Best Online Shops for Sustainable Christmas Gifts UK

Christmas is a very magical time of the year, however it can be quite stressful when you hunt for gift ideas that are not only sustainable Christmas gifts but also ethical as well.

I thought I would compile my list of the top some small businesses in the UK where you can pick up some sustainable Christmas gifts for your friends and family.

I have a large family so I usually have to think about Christmas early on to make sure that I have got presents for my children, my nieces and nephews and any other friends or family I’m buying for. This year my nieces and nephews all decided they wanted money so that made things a bit simpler.

For my children I usually try to have a zero waste Christmas with either secondhand gifts, experience gifts and sometimes plastic free craft sets.

If you’re in the market for a Christmas tree this year, check out my post about real or artificial Christmas trees. If you’re in the US, check out this 37 places to shop for ethical and eco-friendly gifts blog post.

This post may contain affiliate links which means I make a small profit if you buy through my link. I would never recommend something I didn’t believe in or wouldn’t buy myself, thank you for your support.

Small Businesses

Due to the pandemic last year, people that would usually buy gifts in store were having to search online for sustainable Christmas gifts. This is not always easy to know where and what to buy for a zero waste Christmas so I thought I’d put together some suggestions.

Personally I prefer to do everything that I can online anyway. I’m an introvert so would really rather avoid crowds of people anyway and I much prefer browsing online.

Let me know if there’s any that I’ve missed from this list, I’ve tried to include all that I’m aware of but I’m sure there’s a lot of wonderful businesses in the UK that deserve to be included.

Plastic Free Online Shops

Plastic free online shops are a great place to pick up some really thoughtful gifts and gift sets for people.

And Keep

One of my favourite online shops in Dorset has a huge selection of gift ideas for all ages. They don’t use any plastic in their packaging, all of their products are ethical, cruelty free & most of them are also vegan.

You can get gift boxes for adults and ‘make your own’ style gifts for children and teenagers. My son is at the age where he really loves craft kits and ‘make your own’ kits as an activity so I’ll definitely be buying one for him soon.

They also have gift vouchers available if you are stuck for what to buy.

Eden Perfumes

I discovered Eden Perfumes from my sister at a Vegan festival Vegfest Bristol a few years ago. I think most vegans in the UK are aware of this Brighton brand because they sell vegan and cruelty free versions of the main brands of perfume and they have some of their own.

I have their versions of Britney Spears Fantasy (don’t judge me) and another which I can’t remember the real version but it smells like Cherries.

Perfume is a of course a nice sustainable Christmas gift and these vegan versions are so much cheaper than the brands

Plastic Freedom

I discovered this shop last year when I was searching for crisps in plastic free packaging. In case you were curious they stock a brand called Two Farmers which sells crisps in tins and plastic free packaging.

The owner of this Southport online shop is a lady called Beth. She first set up this business in her spare room whilst working a full-time job as well. Once the business took off she moved it to a nearby unit and quit her job. She now runs the business remotely as she moved to Newquay to be closer to the sea. I think their “How can one person make a difference

This shop also has a variety of different gifts for all ages and another great thing about this company is that they have joined the one tree planted and they plant one tree for every order received.

The Plastic Free Shop

This online shop is located in Bristol and was founded by a lady called Kath, they source ethical and sustainable products to limit the plastic in everyone’s lives.

They have some wonderful gift sets like ‘Grow your own’ tomatoes, runner beans etc which are such a great gift idea for a budding gardener. They’re really affordable at £10 a set too.

Instagram Businesses

Now most of these could actually be put in the above category but I wanted to separate my list and include the ones with a good presence on Instagram on this section.

I’m sure there are many more businesses on Instagram selling handmade products, however these are the shops and businesses that I have come across so I wanted to include them here.

Aliquis Planeta

This Instagram shop is owned by a vegan environmentalist and student. I love her passion and the fact that she’s a young entrepreneur is just awesome!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHS5b11pKoJ/

Each parcel they send in donated boxes and donated bubble wrap so although there is some plastic – it’s reused plastic.

She sells a few bundles that are perfect as sustainable Christmas gifts like a pack of mini soaps and pamper Christmas bundle. I would love to see her grow her range. I noticed she sells Loose Leafty which is an awesome loose tea brand so I will definitely be buying some from the shop soon.

Amari Wild

@amari_wild2 is a great UK based company located in Newcastle Upon Tyne. They sell lots of zero waste vegan and cruelty free products. Especially for Christmas they have gift sets, Hot chocolate bombs, pamper hampers and vegan gifts. Check them out on Instagram to learn more.

Aventurine Dreams

Aventurine Dreams is a beautiful soap company created by @pixeepea. Pixee creates the most beautiful soaps as pictured below and they are all absolutely stunning and they smell amazing!

Pixee also has wax melts and a range of candles called Palo Santo which look beautiful. All of her products are handmade, natural ingredients and cruelty free and vegan of course.

Currently you can place an order by messaging @aventurine_dreams on Instagram.

Cotswold Handmade Cards

This lovely Instagram shop @cotswold_handmade_cards sells all sorts of eco friendly cards handmade in Oxfordshire Cotswolds and for Christmas they have a range of plantable cards which are such a cute idea.

Davide Montuori

On Instagram this amazing Italian artist @david.montuori.art has created a range of beautiful pillows which will be packaged with recycled paper packaging.

Fashion For Two

This shop based in Greece @fashionfortwo.shop is really interesting selling mostly matching t-shirts for families. The clothing is organic cotton and water based inks, plus they also plant a tree for every set they sell. I love the simplistic design of the t-shirts and it’s cute that you can buy matching sets for your family.

FM Scents

Similar to Eden perfumes FM Scents is another amazing option for Christmas gifts. They are also 100% vegan and cruelty free. They make their own versions of the branded scents at really affordable prices.

It does make me wonder why there’s even a need for non-vegans to buy the branded perfumes at all. I don’t have any FM scents myself however, as I have an Eden version of one of my favourite perfumes which smells exactly the same – I know it can obviously be done without the animal based ingredients.

Peg Shop

I was introduced to @pegshopuk on Instagram but they don’t actually have an Instagram shop. They sell eco friendly baby slippers made from reclaimed and vintage fabrics which is really awesome. You can visit their website here.

PlanetAmi

Another fab Instagram shop for sustainable Christmas gifts is @planetami.eco they have several beautiful gift boxes like the one pictured below. They’re a female owned company based in Nottingham in the UK and they sell all sorts of zero waste, bamboo and eco products.

Space Monkey Soap

Space Monkey Soap is an amazing handmade soap company in Newcastle, they use only natural and vegan ingredients in their soap and always plastic free packaging. If you follow them on Instagram they always share the funniest posts and all their soaps have the quirkiest names which I love.

They also have shampoo bars and dry shampoo all with plastic free packaging.

Tea In The Tub

Helen @teainthetub sells handmade dog paw balm which is vegan and cruelty free and packaged in reusable tins. Helen sells her balm at fayres in the Gloucestershire area.

Thoroughly Modern Grandma

I’ve been following Thoroughly Modern Grandma for several months now on Instagram. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of buying anything from her wonderful shop yet she always shares the most amazing DIY recipes.

On her website she has plastic free Christmas crackers and Christmas cracker fillers at an affordable price. Plus some plastic free gift boxes which would make a lovely sustainable Christmas gift for a zero waste Christmas.

Vegan Bunny Co

Vegan Bunny Co do some beautiful candles which are perfect for- sustainable Christmas gifts. I only heard of this company recently so haven’t had the pleasure of buying anything from them yet. However, I do love the look of the candles.

The brand concentrates on working towards zero waste instead of concentrating on marketing or sales, which is commendable.

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A post shared by Vegan Bunny (@veganbunnyco)

Skincare Brands

Arbonne

Arbonne usually have a selection of Christmas gift sets that would make great gifts. They’re a vegan and cruelty free company and they are also a registered B Corporation brand. I follow a representative Clare Saffin @with_wellness_in_mind on Instagram. Although not plastic free some of their products can be returned for recycling.

Tropic

Tropic is a vegan and cruelty free skincare brand which is not plastic free but has refill options on many of their serums and oils. They also have a refill returns scheme where if you return 5 empties of certain products you’ll receive a 6th for free. I follow Angela Datlen on Instagram @tropicskincare_with_angela.

Experience Gifts

Another idea for a zero waste Christmas is to get an experience gift for someone. This is the ultimate sustainable Christmas gift because it means that they don’t physically have a gift but they get to experience something instead, plant a tree or even learn a new skill.

Plant A Tree

Another super sustainable Christmas gift is to plant a tree for someone. Make It Wild in the UK have a dedicate a tree section on their website where you can dedicate a tree for any occasion but also including Christmas. You can choose the location of the tree and I think this is such a great zero waste gift for someone.

What you’ll get is a young native woodland tree planted, a certification with your chosen wording via email, a map showing where the tree is located and the opportunity to visit the tree if you want. I think this is such a beautiful gift, it encourages biodiversity, it will live on for decades and absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

There’s also an option on their website to dedicate a tree with a personalised plaque as well which is really cool. It’s a wooden plaque that you can choose the wording on, they send you a picture once it’s engraved and you get the certification etc as above.

Veecoco

A great example of a sustainable Christmas gift is a gift card for a vegan cookery course. Veecoco has 700+ courses including a ‘Vegan cheese made easy’ course which I’m currently working my way through now. You can even learn how to make pastries or food from around the world such as Korean, Vietnamese or Japanese. So many amazing courses for the budding chef!

You can buy a gift card using the link button below.

Rental Service

Another great idea for a more sustainable Christmas is to use a toy rental service like the one below.

Borrow And Nest

This is a plastic free toy rental service based in Sheffield in the UK.

How it works is you sign up to the monthly subscription which allows you to borrow two toys at a time. The toys are good quality and using this service is 6 times more cost efficient than buying new.

Once your child has finished with the toys you can return and pick different ones. What an amazing clutter free idea for Christmas!

Etsy Businesses

Over the past year I’ve been making more and more of an effort to buy things from Etsy, whether that’s gifts or even eco friendly household items.

When I do buy from Etsy I I do receive the most beautiful handmade gifts and they’re perfect sustainable Christmas gifts. Not-to-mention when you buy from Etsy you’re buying from small businesses and individuals.

Etsy also is the first major online shop to offset the carbon from shipping. So this means for every purchase they offset the carbon by funding emissions reduction projects to help our environment.

Battle Green Box

One of my favourite Etsy shops is Battle Green Box, they are based in North Wales in the UK and they sell so many great zero waste products like deodorant, lip balm, tooth powder and dish soap. However, this year they have also started selling Re-wrap fabric wraps for Christmas and they’re just beautiful.

The Green Hempire

Louise the owner of this Etsy shop is an eco seamstress, in her shop she sells organic yoga wear, reusable produce bags, reusable food covers and other handmade natural products. How cute are the below flower gift sets?

Sauriel Creative

This talented artist who lives in Bristol in the UK has a really unique style, she does branding for businesses and she has a lot of beautiful and colourful things in her Etsy shop, like the below eco beanie which is made from 20% recycled polyester and 80% organic ring-spun combed cotton.

Amazon and EBay

Generally speaking I have been known to buy from EBay in particular quite a lot over the years. When you’re looking for second-hand clothes for example, EBay is so good to pick up a bargain.

However, this Christmas if you have to buy new things for sustainable Christmas gifts, I beg you to consider buying from my above list rather than buying from Amazon and Ebay. If you want some specific gift ideas check out this 10 eco gifts for Christmas post.

If your funds do not allow for the expense of buying new or you are trying to buy all your gifts second-hand this year then of course buying from these online stores will be your best option.

Most Christmases I buy some Christmas themed Pyjamas for my children and the last few years I did in fact get these from EBay second-hand, to keep the cost down and because it’s better environmentally. Of course the other consider to consider when you buy sustainable gifts is zero waste gift wrapping ideas.

I hope you enjoyed my post. I’m definitely feeling more Christmas ready than ever now. 🎄🎅

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