Découvrez les éco-festivals vegans et solidaires en France.

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

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

Unmissable meetings for aficionados of sound gatherings , the festivals bring together more than 7 million people around the world each year, around themes such as music, fashion, or even 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.

Polluting transport:

7 million festival-goers, that’s a lot of trips!

Garbage sorting :

this type of event generates on average 80 to 90 tonnes of waste in a few days.

Electric energy:

An average concert in a stadium in Europe emits on average 25 tonnes of CO².

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 AMAPs and regional players.

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.

Certains éco-festivals, à l’image du Smmmile Festival, se sont d’ailleurs construits sur l’idée d’initier le public à un mode de vie vegan en ne proposant que des produits vegan, afin de sensibiliser à la question écologique, mais aussi à celle du bien-être animal.

Depuis la nourriture proposée sur les stands aux produits de consommation exposés, la carte est exclusivement vegan et cruelty free.

En vous y rendant vous pourrez y découvrir des ouvrages sur le mode de vie vegan, ses particularités, les origines du véganisme, mais aussi des produits cosmétiques vegan, des articles de mode éthique et vêtements vegan, et pourquoi pas un jour, les chaussures vegan de votre marque préférée ;)

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 - was 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 sorting their waste.

From Splendor in the Grass in Australia, via the Boom Festival in Portugal (rescheduled for 2022), or even the DGTL , there is no shortage of ethical gatherings and they are organized all over the world

Among the many themes involved, we are convinced that you will find the eco-festival of your dreams!

So tell us which one you dream of participating in!

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 watchword, have fun, and live the eco-responsible adventure as a curiosity, not a constraint.
Thank you for reading and sharing.

The COG team

Also discover the other articles and interviews on our blog .