Australians are embracing sustainability this Christmas and choosing ‘eco-friendly’ gifts
Christmas is a time for giving but many of those gifts find their way to landfill. This year Australians want to break the cycle.
Retail
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Last Christmas Australians gifted each other millions in presents and gifted landfill with more than 10 million unwanted gifts.
Australians spent $400 million on these unwanted gifts, but this year things may be different.
ING research found that this year 57 per cent of Australians planned to buy sustainable gifts and 23 per cent would prefer a socially conscious present under their tree.
The nation’s largest shopping centre chain, Westfield, is already noticing a shift in consumer trends.
The Scentre group operates Westfield and its group general manager centre experience, Lilian Fadel, said there was a major push across retailers for sustainable products.
“With a major focus on conscious consumption, many of Westfield’s customers are turning to sustainable and eco-friendly gifts this season, such as reusable keep cups, environmentally friendly clothing ranges and organic products such as skincare and grooming products,” she said.
It extended beyond just gifts, Ms Fadel said, with parents looking for wooden toys over plastic ones and even making their Christmas menu from sustainable foods.
“Many of our quick service food retailers are shifting to sustainable materials, including compostable coffee cups and bamboo cutlery. In addition, some fashion retailers offer discounts or vouchers for customers who recycle second-hand clothing.”
However, what stopped many from buying sustainably was the difficulty identifying and purchasing sustainable products, said ING’s head of retail Melanie Evans.
“ING is really interested in this concept of waste and how Aussies can solve the problem. We are aware that it’s an issue and we wanted to make it easier,” Ms Evans said.
To that end, ING created the Good Gift Creator that helps Aussies find gifts that are good for the environment, either through using sustainable products or products that have been created by upcycling.
The creator is an extension of the bank’s Dreamstarter initiative that helped to fund social entrepreneurs.
“You tell the Good Gift Creator a bit about yourself or the person your gifting for and it will give you a list of the products that are socially or environmentally friendly. We make it easy to give sustainable gifts rather than gifts that don’t give back or end up in the bin,” Ms Evans said.
She said giving sustainably also made many Australians feel good, so the gift creator ended up becoming about more than just presents.
“We are so focused on getting presents for people that sometimes we may not feel great about gifting what we are passing on. What this research showed was that by making it easier to choose sustainable gifts there was a feel-good factor to it as well,” Ms Evans said.
One such gift is Raise The Bar, which sells natural coffee scrubs made out of used coffee grounds from Sydney cafes.
“There is a wakening around the wasteful time of year that it is. A lot of people are struggling for time and it’s not easy to research products that also do good,” Raise The Bar founder Bronte Hogarth told news.com.au.
Not only are Raise The Bar’s products sustainable, but Ms Hogarth said buying from local business had a bigger impact on the community than purchasing from a major retailer.
“It’s important to support small Australian businesses that have big impact, and when you support us you let us continue the work we want to do. It’s important and special,” she said.
Audrey Khaing-Jones, co-founder and chief executive of GlamCorner, said more people were becoming more mindful of sustainability and that extended into their fashion choices.
“Australians are truly becoming conscious consumers and thinking ahead to consider the long-term environmental impact of products – and where these products will eventually end up,” she said.
GlamCorner is a clothing rental portal that helps give Aussies access to thousands of clothing options without contributing to textile waste.
Ms Khaing-Jones said Australians were embracing sustainable options but they still wanted to access the best parts of fashion.
“That’s a big reason why we developed our subscription model, to give Australian women access to high-end designer brands in a way that not only doesn’t break the bank but also encourages sustainable clothing consumption,” she said.
This Christmas GlamCorner has also introduced gift cards for Australians who want to introduce people to sustainability.
“When it comes to clothing there are heaps of other options than spending money on fast fashion. From things like shopping at op-shops for one-of-a-kind gifts or renting new holiday outfits rather than buying, now is the time to think green as we move into 2020 and beyond,” Ms Khaing-Jones said.
Originally published as Australians are embracing sustainability this Christmas and choosing ‘eco-friendly’ gifts