diff --git a/sway/main.c b/sway/main.c
index 1c4939aa0..d855de5b5 100644
--- a/sway/main.c
+++ b/sway/main.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include <getopt.h>
 #include <pango/pangocairo.h>
+#include <glib.h>
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ static int exit_value = 0;
 static struct rlimit original_nofile_rlimit = {0};
 struct sway_server server = {0};
 struct sway_debug debug = {0};
+char **child_envp;
 
 void sway_terminate(int exit_code) {
 	if (!server.wl_display) {
@@ -348,6 +350,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 	ipc_init(&server);
 
 	setenv("WAYLAND_DISPLAY", server.socket, true);
+	// g_get_environ creates a newly-allocated environment buffer
+	child_envp = g_get_environ();
 	if (!load_main_config(config_path, false, false)) {
 		sway_terminate(EXIT_FAILURE);
 		goto shutdown;
@@ -381,6 +385,7 @@ shutdown:
 
 	free(config_path);
 	free_config(config);
+	g_strfreev(child_envp);
 
 	pango_cairo_font_map_set_default(NULL);