, offering tasty, healthy, but also eco-virtuous food is a foundation.

On site, the festival organizers  We Love Green or Green Cabaret for example, highlight a menu prepared by local cooks and suppliers, and as much as possible promoting local, organic products grown with respect for the environment.

A whole variety of dishes are offered, all the more tasty because they are made up of unusual recipes. The opportunity to rediscover forgotten flavors, dishes from elsewhere, and to try new textures like recipes reproducing products usually made from animal origin: imitation meat, cheeses made from vegetable (often called faux-mages), desserts and pastries without eggs or milk.

There are also 100% plant-based dishes on offer with completely new inspiration to reduce the environmental impact of our food.

Some eco-festivals, like the Smmmile Festival , are also built on the idea of ​​introducing the public to a vegan lifestyle by offering only vegan products, in order to raise awareness of the ecological issue, but also that of animal welfare.

From the food offered on the stands to the consumer products on display, the menu is exclusively vegan and cruelty free.

By going there, you will be able to discover books on the vegan lifestyle, its particularities, the origins of veganism, but also vegan cosmetic products, ethical fashion items and vegan clothing, and why not one day, the vegan shoes from your favorite brand ;)

Recycling, the end of your festival will be.

Of course, the major challenge of an eco festival lies in leaving behind a minimal ecological footprint. To do this, we build the stage and organize the site so as not to weaken the environment once the event is over.

Before the festival, a communication campaign to raise public awareness of sorting and the need to moderate consumption - particularly of paper - is set up.

Festival-goers are invited to switch to electronic ticketing, and we are reducing the number of flyers printed for the event. During the festival, raw materials are reused for the construction of structures. Example: use of straw bales to mark out the aisles and used wooden planks to make the stand tables.

We are also working to use recycled materials to package consumable foods and we are making sure to sell products without excess packaging. Plastic materials such as bottles and cutlery sold to festival-goers are replaced by water fountains, returnable tableware, biodegradable and compostable plates and napkins made from recycled paper and cardboard. Finally, a whole waste sorting system has been set up on site thanks to the installation of collection bins and staff are present to remind visitors of the importance of properly sorting waste.

Want to participate?

WE LOVE GREEN:

The French ethical festival par excellence

From September 10 to 12, 2021 - Paris 75

Having taken place for the first time in 2011, this musical event attracts more than 75,000 festival-goers each year for an immersive eco-friendly weekend! Although already powered 100% by renewable energies, the festival lists many other ethical actions!

Its strong point: waste and plastic management!

• We Love Green is equipped with around a hundred water fountains to allow festival-goers to hydrate for free, without having to use plastic bottles.

• A green brigade raises public awareness about sorting and collects trash.

• All tableware is returnable, reusable, and compostable.

• A collection of waste and cigarette butts is organized following the festival, so that they can be recycled afterwards. Moreover, in 2019, no less than 81% of the festival's waste could be recycled, as well as 15,500 cigarette butts!

• Speaking of recycling, We love green also makes compost from waste from the festival's dry toilets.

Their next goal? Become 100% circular by 2025, by signing the Drastic on Plastic charter !

LANDS OF SOUND:

Equity at the heart of the festival

From July 9 to 14, 2021 - Touraine 37

Located in Indre et Loire, this eco-festival offers an idyllic setting for nature lovers. While many activities are implemented with respect for the environment, and to limit pollution, other actions are put in place to raise public awareness of “living together”.

Concretely, what does that mean?

• Facilities are put in place to allow privileged access for people with reduced mobility.

• Special rates are offered to the latter.

• The stage as well as the various stands of the festival are set up by social structures, as well as young students training in the construction industry.

SMMMILE FESTIVAL:

Did you say vegan?

From September 15 to 16, 2021 - Paris 75

• Tip from the COG team: we arrive at the Smmmile festival on an empty stomach!

You will find a range of small vegan dishes and snacks on site - which allows you to introduce the variety of plant-based food to a wider audience.

• You will also be able to participate in numerous culinary workshops, to be able to easily reproduce your (future) favorite vegetable recipes!

Curious, or lacking inspiration for your veggie recipes: the Smmmile festival is the place for you!

And on a global scale, what does that look like?

The perfect outfit for the committed festival-goer

Now that you are ready to vibrate throughout the days and nights of this summer, all you have to do is put on your most beautiful responsible outfit to go dancing.

Hesitant or lost?

Don't move, to get the ball rolling, our small team has selected for you the ideal outfit to enjoy the event ethically dressed from head to toe ;)

To your Wintons , and to our ethical festivals!!

COG - Winton - vegan sneakers:  https://cog-store.com/baskets-unisexe/46-sneaker-vegane-mixte-winton-blanc-bleu-logo-bleu.html

VEGAN OUFITTERS - Eco-designed t-shirt:  https://veganoutfitters.com/products/herbivore-dinosaur-vegan-t-shirt

LE CHAPOTE - “Made in France” cap:  https://lechapote.com/collections/featured-products-home/products/casquette-marine

BAGARREUSE - Abby “Made in France” shorts:  https://bagarreuse.com/collections/bas-combinaisons/products/short-abby-rose

ARSAYO - Natural cork bag:  https://arsayo.com/fr/collections/the-arsayo-bags/products/suber-collection?variant=38047016714424

Festivals, trade fairs, specialized markets, there is no shortage of opportunities to discover consumption alternatives more in tune with nature, while having a pleasant time.

A single motto: have fun, and experience the eco-responsible adventure as a curiosity, not a constraint.

Thank you for reading and sharing.