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Ecologi’s top 20 list of Eco-gift ideas for the festive season 2020

With the festive season fast approaching it’s important to remember that the gifts you buy can show your love, not only for your friends and family, but also for the planet. It can be so easy to just click ‘buy it now’ on Amazon, but more than ever it is important to consider the environmental impacts of your gifts and to support independent businesses that are doing good things. It is much more important to buy less, but buying well is also key! 
It can sometimes be difficult to find small local businesses that sell the thing you are after, and more often than not big businesses dominate our search engines. Some good tips include looking on websites such as <a href="https://www.etsy.com/">Etsy</a>, <a href="https://www.notonthehighstreet.com/">NotontheHighStreet</a>, <a href="https://www.trouva.com/">Trouva</a>, <a href="https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/">Social Enterprise UK </a>and local ‘made in’ websites like <a href="https://madeinfolkestone.co.uk/">Made in Folkestone</a> to find independent brands from your local area. A lot of small businesses sell on Instagram too. So, try searching some hashtags such as #ShopSmall #ShopLocal and #SmallBusinessess. If your friend has a company that you think is great – buy from them and tell all your friends to share the message! You can also find ethical brands, and get ethical ratings of your favourite brands on the Good On You ethical fashion App. 
For so many of us the festive season is tied up with consumerism. We learn from a young age that it is all about presents, and that you must buy gifts for absolutely everyone otherwise you don’t care about them. However, we are starting to learn that this is neither sustainable nor necessary. There are so many alternatives to buying presents: you can give your time, give an experience, or even give preloved items. When you do buy presents, it is important to consider whether the person will really value it, and to make sure that it will have a positive impact somehow- e.g. climate smart or supporting local businesses. For those that want to buy less and buy well but have no ideas, we’ve compiled a list of our top 20 eco gift suggestions.

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Guerilla gardening grenades filled with flower power potential, these bombs contain a mix of wildflower seeds that will grow into bright and beautiful nectar rich flowers loved by bees. All you need to do is throw the bomb, and it will split open upon impact with the ground and grow. Seedbombs are quick and easy ways for us all to help our local biodiversity. 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2130 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110438/Pollinator-Beebom-Seedbom_LS_SQ-S-copy-600x600-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110438/Pollinator-Beebom-Seedbom_LS_SQ-S-copy-600x600-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110438/Pollinator-Beebom-Seedbom_LS_SQ-S-copy-600x600-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110438/Pollinator-Beebom-Seedbom_LS_SQ-S-copy-600x600.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://kabloom.co.uk/product/pollinator-beebom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Seedbomb </a>    Price: £3.95

2.  Climate Positive Gin from the Arbikie Distillery

Dubbed as the ‘world&#8217;s first climate positive gin’ this gin is made from peas! It has a carbon footprint of -1.54 kg CO2e per 700ml bottle, as well as a smooth and refreshing taste with undertones of citrus leaf and lemongrass.
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2162 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201209123652/1582043731SinclairBay-1-273x300.jpg" alt="" width="273" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201209123652/1582043731SinclairBay-1-273x300.jpg 273w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201209123652/1582043731SinclairBay-1.jpg 676w" sizes="(max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px" />
<a href="https://www.arbikie.com/item/23/Nadr-Gin.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Gin</a>     Price: £43

We are spending more time than ever at home right now, so it’s especially important to make it smell nice! Good Candles make candles that are hand poured with responsibly sourced soy wax and they donate 10% of the sales to good causes, including funding climate solutions and planting trees, the National Literacy Trust, and CALM. 
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-2132" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110924/candle-forest-fire-soy-candle-planting-20-trees-for-every-sale-1_1080x-e1607591955951-300x178.png" alt="" width="505" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110924/candle-forest-fire-soy-candle-planting-20-trees-for-every-sale-1_1080x-e1607591955951-300x178.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110924/candle-forest-fire-soy-candle-planting-20-trees-for-every-sale-1_1080x-e1607591955951-1024x609.png 1024w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110924/candle-forest-fire-soy-candle-planting-20-trees-for-every-sale-1_1080x-e1607591955951-768x457.png 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208110924/candle-forest-fire-soy-candle-planting-20-trees-for-every-sale-1_1080x-e1607591955951.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 505px) 100vw, 505px" />
<a href="https://good-candles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Candles</a>     £35

4. Plastic Free Bath Products from Ethique 

Ethique produces cosmetic products that are 100%  free from plastic and palm oil. They are also carbon neutral and vegan! Try this gift trial pack containing a shampoo bar, conditioner bar, solid face cleanser and solid butter block. This is the ideal gift pack for someone trying to go plastic free and the products smell incredible too!
<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-2134 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111425/Picture-Ethique.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111425/Picture-Ethique.png 273w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111425/Picture-Ethique-150x150.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://ethique.co.uk/products/gift-trial-pack-for-normal-skin-hair?geo_redirection_stay=1&amp;geo_currency=GBP" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Gift Pack</a>     Price: £11

Give the gift of long-lasting climate action. Ecologi Gifting allows you to buy your loved ones Christmas Trees (forests of 100, 250, or 500 trees) this Christmas. The trees in these gifts do amazing things, supporting local biodiversity and local communities, and these benefits will be felt for many years to come! Your recipient can keep track of their trees in their very own virtual forest where they can watch them grow and learn more about them. 
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-2135" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111639/gifting_pr_1-1-1-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="533" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111639/gifting_pr_1-1-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111639/gifting_pr_1-1-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111639/gifting_pr_1-1-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111639/gifting_pr_1-1-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111639/gifting_pr_1-1-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px" />
<a href="https://ecologi.com/gifting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Ecologi Tree Planting gifts</a>     Price: From £24.00

The ethos behind this dutch chocolate company is to fully eradicate slavery in chocolate production. They also actively train the farmers they work with to implement more environmentally-friendly production methods, such as minimising the use of pesticides, offset their emissions, and deforestation within their supply chain is strictly prohibited. Try the milk caramel sea salt bar &#8211; it&#8217;s delicious! 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2136 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111755/Tonys-Chocolonely-Fairtrade-Chocolate_1c13dc4e-f908-407c-9805-25aabfcce5a8_1024x1024-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111755/Tonys-Chocolonely-Fairtrade-Chocolate_1c13dc4e-f908-407c-9805-25aabfcce5a8_1024x1024-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111755/Tonys-Chocolonely-Fairtrade-Chocolate_1c13dc4e-f908-407c-9805-25aabfcce5a8_1024x1024-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111755/Tonys-Chocolonely-Fairtrade-Chocolate_1c13dc4e-f908-407c-9805-25aabfcce5a8_1024x1024-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111755/Tonys-Chocolonely-Fairtrade-Chocolate_1c13dc4e-f908-407c-9805-25aabfcce5a8_1024x1024.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://tonyschocolonely.com/uk/en/our-chocolate/product/milk-caramel-sea-salt-180-gram-1-bar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Chocolate</a>     Price: £3.98

55 African elephants are killed a day for their tusks, and in Asia elephants have disappeared from 85% of their historic range. By adopting an elephant you are helping to fund WWF’s work to protect elephant habitats, reduce poaching and address human-elephant conflict. You will receive a welcome pack, regular updates and a personalised adoption certificate to give to your loved one. 
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-2137" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111902/WWF_Elephant_Online_Certificate_1-300x176.jpg" alt="" width="510" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111902/WWF_Elephant_Online_Certificate_1-300x176.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111902/WWF_Elephant_Online_Certificate_1.jpg 539w" sizes="(max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px" />
<a href="https://support.wwf.org.uk/adopt-an-elephant?_ga=2.225425118.51780786.1605099322-285360307.1605099322" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Adopt an Elephant</a>      Price: from £3 a month

Turtle bags are a stylish way to reduce your plastic footprint. They are made from certified organic cotton and available in a wide range of beautiful colours.
 <img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2138 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111957/Screenshot-2020-12-07-12.28.16-298x300.png" alt="" width="298" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111957/Screenshot-2020-12-07-12.28.16-298x300.png 298w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111957/Screenshot-2020-12-07-12.28.16-150x150.png 150w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208111957/Screenshot-2020-12-07-12.28.16.png 584w" sizes="(max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px" />
<a href="https://www.turtlebags.co.uk/product-page/organic-short-handled-string-bag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Turtle Bags</a>     Price: £6

E-waste has become the world’s fastest growing waste stream, and a typical new phone creates at least 79kg of CO2 emissions. Reboxed provides a sustainable alternative by selling certified refurbished phones and allowing high-spec handsets that would otherwise go to waste, to find new homes. What’s more, they aim to make every phone carbon positive by planting 10 trees and paying to offset its lifetime CO2 emissions! 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2139 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112121/reboxed-boxes_1200x_041febd6-a243-468a-aa6d-2b11f4232c28_900x-300x295.png" alt="" width="300" height="295" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112121/reboxed-boxes_1200x_041febd6-a243-468a-aa6d-2b11f4232c28_900x-300x295.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112121/reboxed-boxes_1200x_041febd6-a243-468a-aa6d-2b11f4232c28_900x-768x754.png 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112121/reboxed-boxes_1200x_041febd6-a243-468a-aa6d-2b11f4232c28_900x.png 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://reboxed.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Reboxed Phones </a>    Price: from £200

10. Zero-waste Shave Gift Set from Know the Origin

This zero-waste shave gift set gives an amazing shave, while also helping to reduce single-use and plastic waste. It comes with a stainless steel razor, 10 razor blades, a shaving bar, razor disposal tin and an organic cotton drawstring bag, all vegan and free of palm oil, and is packaged in a recycled cardboard box.
<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-2140 size-medium aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112313/Zero-Waste-Shave-With-Bag_540x-e1607426694498-300x275.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="275" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112313/Zero-Waste-Shave-With-Bag_540x-e1607426694498-300x275.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112313/Zero-Waste-Shave-With-Bag_540x-e1607426694498.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://knowtheorigin.com/products/zero-waste-shave-giftset" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Shave Giftset </a>    Price: £35

Artfinder sells artwork from local artists that can awaken our imagination and transform our homes. They aim to provide a platform where artists can make a living doing what they love, and anyone can easily find and buy original artworks – no matter their taste or budget. Every single piece is unique and signed by the artist, carrying its own story.
<img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2192" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201211094107/0E143C27-0C31-463F-A4FB-393A68061BD5-300x238.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="238" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201211094107/0E143C27-0C31-463F-A4FB-393A68061BD5-300x238.jpeg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201211094107/0E143C27-0C31-463F-A4FB-393A68061BD5-1024x811.jpeg 1024w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201211094107/0E143C27-0C31-463F-A4FB-393A68061BD5-768x608.jpeg 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201211094107/0E143C27-0C31-463F-A4FB-393A68061BD5.jpeg 1364w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://www.artfinder.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Artwork</a>  Price: From £18

Food wastage contributes 6.7% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Rubies in the Rubble make products that are packed with delicious ingredients that would otherwise go to waste &#8211; not because they taste any different, but because they’re the wrong shape, size or colour. Try this delicious taster pack of chilli onion relish, tomato ketchup and chilli mayo. 
<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-2144 size-medium aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112822/TasterBundle_grande-e1607592019581-300x263.png" alt="" width="300" height="263" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112822/TasterBundle_grande-e1607592019581-300x263.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208112822/TasterBundle_grande-e1607592019581.png 400w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://rubiesintherubble.com/products/taster-pack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Taster Pack </a>     Price: £10

Homemade gifts are a cheap and creative way to show someone that you care, all while being great for your carbon footprint! The Sustainable Cooks have a great blog on handmade gift ideas- from truffles, to quilts, to natural lip balm. 
      <img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2145 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113056/dark-chocolate-truffles-1-e1607427084460-288x300.jpg" alt="" width="288" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113056/dark-chocolate-truffles-1-e1607427084460-288x300.jpg 288w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113056/dark-chocolate-truffles-1-e1607427084460.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px" />
<a href="https://www.sustainablecooks.com/handmade-gift-ideas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Blog</a>     Price: from £0

In the UK alone, 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown away each year. Frank Green’s reusable cups are a sustainable and stylish alternative to this. You can customise to your heart’s content, choosing different colours for the lid, the button, and the base, and all coffee cups are recyclable at the end of their use. 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2146 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113322/Picture1-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113322/Picture1-300x300.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113322/Picture1-150x150.png 150w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113322/Picture1.png 375w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://uk.frankgreen.com/collections/reusable-cups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Coffee Cups </a>     Price: from £19.99

Use your gifts this year to make a difference to those who really need it. The Choose Love store allows you to buy items for those living in refugee camps, from a hot meal, to sleeping bags, to legal aid. These purchases also come with an option for a link to a downloadable gift card that can be wrapped up to give to your loved one. 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2148 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113618/Picture-Chose-Love-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113618/Picture-Chose-Love-300x300.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113618/Picture-Chose-Love-150x150.png 150w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113618/Picture-Chose-Love.png 602w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://choose.love/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Choose Love Store</a>      Price: from £5

Many tea bags that we buy actually still contain plastic! Teapigs produce quality tea, sourced sustainably, in packaging that’s better for the environment and their teabags are entirely plastic-free and compostable! Their teas are also delicious and they have some exciting winter flavours like gluhwein tea and spiced pear tea. Try this selection box of 12 teas, which allows you to test out a whole range of flavours.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-2149" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113832/Picture-Tea.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113832/Picture-Tea.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113832/Picture-Tea-150x150.png 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://www.teapigs.co.uk/collections/gift-sets-1/products/tea-pick-n-mix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Teapigs Giftset</a>      Price: £17.99

This cookbook is the complete guide to how you can make your food stretch further in order to reduce your waste. Packed full of over 100 creative recipes, Giovanna Torrico and Amelia Wasiliev highlight how you can make use of the food that so often goes to waste. 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2150 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113921/9781784882471-227x300.jpg" alt="" width="227" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113921/9781784882471-227x300.jpg 227w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208113921/9781784882471.jpg 378w" sizes="(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px" />
<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-zero-waste-cookbook/giovanna-torrico/amelia-wasiliev/9781784882471" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Cookbook </a>     Price: £16.99

These great-tasting, vegan beers are committed to saving water in an otherwise wasteful industry. Typically it requires 8-10 pints of water to brew a single pint of beer, however the team at Small Beer have whittled it down to just 1.5 pints of water per pint. Try the craft beer gift pack which includes 4 x 350ml bottles of Small Beer and 2 x branded half pint glasses. 
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-2151" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114137/Picture-Beer-e1607592119908-300x142.png" alt="" width="424" height="200" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114137/Picture-Beer-e1607592119908-300x142.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114137/Picture-Beer-e1607592119908.png 602w" sizes="(max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px" />
<a href="https://theoriginalsmallbeer.com/products/small-beer-gift-pack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Beer </a>      Price: £18

Designed scientifically, this odourless, biomorphic worm composter turns food scraps into fertiliser. Drop fruit and vegetable peelings, grain foods, and tea bags into a top opening and the worms-in-residence will quickly turn it into compost! The composter can process over two pounds of food a week, enough to keep up with most or all of the scraps in a two-or three-person household. Spread the easily removable compost next to your plants or in pots, and watch them grow.
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2152 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114254/47184_1_640px-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114254/47184_1_640px-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114254/47184_1_640px-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114254/47184_1_640px.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<a href="https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/living-composter?clickid=3uJTJq2jsxyLWguwUx0Mo3EFUkEzhLx1AxE7zw0&amp;irgwc=1&amp;utm_source=Skimbit%20Ltd.&amp;utm_medium=affiliates&amp;utm_campaign=8444&amp;utm_term=Online%20Tracking%20Link&amp;trafficSource=Impact&amp;sharedid=housebeautiful.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Composter</a>     Price: £148.30

Lucy &amp; Yak make beautiful, high-quality garments with the aim that everyone that has an input is treated, and paid, fairly. Clothes are made from organic fabrics and produced in a factory in India, where workers are paid four times the minimum wage. All their packaging is also 100% biodegradable and these colourful Co-ords are beyond funky! 
<img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-2153 aligncenter" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114436/Lucy_And_Yak_29_28_10_201369_2bff3cb9-530f-4331-ad4a-d47006ae5164_600x-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114436/Lucy_And_Yak_29_28_10_201369_2bff3cb9-530f-4331-ad4a-d47006ae5164_600x-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20201208114436/Lucy_And_Yak_29_28_10_201369_2bff3cb9-530f-4331-ad4a-d47006ae5164_600x.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
<a href="https://lucyandyak.com/collections/colourful-co-ords?page=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link to Colourful Cords </a>   Price: £30-52

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Christmas is definitely one of the most wonderful times of the year, however it is also one of the most wasteful. In the UK, an<a href="https://www.biffa.co.uk/media-centre/news/new-research-shows-brits-are-dreaming-of-a-green-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> extra 30% of rubbish</a> is produced and discarded throughout the festive period when compared with the rest of the year. This is in the region of 3 million tonnes. One big culprit is Christmas wrapping paper. An estimated <a href="https://www.biffa.co.uk/media-centre/news/new-research-shows-brits-are-dreaming-of-a-green-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">227,000 miles</a> of wrapping paper is thrown away in the UK each Christmas, meaning that the average household will go through four rolls of wrapping paper and about 40 million rolls of sticky tape. You don’t want to go through all the trouble of buying super eco-friendly gifts just to wrap it in wasteful, non-recyclable paper! Switching to plain brown paper or newspaper fastened with string or ribbon instead of tape is one way to reduce your waste. 
Wrapping presents in lengths of fabric, following the Japanese art of fabric wrapping: furoshiki, is another option that is becoming more and more popular. These cloths are both beautiful and reusable and can be passed from person to person. When you do use wrapping paper, make sure to do the scrunch test to determine if it can be recycled. This involves schrunching the paper in your hand, and if it remains schrunched it is recyclable. You can also unwrap your presents very carefully and save wrapping paper year after year! 
If you are sending presents to loved ones, <a href="https://heapsgoodpackaging.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HeapsGood packaging</a> has some brilliant compostable packaging options including 100% biodegradable Ecomailers that will break down in 3-6 months! 
There are many ways that you can adapt your wrapping habits to be more sustainable and thus, in our eyes, more in line with the true spirit of Christmas.

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We hope that this blog has given you some great tips for how to have a more sustainable festive season. There has never been a better time to try something different and step back from the excessive consumerism that so often dominates this time of year.
If you want to do more, and help plant trees and fund climate solutions, <a href="https://ecologi.com/plan">sign up</a> to Ecologi today.

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Stay up-to-date with the biggest sustainability stories shaping the business landscape. Each edition highlights critical shifts in climate news, policy and finance, providing clear analysis of emerging risks and opportunities for sustainability professionals.

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UK Voluntary Carbon Market Guide: Best Practices for Climate Action

The voluntary carbon market plays an important role in corporate climate strategies – but its effectiveness relies on buyers doing due diligence and rigorous quality assessment on each project, as well as placing the purchase of credits in the right place in the climate journey.
To ensure meaningful climate impact, businesses must develop a comprehensive carbon strategy and find ways to fund only high-quality credits in the voluntary carbon market – and this guide shows you how to do so with Ecologi.

<h2>Table of contents</h2>
<ul>
<li>When to buy carbon credits</li>
<li>Our new carbon projects assessment framework</li>
<li>Ecologi&#8217;s core due diligence principles</li>
<li>How Ecologi scores and ranks carbon credit projects</li>
<li>Questions to ask your carbon credit supplier</li>
<li>Take action in the voluntary carbon market</li>
</ul>

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<h2>When should businesses buy carbon credits in the voluntary market?</h2>
Businesses must not use credits in place of making direct, measurable reductions in their emissions. Instead, follow these steps to ensure you buy your carbon credits on the right step of your corporate climate action journey, and in the right way:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Measure your emissions first – to allow you to understand where your business’s emissions are coming from. 
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Set science-based targets and work towards them – set ambitious targets aligned with the SBTi and compatible with the global 1.5ºC warming target.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) – design your BVCM portfolio to work alongside your decarbonisation plan and address your unabated emissions in each reporting year. Align it with SBTi guidance and the Oxford Principles. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Buy high-quality carbon credits – use this guide to ensure the carbon credits you buy meet rigorous quality standards. Remember, under the SBTi framework you’ll also need permanent carbon removal credits for neutralising your residual emissions when you reach your net-zero date.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Disclose and report transparently – publicly disclose information about your carbon credit purchases, and clearly communicate the limited role of carbon credits in your broader sustainability strategy.</li>
</ol>

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<h2>Ecologi&#8217;s carbon project assessment framework</h2>
In April 2025, we published a report summarising how we assess carbon credit projects against our rigorous proprietary rubric. A snapshot of what goes into our carbon credit project assessment is below, or you <a href="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20250428124112/Ecologi_Whitepaper_A4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">download the full whitepaper here</a>.

<h2>Carbon project due diligence: Ecologi’s core principles</h2>
At Ecologi, we maintain general due diligence principles which we apply universally across the voluntary carbon market, to support our efforts to supply only high-quality carbon credits.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">ICROA-endorsed standards only – we supply credits exclusively from carbon standards which are ICROA-endorsed.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Responsive to ICVCM decisions – we support the ICVCM’s two-tick approach to providing CCP-Approval to project methodologies, and we go further still, to assess individual projects on their merits and limitations as well.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Keep the carbon credit life cycle as short as possible – 75% of our credits in 2024 came directly from project developers and their nominated dispensaries (as opposed to intermediaries on the secondary market), maximising the proportion of purchase price which goes to the developer.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Locally-appropriate projects only – we take care to ensure that supported projects are being applied in appropriate geographies, where they can have the greatest impact.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Deep project-level scrutiny – our extensive assessment criteria are specific to each type of project, and we assess every project against these criteria, ensuring the project’s specifics have been taken into account.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Methodological consensus – we synthesise data we receive from our partners Sylvera, BeZero Carbon, Calyx Global and Renoster) with our own in-house analysis to uncover where there is consensus about project quality, and improve confidence.</li>
</ul>

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<h2>How to evaluate carbon credits: Ecologi&#8217;s scoring methodology</h2>
We designed a three-layer assessment process which takes into account the merits and limitations of the carbon standard used, the carbon credit methodology used, and of the individual project design.
The tables below summarise some of the data inputs we use at each stage.

<h3>Assessment level: Carbon Standard</h3>
Examples: Gold Standard, Verra, Puro Earth, Isometric, Plan Vivo.

<h3>Assessment level: Methodology (or ‘Protocol’)</h3>
Examples: GS TPDDTEC, VM0048, ACM0002.

<h3>Assessment level: Project</h3>
Examples: GS 10790, VCS 1571.

Criteria in the assessment are categorised as either quality criteria or risk criteria, and are segmented by our three pillars of impact: Climate, Nature and People. Based on how it meets each criterion, the project gains points for quality criteria, and loses points for excess risk – ultimately giving a risk-adjusted value out of 100 for each of these pillars.
Having gathered our risk-adjusted pillar scores, we use our own unique scoring formula which weights the risk-adjusted Climate score of the project equally with the combined risk-adjusted Nature and People scores. The formula then produces an ‘overall’ score (also out of 100) for the project. In order to be supplied by Ecologi, projects must meet a minimum overall score of 80, and must achieve no lower than 65 in any given risk-adjusted pillar score.

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<h2>Key questions to ask carbon credit suppliers</h2>
Selecting the right carbon credit provider is important to help guide you to make informed choices as part of your corporate sustainability strategy. Before purchasing carbon credits, businesses should ask:
<h3>Project quality </h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Do you assess/validate/underwrite project quality? If so, how?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Do your projects get good ratings from the ratings agencies? If so, what ratings are they?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Do you source credits directly from project developers, or from the secondary market?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Do you monitor projects over time to ensure continued success, and how do you remedy it, if a project&#8217;s quality drops?</li>
</ul>
<h3>Due diligence</h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you ensure you are supporting the right projects in the right locations?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you account for project permanence and mitigate risks?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">What makes your projects additional?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you assess the project&#8217;s impacts on climate, nature and people?</li>
</ul>
<h3>Positioning</h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you contribute to the development of a high integrity voluntary carbon market?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Do you align your portfolios with the Oxford Principles? If so, how?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">How do you reflect ICVCM guidance on carbon credit methodologies and technologies?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Do you build multi-year portfolios that align to mid- &amp; long-term SBTs?</li>
</ul>
As the voluntary carbon market evolves, corporate buyers have the power and the responsibility to demand high-impact credits to drive real climate progress. This means buyers have a responsibility to do due diligence before placing an order for carbon credits.

<h2>Take action in the voluntary carbon market</h2>
As a business committed to corporate climate action, understanding the voluntary carbon market is essential for making informed decisions about carbon credits. Our comprehensive whitepaper provides deeper insights into creating an effective sustainability strategy.
<a href="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20250428124112/Ecologi_Whitepaper_A4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Download our full whitepaper</a> to learn how your business can navigate the voluntary carbon market with confidence.

<h2>Connect with one of our climate experts</h2>
Please complete our form to arrange a 30-minute discovery call to discuss your goals and get a tailored solution for your business.

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The Good News timeline

It’s not all bad. While there’s a lot of negative news about the climate, let’s not forget the good stuff. Find climate wins, reasons to be hopeful and plenty of positivity in our good news timeline.

Ecologi’s top 20 list of Eco-gift ideas for the festive season 2020

How to lower your impact this Christmas

1. Seedbomb

2. Climate Positive Gin from the Arbikie Distillery

3. Good Candles

4. Plastic Free Bath Products from Ethique

5. Ecologi Gifting

6. Tony’s Chocolonely Chocolate

7. Adopt an WWF elephant

8. Turtle Bags

9. Planet-Friendly Phones from Reboxed

10. Zero-waste Shave Gift Set from Know the Origin

11. Art from Artfinder

12. Rubies in the Rubble Taster Pack

13. Homemade Gifts

14. Frank Green Reusable Coffee Cup

15. Choose love, Help refugees

16. TeaPigs Pick n’ mix Gift Sets

17. The Zero-Waste Cookbook

18. Eco-Friendly Beer

19. Living Composter

20. Lucy & Yak Colourful Co-ords

A note on packaging...

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