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Your ultimate guide to an ethical christmas

We explore alternative ethical Christmas gifts, where to shop ethically if buying new, ethical decoration ideas to give some yule-tide sparkle, and much more.

Between family expectations and the last-minute rush, Christmas can be a hard time to put our ethics into practice. Here we make it simple with our ultimate Christmas guide.

Ethical gifts have a low or even positive impact on the world, and can be incredibly meaningful.

One place to start is thinking about how to avoid buying lots of stuff by giving creative and personal alternatives.  

Alternative gifts

Get crafty

Getting fully involved in a good hobby is an excellent way to pass the long nights and raise the spirits. Why not turn your craft into presents? Collect second-hand wool and make socks or scarves, make a scrapbook full of shared memories, make vegan and Fair Trade chocolates or gather some bulbs and plant them in vintage pots. Why not hand-pour home-made beeswax candles into old teacups or pots and infuse them with your own essential oil blend? Swap the beeswax for soy flakes for a vegan alternative.

Gift your time

You don’t have to spend money to show you care. Make a promise to help an elderly relative clear out their attic or garden. Volunteer to babysit for stressed-out new parents. Offer to sort out a friend’s paperwork or invite your neighbours over for dinner. You could create a physical 'gift voucher' out of paper or card to put in an envelope which can be opened like other presents.

Gift an experience

Why not gift an experience that you and a friend can enjoy together, whether that’s theatre, a sports event or arts and culture. 

Lots of cities and towns have brilliant alternative arts scenes, with small theatres, comedy or gig venues. It could be a great chance to support them.

You could also get inventive and plan a trip, design an itinerary and fill it with activities. A membership for your local nature reserve could make a great present, or look up local classes or events in foraging and then enjoy making a meal together with your free finds.

If you do need to buy, buy less

Most often, it’s advertising that makes us feel like we have to spend more and buy more to show our love.

Slim your Christmas list

Instead of automatically buying for the same people, have a frank conversation about whether you should continue to buy gifts for each other. You might find that friends and family are relieved to stop the spending cycle and save a few pennies this year. You could suggest that you pop out for a drink, meal or walk together instead and share some Christmas cheer.

Make a list and set a budget

Of course, it’s lovely spending time thinking of and buying the perfect gift and seeing your loved one’s face light up when they receive it. But how many times have you opted for the same toiletry set or chocolates because you just don’t know what to buy the person who has everything? Instead, agree on a spending limit and ask your friends and family to write a list of things they really do need. That way, the smiles really will be genuine on Christmas Day.

Make it secret

If you have a large family or group of friends, why not try Secret Santa this year. 

Pop everyone’s name in a hat and then pick a name and buy only for that person. This might mean you can set the spending limit a little higher and buy a great gift for one person rather than lots of little bits for everyone.

Buying pre-loved

Some gifts just get better with age. Rather than buying new gifts, why not explore the treasure troves of the pre-owned, pre-loved and vintage. 

Vintage clothes and handbags are a great place to start – check out Beyond Retro and Oxfam online for some quirky pieces or have fun exploring the charity shops. Check out our guide to buying second-hand for more options. 

Look for local adverts selling second-hand bikes or toys: kids often don’t care if a toy comes in a shiny box and it might mean that you can afford a better quality item second-hand. 

Vintage or limited-edition books are also a great choice. Choose a signed favourite for that extra-special someone or find recently released second-hand titles for half the price of new either locally or on some of the recommended online second-hand bookshops.

Consider refurbished

Items such as electronics, phones and laptops are linked to a whole host of issues, unfair working conditions, pollution and conflict minerals to name just a few. 

By buying refurbished items you don’t directly contribute to these issues. Many reconditioned items come in original packaging, complete with warranties and they are often a lot cheaper than brand-new equivalents. Our guide to buying secondhand tech has lots of handy information.

Check out local repair companies too for items like hairdryers, white goods or vacuum cleaners

Image: christmas gifts

When you do buy new...

Whenever you buy new, you have a choice to help ethical businesses grow and prosper.

Many unethical businesses, such as Amazon, lure you in with convenience, cheap prices and the promise of almost immediate delivery. Instead, join us in boycotting Amazon this Christmas, and beyond, until it sorts out its huge list of workers’ rights abuses, its unsustainable business practices and its blatant tax avoidance, to name just a few.

Local high street shops really benefit from buyers at Christmas time, and can have a nice festive buzz about them. But if you don’t have time, there are also plenty of ethical retailers selling online. 

Books

Books are a real favourite at Christmas, but the market is in real trouble. Independent bookshops have been struggling for the past decade, notably since Amazon sprung up at the ‘Earth’s biggest bookstore’.

Our guide to bookshops has a link to find radical and independent bookshops. You could visit your loca, or many do online orders and delivery. For example, you could order directly from Lighthouse, a radical stockist in Edinburgh that is queer-owned and women-led.

Consider buying second-hand from best buy company World of Books (many of their books are like new). Recommended options include Better World Books or Biblio, for print, or xigxag for audio books. 

Check out our full guide on booksellers for other online shops. And, most importantly, avoid Amazon and its popular brands AbeBooks, Audible and Book Depository.

Woman looking at shelves of books

Perfume and aftershave

Perfumes make great gifts and there’s nothing better than taking time to test fragrances and choose the perfect one, but they are not without their issues. Perfumers are legally allowed to keep their ingredients list a secret which means that they might contain hidden animal ingredients or toxic chemicals, such as parabens.

The great news is that there are loads of vegan and cruelty-free brands out there, using natural, non-toxic fragrances – see our guide to perfumes and aftershaves to select the best scoring brands. We recommend DolmaFlaya, and Neal’s Yard Remedies, all of which offer vegan products that are not tested on animals.

Ethical and vegan clothes

pile of folded jumpers

As slow fashion continues to grow, championing fair working conditions and embracing sustainable fabrics, more ethical and sustainable brands emerge.

We recommend over 20 brands as best buys in our shopping guide for ethical clothes shops - with lots of choice to suit different styles and budgets.

Why not take some time to read around the ethical problems that exist in the fast fashion industry and understand the carbon cost and sustainability issues around many of the most popular materials.

And did you know fair trade labels can apply to textiles, not just tea and other food items? Read our quick guide to fair trade fashion and recommended brands. We have a quick guide to organic fashion, with recommended brands, too. 

Chocolate

Small squares of dark chocolate and two raspberries

Choose sweet treats that are full of fair trade and deforestation-free ingredients this Christmas.

Our 11 Best Buys go above and beyond to deliver guilt-free pleasure - check out ‘57 ChocolatePacariMiaFairafricChocolat MadagascarConsciousMonChocoMoo FreeOmBarRaw Chocolate Company or Vego – all of which have fair cocoa sourcing practices, and many of which are vegan.

You can also read about the issues in our guide to ethical chocolate.

If you are looking to avoid palm oil this Christmas, see our list of palm oil-free chocolates.  

Self-care packages

Oil, soap and other ingredients

Ethical and reusable products sometimes come with a higher price tag (although they also often last much longer). Gifting ethical toiletries can be a really lovely, luxurious present. 

Why not create a carefully selected box of self-care treats, giving your loved ones the chance to try some novel ethical alternatives, including a shampoo bar, handmade soap, leave-in conditioner, biodegradable floss, a couple of Lush products or some solid toothpaste tabs? You could even buy the ingredients for a make-your-own style gift, such as a DIY deodorant.

Hampers

Creating your own hamper can be loads of fun. Grab an old basket, stuff it with shredded newspaper and fill it full of handmade treats, such as mince pies, chutneys or fudge. Alternatively, try some ethical shop-bought items, such as palm-oil-free biscuits, Fair Trade tea or organic honey or vegan alternative.

Electronics

If you’re looking for high-value electronics items, make sure your money fuels better things. Look for Fairphone in our mobile phone guide, Apple iPad or Lenovo options in our guide to tablets, or ASUS and Acer options that are Framework or TCO-certified in our guide to laptops.  

Bikes

Bikes are a great environmentally friendly gift if you have a bit more money to spend. 

Try to find a well-built second-hand bike. Lots of local bike repair shops offer refurbished options. Or, if you’re looking for new, try to support local bike shops and buy a steel-based, ethical brand. Check out Raleigh and Trek in our guide to ethical bikes.

You might also want to think about an electric bike - these can be great ways of managing a regular ride or shopping trip that would be a bit too far on a push bike.

Affordable ethical gifts

With the cost of living so high, many of us will be approaching Christmas with trepidation about the price of buying all those gifts. Adding ethics into the mix can make it even more complicated. Especially given that ethical products often come with a higher price tag to reflect the real costs of production. 

Luckily, many ethical decisions you can make around gift giving will also likely save you cash - including lots of the suggestions in this guide. Buying less (gifting time, doing secret santa, or just going for a coffee) will save money and waste. Second-hand is usually cheaper than new. Making plant-based goodies can be cheaper than buying presents.

Lots of our loved ones may also be feeling the squeeze, so it could be a year to change how you do gifts together and talk about what works for you all. 

Many of our guides include information on prices to help you find the best value ethical options. 

Places to buy ethical gifts

There are lots of ethical online retailers such as Ethical Shop* (gifts, some groceries and clothing, fair trade), Neal's Yard* (for toiletries and remedies), Brothers We Stand* (for clothing), and Veo* (vegan food, gifts, home, clothes etc). 

Our guide to online retailers highlights a range of online shopping options, none of which are Amazon! It also has a handy 'what they sell' section, so you can work out where to look for the gift you have in mind.

Ethical Consumer subscribers also qualify for discounts with several ethical companies. Sign in and visit the My account area for the discount codes to various brands including the Ethical Shop.

Also look out for our 'Places to Buy' sections in our shopping guides. These are links to recommended retailers who are also affiliates, so if you do shop with them via the 'Places to Buy' link, we receive a small bit of money - share the love!

*Affiliates

Ethical gift vouchers

Lots of ethical companies offer gift vouchers. 

These are an easy stocking (or card) filler. They also help to avoid waste as people can choose their own gift - presumably something that they want or need.

We’ve compiled a list of companies with high ethical ratings that offer gift vouchers, which is especially good for those who want to avoid Amazon and support ethical businesses instead. 

These companies cover a broad range of products - books, electronics, food, and pet food - and include Oxfam, the Ethical Shop, and Guardian.

You can find a full list in our voucher guide.

Wrapping your gifts

Christmas gifts wrapped in plain paper

Ethical ways to wrap gifts

We’ve got just one more thing to say about gifts before we wrap up this section, and that’s how to wrap them up.

Wrapping paper is a recycling nightmare. Many of the shiny foil options contain plastic (and yes, glitter is almost always plastic); even the cheaper, thinner paper versions are hard to recycle. Look instead for recycled and recyclable paper, and if you’re buying rolls of paper, make sure they come without the plastic wrapping. Opt for paper-based sticky tape too so that all the wrapping can go straight in the recycling after the big day.

Why not ditch the wrapping paper altogether and wrap presents in old newspapers or magazines? It will still make for a colourful scene under the tree and may be an interesting talking point over lunch.

If you’re feeling adventurous, why not try Furoshiki, the Japanese art of wrapping presents in reusable cloths or scarves. A stylish knot wrap is way more thoughtful than a present wrapped up in something that you can't keep.

Christmas isn’t just about the gifts

This is something that we are told from a young age. Christmas means something different to each of us and many of us spend weeks getting the house decorated ready for the big day, not to mention the food. So much food. Of course, we can bring our ethical values into every element of Christmas.

All of the fun with none of the glitter

It’s hard to make it through your local garden centre or supermarket at Christmas without being blinded by the dazzling lights and glitter. As fun as it is to marvel at the bright displays, resist buying a whole new set of decorations this Christmas.

So many decorations are made from cheap mass-produced materials and are covered in shiny microplastic-containing glitter. You probably have a whole attic full of decorations and, if you don’t, you can be sure someone nearby is looking to clear some out. 

Make do with what you have and ask around if you need to stock up. You could also look at websites like Freecycle, where neighbours give things like decorations away for free.

Your tree might not look like a page out of a designer home magazine, but remembering old, treasured childhood decorations and handmade baubles makes a slightly mismatched tree all the more charming.

If you have built up far too many decorations, consider donating the ones which are in good condition to charity shops.

Image: gingerbread men

Spreading Christmas cheer

Christmas cards are a mainstay of the festive season.

Sending e-cards or calling or visiting friends and family can be a welcome alternative to Christmas cards. Pledging to give saved money to your favourite charity is a great way to do good without the waste.

Letting people know where you are sending your money, by email or through social media, gives much needed free advertisement for the charity – perhaps your idea will catch on and prompt others to do the same.

If you’re looking to send cards, look for recycled and recyclable ones without the plastic wrapping. If you’re buying charity cards, buy direct (rather than from a supermarket) so as much profit as possible goes to your chosen cause.

Moving on to the tree…

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the tree. So, is it more ethical to buy a new, fresh tree each year, or go for a reusable plastic one?

There isn’t a simple answer to this question.

If you already have a plastic tree, then you should keep using it for as long as you can and when you no longer need it, try to sell it or give it away to stop it from going to landfill.

If you need a new tree, resist buying plastic. These trees are made from non-renewable fossil fuels and carry a massive carbon footprint – according to The Guardian, a 6.5-foot artificial tree carries a carbon footprint of around 40kg, more than twice the footprint of a real tree that ends its life in landfill and 10 times as much as a real tree that is burnt. Unless, of course, you can buy a second-hand plastic tree.

Many people can’t resist the look and smell of a real tree. However, disposing of a real tree can have environmental issues too. In landfill, Christmas trees decompose to release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. If you are disposing of your tree, look for local schemes that take them for chipping and use them in parks and gardens. Even better, why not buy a potted Christmas tree, take it inside for the festivities and pop it in your garden to grow for the rest of the year. 

If you buy a real tree, make sure you buy local and from a sustainable grower, many of these growers will plant more trees than they fell, and by keeping the transport mileage down, you reduce the carbon footprint even further.

If you want to break with tradition, consider making a crafty tree from driftwood and other items - a search online for ideas will spark your imagination.

And finally…

Whatever you do, enjoy yourself this Christmas. One of the most meaningful things you can do is to look out for those people who might be on their own and spread genuine love and happiness by ensuring everyone is involved. It’s also a great opportunity to show your friends and family that everyone can make a difference, by taking small steps to make this Christmas an ethical and sustainable one.

xmas gift sub ecra

The perfect ethical Christmas gift

Inspire someone with the gift of a year's subscription to Ethical Consumer. Give your friend or loved one a gift that will last all year long.

An annual subscription includes:

  • 6 issues of Ethical Consumer Magazine in print and/or digital format.
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  • Special discount offers from selected Best Buy companies.
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Your lucky recipient will be able to access the website (and digital copies of the magazine) as soon as you send them the activation email (you can choose to wait until closer to Christmas if you wish).

We will take payment when you order, but you can cancel by phone or email within 30 days for a full no-questions-asked refund.

Print gift subscriptions will start with the January/February 2024 issue, which will be sent to the gift recipient in the week commencing 11th December. Let us know in the Notes field if you would like us to do something different. Their digital access will only be activated after the activation email is forwarded to the gift recipient.

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Every gift subscription also includes sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine, through the Palestinian Fair Trade Association. Your gift recipient will receive a certificate of sponsorship.