50 sustainable Xmas gifts 🎄

Want to give Xmas gifts that won’t break the bank, or the planet? Here are my top picks for…

The coffee lover

• Lost Barn Coffee — Get rid of plastic bags and coffee pods, and instead treat your loved one to the Coffee Selection Gift Box for £27.50
• The Aero Press — A great option for someone looking to kick the habit of pods. The Aero Press has compostable paper filters and uses much less electricity than a coffee maker, whilst delivering a top notch cuppa
• Lost Sheep Coffee — If your loved one loves pods, then check out Lost Sheep’s Compostable pods

The candle crazy

• OLIO — It’s amazing how many OLIOers are making homemade eco-friendly candles, you’ll be spoiled for choice
• Pascoe Candles — Handcrafted in small batches, all of Pascoe’s candles are vegan friendly, phthalate & paraben free and come in plastic free packaging. Cinnamon & Apple and Gingerbread House are perfect for the festive season
• St Eval — Made using sustainable production methods on their farm in Cornwall, St Eval sell beautiful candles in a tin. Wild Gorse is my fave

The clean-freak — For the Mr or Mrs Hinch in your life, there’s no shortage of fab options this Xmas:

• Bide Box — Chemical free eco-cleaning products, made by unemployed women. These boxes are a real treat to receive, and look and smell gorgeous too
• Spruce — Spruce provides refillable eco cleaning. Their handy starter boxes might be just the ticket for someone looking to give it a try
• Bower Collective — Bower Collective have a whole range of refillable cleaning products and eco accessories, so plenty of inspiration there
• No Waste Jose — Another fab option for anyone looking to gift the joy of refillable cleaning products, and much, much more, all delivered to your door by cargo bike

The lounge lover

• Now, Sit Down — Brighten up a someone special’s home this Xmas with these gorgeous cushions made from recycled fabrics, and filled with recycled feathers too
• Coconut Bowls — Coconut Bowls have a whole range of beautiful household accessories that look great and are zero waste
• Stola London — Stola’s gorgeous hemp pyjamas use 5x less water than cotton, and are chemical & pesticide free too. Once you’ve put them on you won’t ever want to take them off
• Pantee — Undies are an Xmas staple, but are rarely sustainable. Enter Pantee with their body-hugging underwear made from surplus t-shirt fabric, and available for all shapes & sizes
• One Essentials — No M&S polyester multi-packs here, One Essentials have launched their first ever eco-friendly undie gift packs for men & women, just in time for Xmas
• Wearth London — Wearth have a great range of zero waste goodies to complement anyone’s home, including some fab starter kits

The sweet tooth

• Vegan Sweet Box — The most delicious vegan, zero waste sweets; any sweet tooth will be immediately converted. The ultimate vegan sweet box for £10.99 never fails to wow
• Vegan Town — Vegan Town have gone to town with their incredible Xmas range of vegan treats, they’ll be sure not to disappoint
• Montezuma*s — Montezuma*s has great tasting, ethically sourced chocolate with a smorgasbord of flavours and gift options, and all the packaging being recyclable (cardboard), biodegradable or home compostable
• OLIO — Check out the MADE section of the OLIO app for oodles of delectable brownies, tray bakes, hot chocolate bombs and much, much more

The fashionista

• On Loan — Perfect for anyone who loves clothes but is fed up of fast fashion. On Loan have launched a range of gift cards which are the perfect way to get a monthly fashion fix
• Sign of the Times — SOTT sell pre-loved luxury fashion at up to 80% off the original retail price. Use the discount code OLIO20 to get £20 off any purchase of £60 or more. New customers only. Valid until 28/02/22
• Anya Hindmarch — Anya’s new Return to Nature range of leather handbags have been treated so they can naturally biodegrade when they reach the end of their life. A gorgeous splurge, but they should last a lifetime and return to nature once you’re done
• Elvis & Kresse — Elvis & Kresse are the OG of sustainable luxury and have spent many years repurposing discarded firehoses to create a fabulous range of bags & accessories
• HERD — These multi-coloured bags are made from recycled ocean plastic and will brighten up any Xmas morning with their pop of colour and funky designs

The beauty babe

• Peace with the Wild — One of my favourite e-commerce sites! Every possible beauty requirement can be met here, and it’s all sustainable and gorgeous too
• Beauty Kitchen — Do a fabulous Xmas range of effective, natural and sustainable beauty products
• Charlotte Tilbury — Does a lovely range of re-fillable lipsticks with eye-catching re-usable cases. No more excuses for the 1 billion lipstick cases that end up in landfill every year
• Pitt Balm — Pitt Balm’s all natural, highly effective deodorants come in lovely tins and make a fab stocking filler
• Wild — If you’ve got more of a stick kinda person in mind then Wild’s refillable deodorant sticks are another great stocking filler
• A&B — It’s the time of year when lips can get chapped, but no more with these wonderful lip balms in re-usable aluminium cases

The drinks aficionado

• Harris Distillery — Subscribe to sustainability with a year’s supply of Isle of Harris gin top ups
• Draught Drop — Fresh, local beer delivered to your door in 100% reusable bottles. Check out their gifts, from one-off stocking fillers through to the ‘Draught Beer for a Year’ bundle!
• Hattingley Valley — Delicious eco-friendly English wine which has won pretty much every award going

The homeworker

• Tanner Woodcraft — For a healthier way to work, convert any desk to a standing desk with this beautiful FSC certified solid oak desk converter, sent via carbon neutral delivery
• Been.London — Gorgeous cardholders, laptop cases, crossbodies and weekender bags for him & her, made from discarded leather, pineapple leaves and apple peels
• Cucumber Clothing — For when you’re not home-working, Cucumber make gorgeous re-usable face masks, with their own little pouches

The kids

• The Little Loop — Why not let them choose for themselves, with a gift card from The Little Loop, the UK’s first clothing rental marketplace for kids
• Black + Blum — Do a fab 100% leakproof stainless steel lunch box
• Wildflower Favours — Check out their great range of seeded papers. The kids will love crafting their own cards that can be planted later

The gadget lover

• Briiv — Briiv’s air purifier uses 90% natural & sustainable materials, and has the cleaning power of 3,043 house plants! That will help clear the air and your mind
• Relove Technology — Relove Technology provides fabulous refurbished technology for customers looking to upgrade or replace their mobile tech. They’ve even got a 10% discount code: XMAS2021
• Cuckoo broadband— Great broadband speeds, on a plan of your choice, with 1% of each bill going to a charity of your choice
• Pela — Pela claim to have made the world’s first compostable phone case, and they fit all sorts of handsets and have loads of great designs to choose from

The keen gardener

• The Worm That Turned — Sell a wonderful Paper Potter Press made from oiled beech wood which eliminates the need to buy seedling pots and trays, through harnessing the power of old newspaper and the wooden press. Magic! They also sell recycled plastic labels and bamboo ones that are also super cute
• Bee Bombs — Why not bring the bees back this Xmas with bee friendly native wildflower seeds
• Etsy — Has a great range of Heirloom seeds in a lovely tin which includes exciting varieties you won’t get in the shops
• Traidcraft — Check out their fabulous birdhouse ball made from recycled saris, that will add a colourful pop to any garden

The hamper — It isn’t Xmas without a hamper! Check out these beauties:

• Social Stories — Each hamper is packed with sustainable goodies from social enterprises, from delicious chocolate that supports global reforestation projects to Earl Grey Tea helping to educate girls in India
• Social Supermarket — Another great option if you’re looking for ethical hampers. They’ve got ones for beer lovers, wine lovers, chocolate lovers, vegans and more
• Hay Hampers — Their first eco-hamper for Xmas, with everything designed to be consumed, re-used or recycled

I think that’s about it for gifts! Let me know in the comments if there’s something I should add in.

Wishing you and your loved ones a fabulous festive season

x

PS Here are some bonus tips to make your gifting truly sustainable…

• Experiences not things — According to research we recently ran at OLIO, 85% of us think we gift too many ‘things’ at Xmas. So why not gift an experience instead? A meal, massage or movies are always popular with my friends and family. Or perhaps gift something much more meaningful such as Toilet Twinning, or more interesting such as a course in wild food & foraging from Edible Wild London
• New to them — Kids especially couldn’t care less if a gift is brand new or not. What counts is that it’s new to them! Why not search sites such as OLIO, Kids Clo, eBay, Shpock or Depop for pre-loved gifts?
• Homemade — Nothing says I love you more than a homemade gift! Not big into cooking or crafting? Not to worry, I find a super simple tray bake of brownies is always a hit, and if that’s not your thing then check out OLIO’s MADE section or Etsy for the homemade touch
• Zero waste — I always make sure to gift things with no single-use plastic. Hopefully some of the links above will convert you or your friends/family to the eco way
• It’s in the wrap — Around 227,000 miles of wrapping paper ends up in the bin every Christmas. Why not ditch the paper and instead go Japanese style and wrap your gifts in reusable cloth instead? Totally unique, much prettier and eco too — what’s not to love?