Oxford charity on 'green' Christmas

Oxford Friends of the Earth is sharing some eco-friendly ideas for a sustainable festive season

Author: Andrea FoxPublished 5 hours ago
Last updated 5 hours ago

Oxford environmental campaigners says we should be trying to think about having a green Christmas.

Oxford Friends of the Earth say it's more than just lowering food waste and choosing to eat lower carbon impact food. It's also not buying gifts that will be forgotten in a few weeks, and making sure food isn't wasted.

Chris Church from the organisations says there are ways to think about the planet at Christmas time and still have fun;

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can do at Christmas, without not having fun.

"I think everyone tends wants to celebrate at Christmas, I think thinking about having a green Christmas isn't just about using recycling wrapping paper.

"Coming together at Christmas, sharing thoughts thinking about how we don't waste so much food, thinking about how we can use lower impact food."

Pre-loved gifting

The Oxford based charity Oxfam say this Christmas a third of consumers plan to give pre-loved gifts.

The survey, carried out by YouGov for the charity, found that more than half over of those set to buy pre-loved gifts say the main reasons are because it is better for the environment and cheaper than buying new.

One in four (27%) said the main reason they would likely buy a second-hand gift at Christmas is because it will be “unique”.

60% also say they would feel comfortable receiving a pre-loved present for Christmas, while 38% said they feel comfortable gifting a second-hand present to someone else.

For adults, the most popular choice of pre-loved gift is also books with 49% saying they would likely gift second-hand reads this Christmas, while 24% said they would likely gift pre-loved clothes.

The most popular gifts being pre-loved books (34%), toys (30%) and board games.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.