Half of UK adults want a more sustainable Christmas

UK consumers celebrating Christmas prefer a holiday season that is more environmentally friendly and less wasteful. Typically regarded as a time of year of over-indulging and excessive waste, consumers feel brands should do more around sustainability, especially during Christmas.

Research from CIM shows 53 percent of adults want a more ‘greener’ Christmas, with 45 percent of respondents willing to spend more money on sustainable festive products. 64 percent of the 2,000 survey respondents expect brands and marketing teams to be more transparent about the impact Christmas products and services could have on the environment, and will look for alternatives if these expectations aren’t met.

According to CIM many consumers are already taking the initiative and are not waiting for brands to catch up, seeking out more sustainable festive options for themselves, with 41 percent reusing Christmas decorations rather than buying new ones, 22 percent are buying from local businesses and 26 percent opting for a plastic reusable Christmas tree rather than buying a real tree. Other popular options include renting outfits for parties instead of purchasing new clothes, sustainable gift packaging and sending e-cards rather than Christmas cards.

Excessive Christmas packaging

For the last three years, CIM has conducted research exploring consumers’ views on how much packaging companies use. Their data shows that the vast majority, 82 percent, of UK adults agree companies use too much when delivering or selling in-store products. Additionally, 78 percent want to see more being done by large companies to promote sustainable packaging, up 16 percentage points from last year.

The issue of over-packaging appears to influence consumers’ shopping habits too – 30 percent said receiving an online order with excess packaging has put them off ordering from the same company again, whilst 34 percent prefer to click and collect services that save on the carbon emissions associated with home deliveries.

Green New Year resolutions

The WWF recently stated 71 per cent of adults are set to make green New Year resolutions to be more environmentally friendly in 2022.

Article source: The Chartered Institute of Marketing Green Christmas survey