How to Give Sustainably this Christmas

Are you dreaming of a green Christmas? Following the trials and tribulations of 2020, one thing you can control is how and where you spend your money this year. Now with a little more time on your hands, why not give some extra thought to your gift-giving efforts? Give sustainable gifts by ensuring your Christmas presents are eco-friendly and kind to the planet.

If you’ve been following our company this year, you will already know we are on a mission to become more sustainable. As you can imagine, as creators of luxury toiletries, packaging is a big focus for us right now. Moving forward, we intend to do more of the following in terms of our packaging:

• Research
• Reduce 
• Recycle

Shop Locally

The impact of COVID has been devastating to all businesses this year, small and large. Due to multiple national lockdowns imposed by the UK government, many stores have closed their doors, limiting their ability to trade. Despite these difficulties, it has been incredible to see businesses pivoting and adapting to the situation.

We directly felt the impact of COVID here in Somerset, as we had to close the doors to our recently opened Soap Bar café and gift store. So much hard work and team effort went into the successful relocation of our head office and the opening of these new ventures in October 2020. 

A considerable part of our business at The Somerset Toiletry Company involves supplying gorgeous gift stores all over the UK with our beautifully designed toiletries. If you’re planning to ‘shop local’ this year, please use our online map to locate your nearest stockist. Although some non-essential stores may be closed, many are offering local delivery and click and collect services for their customers. 

If you’re Somerset based we’d love for you to shop with us online while our new store in Clutton is closed, however, if you’re elsewhere in the UK, support your local economy and high street stores – they need your support more than ever! 

Give Sustainable Gifts 

Check out our range of plastic-free toiletries here.

We’ve all seen the fantastic job sir David Attenborough has been doing to highlight the concern around the level of plastic waste in our oceans and the detrimental impact this is having on our beautiful planet. The war on plastic was gaining traction until COVID hit this year, sadly reminding us all how vital plastic is, for example, the part it has played in creating PPE and protecting our key workers. The issue is not plastic itself but how we have not responsibly repurposed this material. 

Despite these challenging times, we have made progress this year in terms of products, as we’ve reduced various unnecessary packaging and switched to recyclable materials where possible. In the future, we plan to use more PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastic and shift towards a circular economy for plastic, to ultimately create sustainable toiletries. If you are serious about cutting down the plastic consumption in your household, then we offer a range of plastic-free gifts, perfect for the eco-conscious among us.

Discover a wide range of gifts, including Christmas soap and natural candles, that contain zero plastic. Explore our range of plastic-free gifts here.

If you are an avid recycler, you’ll be glad to know the plastic (PET) we use in our bottles can be easily recycled (using your green bin), including our Christmas Hand Wash. Please rinse where possible.

For more inspiration, read our Christmas Gifts under £20 blog post.

Vegan-Friendly Gifts

Check out our range of Vegan body care

As the vegan lifestyle continues to grow in popularity, earlier this year, we registered the majority of our bestselling collection Naturally European with the Vegan Society.

 When you buy our vegan registered body care, rest assured there has been no exploitation or animal cruelty involved in the development of these products and they do not contain any animal by-products. 

If you didn’t already know, we are huge animal lovers here in Somerset, and our products have always been cruelty-free. Although we make products all over the world, we do not sell our products in China, due to their current animal testing legislation (which we hope will soon change). Adopting a vegan lifestyle is a great way to help fight climate change due to the level of waste and pollution involved in meat production and dairy farming. Look no further for gifts for family or friends who choose to live a plant-based lifestyle and would appreciate sustainable gifts this year.  

Give Gifts That Last

Check out our range of home fragrance products 

Did you know room diffusers are one of our most popular items online? Considered by some as a safer option than a candle, they enhance any space by delicately diffusing fragrance throughout the day. A gift which keeps giving, our diffusers last for months and our candles burn for 40+ hours. It’s also worth noting they are made locally in the UK, within a facility that uses (renewable) solar energy.

Top Tip: If you are given a room diffuser or maybe some natural scented candles this Christmas after you’ve used them, why not use the glass bottle as a vase or plant pot? We love the idea of repurposing or upcycling items after use.  

Use Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper

How wonderful would your sustainable Christmas gifts look if you lovingly wrapped them in craft paper and adorned with foraged foliage and ribbons? If you haven’t got time to make your own Christmas wrapping this year, make sure you purchase recycled or recyclable wrapping paper and try to source plastic-free tape.

Reuse Christmas Cards

Check out our range of Greeting Card Gifts here

We can all agree when it comes to presents, those little homemade extras offer something unique. So why not try to make your own Christmas cards this year, it’s also a great way to entertain little ones during the festive build-up. Could you use last years’ Christmas cards as this year’s gift tags? Head over to Hobbycraft for all your crafty essentials. 

Reduce Food Waste

According to Friends of the Earth, one-third of all food gets wasted globally, which is extremely harmful to the environment. Christmas is often a time for excess and indulgence, so make sure you only buy what you need and use up any leftovers where possible.        

Use Hand Crafted Decorations

Ideally, it’s best to reuse your Christmas Tree decorations every year. However, if you feel the need to add a little something extra, why not adorn your tree with some homemade goodies? Perhaps you could whip up a batch of gingerbread cookies and make your home smell good enough to eat. When disposing of unwanted decorations, make sure you drop them to your local charity shop or offer them for free via, eBay rather than sending them off to a landfill. 

We hope with these tips; you can have your most sustainable Christmas to date! If we all make small steps, collectively this will make a big difference. Even if you splash out to buy the best Christmas gifts money can buy, the real gift of Christmas is spending time with loved ones and showing them how much you care (even if it is virtually)! 

From our family to yours, have a wonderfully sustainable Christmas! x

---

The Somerset Toiletry Company has been creating luxury body care and home fragrance for over two decades now. If you’d like to know more, read our about us page, or explore all our scented toiletries, home fragrances and more on our website.