I challenged myself to buy eco-friendly Christmas gifts

I love Christmas. When I was younger, it was all about magic, and in a way it still is. The lights, the food, the tree, the gift giving. Seeing houses lit up in warm twinkling lights warms my heart, with the hope of a white Christmas never fading. Everything seems quieter, friendlier, and happier. It’s beautiful.

And last year was no different. I often enjoy challenging myself, and since 2019 lead to big changes for me and my eco-footprint, I decided to try and buy my family environmentally friendly gifts. And spoiler alert, it wasn’t as easy as you would think.

Coming up with gift ideas is usually difficult, but when you’re also restricted to plastic free, cruelty free, or biodegradable gifts, the options become much smaller. And it wasn’t just the gifts I was making eco-friendly, I wanted to make sure all packaging was plastic-free, and the wrapping paper was recyclable (if it’s shiny or contains glitter, it probably isn’t). I tied the gifts up with string rather than tape, and bought UK-made products where possible.

The shopping started with searches for eco-friendly gifts specifically, but this restricted the searches a lot and I struggled to find presents that suited the people I was buying for. So I decided to use my own knowledge and think outside the box a little.

There are products which we don't think of as eco-friendly because they've always been around. Like 100% cotton clothing, which if also made in the UK and is referenced as sustainably sourced or organic, is even better. FSC certified products are also ok, since it means production meets high standards in the use of forests to harvest materials. Generally, if a product is made of entirely natural materials, it's a good start. If it's also made with clean energy, a small carbon footprint, or is biodegradable, it's even better.

I ended up buying an FSC certified book (if you look inside the first couple of pages of any publication, you'll likely find most are), a plastic-free reusable water bottle, a natural beauty tool sold by a London-based company, and a daily calendar which was also FSC certified and arrived in cardboard packaging. The only gift I was let down by was a poster, which in itself is eco-friendly, but came in a plastic film.

Coming up with gift ideas is usually difficult, but when you're restricted to plastic free, cruelty free, or biodegradable gifts, the options become much smaller

The gifts were a hit; the book was read, the poster is on the wall, the beauty tool is used regularly and so is the water bottle. I think they also liked that some of the presents were items they hadn't thought of, as well as the extra meaning of them having little environmental impacts.

It was simple to wrap gifts up without tape, and they actually look prettier tied up with string. I wasn’t entirely successful in having a completely eco-friendly Christmas, but I was surprised by the number of companies whose packaging is entirely recyclable, as this was where I thought I would have the most difficulty.

This year, I’m not challenging myself in the same way, but I am aware of my footprint and look for companies and products that might sell a sustainable alternative to something I’ve already found. So buy gifts with an eco-conscious mind, and bring some joy and magic to those that mean the most to you this year.

Merry Christmas!