This Christmas, every small change you make can have a big impact on the environment. Here, Jack Jahan from new and pre-owned jewellery retailer Ramsdens Jewellery has given us his top tips for choosing more environmentally friendly presents this festive season.
It’s estimated that every Christmas in the UK approximately three-and-a-half bags of packaging per household are thrown away — that’s around 100 million bags annually (GWP Group). The majority of this packaging is discarded from gifts and, when it reaches landfill, it can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.
Whether it’s by changing our diets or picking up different shopping habits, we’re all trying to alter our lifestyle to be more conscious of our environmental impact. So, we must all do our bit this Christmas to make more environmentally friendly choices and reduce our packaging waste.
According to Google trends data, searches for ‘eco-friendly Christmas’ have soared in the UK over the last few years, with more of us looking for ways to make our usual festive celebrations more planet-friendly. If you’re wondering how you can choose more environmentally friendly gifts for your loved ones this festive season, follow my tips below.
4 Ways To Choose More Environmentally Friendly Presents
Choose quality pieces
One of the biggest mistakes many of us make during the festive season is buying fast fashion items to gift to our loved ones. In some cases, these pieces are poorly made and notorious for their short lifespan. And, when they’re thrown away after a few uses, they’ll often be sent to landfill or burned, where they can release toxic chemicals into the environment.
As a more eco-friendly alternative to fast fashion items, make sure you shop for new pieces that have been made to a high quality and will last a long time. For example, jewellery crafted from precious metals is very unlikely to break and can even be passed down for generations to come.
Check out some eco-friendly clothes shops.
Shop pre-owned and second-hand
As well as buying high-quality new pieces, why not shop for pre-owned items, too? This is a great way to cut down on your carbon footprint, and you can often obtain some fantastic luxury pieces for a fraction of the original cost. Plus, you can find some pretty unique and vintage items that can your loved ones are bound to appreciate.
For example, you can treat a loved one to a designer Rolex watch this festive season. But, by shopping pre-owned you can save money and give an older piece a new lease of life. This is often a great way to find rarer, discontinued models that might not be sold in your usual jewellers. If you buy from a reputable seller, they’ll clean and repair the watch back to its original quality, so the recipient is bound to love their gift.
Choose eco-friendly materials
When shopping for your Christmas presents this year, try to look out for more environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic. Natural textiles that are biodegradable are perfect, so look for gifts made from cotton, cashmere, wool, bamboo, hemp, and linen. You can get some cosy clothing and blankets produced from these materials that would make lovely gifts. Alternatively, look for presents made from recycled and recyclable materials such as paper, wood, glass, or metal.
If you’re thinking of gifting something made from leather this year, try to choose vegan leather. Although a lot of these are made from plastics, many companies are finding innovative ways to recreate leather from sustainable sources like pineapple leaves, cactus leaves, and fruit peelings.
When it comes to gift wrapping, look for recyclable paper or consider recycling paper from magazines and newspapers you have around the house. Instead of plastic embellishments, you can add various eco-friendly alternatives such as dried fruits, spices, pinecones, and flowers. These can all look incredibly pretty but won’t harm the environment when they’re thrown away or reused.
Check out How To Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas.
Try making your own
After this year, we’re all looking to make our Christmas gifts a bit more personal, and what better way to do it than by making your own. According to Google trends data, searches for ‘homemade gift’ have soared this year, reaching the highest they’ve been for the last five years.
With many of us choosing to ditch the high street and get crafty at home, there’s the opportunity to gift something that’s meaningful and full of love. Plus, doing this means you can avoid any plastic packaging, and you won’t be releasing any harmful chemicals as a result of your manufacturing process.
Consider making your own homemade gifts such as candles, soaps, or bath bombs. Or, try your hand at a spot of knitting or embroidery to create something your loved one can use for years to come. You can get some great kits online that give you everything you need to make your own at home.
You could even consider recycling your old unwanted jewellery by having it melted down and created into something entirely new. You’ll even be able to help design the new piece, so you can come up with a personal gift that you know the recipient will love.
Check out some eco-friendly alternatives to gifts.
After all the fun of the festive season, you can often be left with a lot of plastic packaging that’s damaging to the environment. But, by shopping pre-owned, choosing eco-friendly materials, and making your own gifts at home, you can spoil your loved ones with an environmentally friendly present that’s full of love this year.
