Your ultimate guide to an ethical christmas

Ethical gifting is all about choosing gifts with low impact and making sure that every gift counts in the most important way.  

One place to start is not to buy gifts, but to create some great alternative options…

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

Now we’re able to visit theatres, attend sports events and enjoy arts and culture again, why not gift an experience that you and a friend can enjoy together. Many of the arts have struggled to keep afloat during the pandemic, so show your support by buying tickets for comedy, musical theatre, ballet or opera.

Or you can get inventive and plan a trip, design an itinerary and fill it full of fun. Many of us have rekindled our love for the great outdoors so 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.

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 for a gift that gives twice. 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 often 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 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. You might just pick up a bargain.

When you do buy new...

Whenever you buy new, you have a choice to do good: your money helps businesses to grow and prosper, so it’s great to look for ethical ones.

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 businesses need our custom more than ever this year, having felt the impact of COVID-19. There are so many small, independent, ethical businesses online offering unique and sustainable items.

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’.

However, clever campaigns like ‘Books are my Bag’ are helping to keep many independents afloat and this type of rebel alliance is helping to save shops from Amazon’s cruel reign. Our guide to bookshops has a link to find radical and independent bookshops, many of which do online orders and delivery. For example, you could order direct from Lighthouse, a radical stockist in Edinburgh that is queer-owned and women-led.

Buying second-hand from best buy World of Books or other recommended online bookshops such as Better World Books and Biblio or switching to digital versions such as from xigxag are great options, saving money and trees.

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.

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 Dolma, Flaya, Neal’s Yard Remedies and KINGS aftershave, all of which offer vegan products that are not tested on animals and are palm oil-free.

Ethical and vegan clothes

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 updated shopping guide for ethical clothes shops - that's 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

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

Our Best Buys go above and beyond to deliver guilt-free pleasure - check out Divine, Pacari, Beyond Good, MIA, Fairafric and Chocolat Madagascar, and 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.  

There are lots of dairy-free chocolate options, many of which are in the chocolate guide.

If you want to learn more about dairy and the impact on animals, read our article about animal welfare and the dairy industry

Self-care packages

Ethical and reusable products sometimes come with a higher price tag, although this can be misleading when they are often formulated to last longer. Gifting ethical toiletries can be the perfect way to introduce a friend to their benefits.

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 Framework or TCO-certified models by ASUS and Acer models in our guide to laptops.  

Bikes

Bikes are a great environmentally friendly gift if you have a bit more money to splurge. Try to find a well-built second-hand bike 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.

Places to buy ethical gifts

There are lots of ethical online retailers such as Wearth (wide range of items), Ethical Shop (gifts, some groceries and clothing, fair trade), Neal's Yard (for toiletries and remedies), Brothers We Stand (for clothing), and Traidcraft (gifts and stationery). 

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 if you're looking for stationery for example you can see which of the brands sell that.

Ethical Consumer subscribers also qualify for a 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!

Wrapping your gifts

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.

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.

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 make sure you opt for recycled and recyclable cards 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.

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.