A greener Christmas? Britons plan on buying fewer plastic presents and using recyclable wrapping paper to reduce their carbon footprint this year
As time runs out to get Christmas presents sorted, new research by Ipsos shows a significant proportion of the British public will change the way they do their Christmas shopping to lower the effect it has on climate change this year.
To help the environment, Britons are most likely to avoid buying plastic presents this year, 36% say they will buy fewer while a third (33%) will buy fewer presents in general. Three in 10 (29%) say they will only use recyclable wrapping paper this year and 2 in 10 (21%) will avoid wrapping altogether by gifting experiences rather than physical presents.
To cut down on carbon emissions from travel, 21% of Britons say they will give locally made presents and 14% will re-gift a gift they have previously received. The same proportion say they will send homemade Christmas cards rather than buying them. One in 10 (10%) Britons will move away from the traditional turkey dinner and enjoy a meat-free Christmas meal.
Half of Britons disagree that Christmas is a time to splash out and not worry about the environmental. One in four (25%) agree they will buy more environmentally friendly presents, even if they cost more.
Along with the environment, Britons appear to be feeling cautious about spending too much money this Christmas. Forty-three per cent say they have less money to spend on Christmas presents this year compared to previous years while only 23% agree they will buy whatever they want irrespective of cost.
When considering how time will be spent this Christmas compared to last year, opinion is split as to how much time will be spent socialising with others. Around 3 in 10 expect to spend more time socialising at their own home with family over (32%), outside their home visiting family (31%) or outside their home visiting friends (28%) than last year. One in four (23%) expect to spend less time socialising outside their home visiting friends compared to last year while 20% say the same about socialising outside visiting family and 17% socialising at home with family.
Pippa Bailey, Head of Innovation at Ipsos, said:
Very few people have been able to ignore the impact that climate change has had on our planet over the past year, with extreme weather conditions experienced globally and also closer to home with flooding and storms. So it is good to see that the very real concern that these events have raised have translated into intentions for citizens to gift in a more sustainable way this Christmas.
Technical note
- Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,100 Britons aged 16-75. Interviews were conducted online between 26-29 November, 2021. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
