Strawberry is saying goodbye to decorative feathers at Easter. Read more about the initiative and how over 190 hotels are choosing to decorate and observe Easter instead!
Strawberry is boycotting decorative feathers this Easter. Read more about the initiative and how the hotels are decorating with more animal-friendly alternatives.
Easter feathers are a popular feature in both homes and urban environments to celebrate Eastertide and the greenery of spring. Colourful, beautiful and fluffy, we see the feathers in decorative birch twigs and as Easter decorations. But what many do not think about is the industry behind these decorations.
"The feathers often come from the large-scale turkey industry in the United States where there are serious deficiencies in animal welfare."
-It may sound like a small thing, whether you have feathers at Easter or not, but it has quite a lot of significance because both municipalities and companies often buy things in large volumes. Reducing or entirely opting out of animal products is a way of taking a stand and including animals in climate and sustainability work. It shows that it is possible to make a difference with quite a small thing, says Moa Richter Hagert, Communications Officer, Djurens Rätt (Animal Rights).
Inspired by Swedish municipalities
For reasons having to do with animal welfare, over 130 Swedish municipalities chose to boycott bird feathers for public Easter decorations in the spring of 2018, and this year, 2019, there are a total of 208 municipalities that are taking a stand against animal cruelty.
It is an obvious choice for Strawberry to participate in the boycott, and so for Easter 2019 the hotel chains Comfort Hotel®, Quality Hotel™, Clarion Hotel® and Clarion Collection® Hotel have all chosen alternative activities and Easter decorations.
– As part of our efforts to provide our guests with the most sustainable hotel experiences in the Nordics, we are delighted to support the Swedish municipalities’ initiative to use cruelty-free decorations. There’ll certainly still be a wonderful Easter feeling at all our hotels, even without the Easter feathers, says Harald Bjugstad-Holm, Sustainability Manager at Strawberry.
It will be interesting to see how many other companies do the same and choose not use Easter feathers as decorations this year.
Painting Easter Eggs, after work drinks & plogging
Just because the decorative feathers are disappearing from almost 200 hotels in the Nordic and Baltic countries does not mean that Easter won’t be observed at all. Far from it! Comfort Hotel®, Quality Hotel™, Clarion Hotel® and Clarion Collection® Hotel are inviting all guests and staff to go plogging (Jogging + picking up litter) and make an effort for both the body and the environment. If you are curious about plogging, you can read more about it here.
At Comfort Hotel® there will be extra focus on after work drinks, while Quality Hotel™ invites you to the children's Easter with activities for the whole family. Make your own Easter decorations and paint on both eggs and cardboard. Try to make your own ice cream and get a cool face painting. In addition, the Easter bunny will be paying a visit, so keep your eyes peeled!
One of many animal ethical and environmentally friendly initiatives
Swapping Easter feathers for more animal ethical alternatives goes hand in hand with many other sustainable initiatives within Strawberry. We share a tradition and culture of doing more than what is expected of us – for our guests, our employees, society, and the environment. We call this work WeCare. Read more about the sustainability work at our hotels here.
