Lithuanian artists on Thursday said they have placed a giant plastic bag over a fir tree in the capital Vilnius to warn against consumerism taking over the holiday season.

"This is a Christmas tree but we are using it as a piece of art to protest against the negative effects of hyper-consumerism," reads the message printed on the plastic.

Adorned with breathing masks, the art installation is located at the Vilnius railway station, which the city has turned into an alternative Christmas market this year.

"People who do not feel comfortable at traditional Christmas markets or shopping malls are most welcome here," said Dominykas Ceckauskas, one of the artists behind the installation.

"Our message is that consumerism does huge harm to the environment during the holiday season," he told AFP.

The youth-oriented market also features train cars used as bars and restaurants, techno music instead of Christmas pop songs and local street artists, designers and second-hand merchants selling their wares.

Vilnius mayor Remigijus Simasius said the event represents the "liberty, tolerance, and openness" of the city.

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Optimizing restoration can deliver an eightfold increase in cost-effectiveness
New York NY (SPX) Dec 19, 2018
A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution presents a novel approach to identify optimal priority areas for restoration, considering multiple criteria such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and reduction of costs. In a context of multiple local, national and global targets for ecosystem restoration, the study presents a flexible tool capable of increasing restoration cost-effectiveness by up to eight times. "These restoration targets, if achieved, will bring multip ... read more