15 Eco-Friendly Secret Santa Christmas Gifts

Secret Santa is a fun and affordable activity to do with your family, friendship groups or colleagues to get into the festive spirit without having to spend a fortune on everyone. Whether you love it or hate it, it can sometimes be hard to find inspiration for gifts that don’t feel really impersonal, especially if there’s a limited budget or you’ve ended up with someone you don’t know very well. 

Furthermore, many store-bought Christmas gifts can be really harmful for the environment, coming with a lot of unnecessary packaging. Why not consider giving an eco-friendly gift this Christmas? We’ve compiled a list of some of our favourites, and there’s something for everyone!

Stationary and Work Essentials

Something for your office pals, a student, or the stationary lover in your life; a selection of recycled pens, pencils and notebooks that could be gifted on their own or put together as a little stationary package!

1. Recycled newspaper pencils - £4.99

A pack of 5 HB pencils, each hand-rolled from recycled newspapers, from Paper High; a company that sources their products from Fair Trade suppliers in Asia.

2. Recycled pens - £3.99

A pack of 2 recycled pens from VENTforchange. These are made from recycled single use plastic and are available in a variety of colours. The brand even makes a charitable donation towards global children’s education projects from every sale of one of their products!

3. Hubbard & Reenie A5 notebook - £3.49

Hubbard & Reenie notebooks are made from 100% recycled material and their stunning designs are printed using vegetable inks. Each hand drawn design has a nature theme (very apt for an eco friendly gift!), including a woodland scene, bees, whales, moths and more! 

4. Reusable coffee cup - from £9.99

Available in two sizes; 400ml and 500ml, this reusable coffee cup from Huski is ideal for taking your hot drinks on the go or on your commute to work, university or school. Carrying a reusable cup is great for reducing the need for single use, non recyclable materials, and this Huski cup is made from rice husks, making it even more eco friendly!

5. Reusable lunch box - £13.99

Complete the set with this Huski reusable lunch box. Suitable for hot and cold food and comes with various compartments.

Home and Garden

An array of gorgeous homewares and gifts to spruce up your garden, we struggled to narrow down our favourites!

6. Beach Clean Placemats - £22.99

This is a set of 4 beautiful placemats from Cornwall family business, Liga. Made from materials sourced from beach clean ups, and natural cork, these placemats would make a lovely addition to any table. Liga have a variety of products using finished in the same design, including a matching set of coasters:

7. Beach Clean Coasters - £11.99

8. Gretta Door stopper character - £19.99

A quirky little gift idea for the environmentalists around you, this Gretta Thunberg themed door stop is handcrafted from Alstonia wood and handpainted in Sri Lanka. Other characters and famous faces available, including Elton John, Freddie Mercury and David Attenborough.

9. Unpaper towels - £9.99

These fun reusable towels are a great alternative to kitchen roll and paper towels. They are handmade from organic flannel and organic cotton, and come in a range of colourful designs.

10. Seedballs - £5.99

For the avid gardener, a range of seedball tins created by conservation scientists. Spread these seeds to grow native wildflowers in an eco friendly way that wildlife will love. Tins come suited to hedgehogs, birds, bats and plantlife.

Health and Beauty

If your secret santa partner is someone you don’t know all that well, sometimes a health and beauty product can be a safe bet. 

11. Holland and Barrett sustainable beauty box - £25.00

A bundle of sustainable haircare and skincare products from Holland and Barrett worth over £54 when bought individually! 

12. Eco Warrior exfoliating bar - £5.99

A UK made, vegan friendly exfoliating bar, made from 99.5% naturally derived ingredients. Eco Warrior provides a range of other eco-friendly products including soap, shampoo and facial wash.

13. Reusable makeup pads - £6.99

Ditch your disposable cotton wool pads and makeup wipes for some reusable makeup pads. This pack of 7 cotton wipes is perfect for removing makeup and can just be thrown in with your washing to clean and reuse.

14. Ukraine emergency appeal bamboo socks - £7.99

These socks from Etsy are made from organically grown bamboo from Indonesia. £1 from every pair of socks sold is donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society; save the planet and support a great cause in one.

Feeling spoilt for choice? 

Why not purchase a Protect the Planet gift voucher and let them pick something for themself. Vouchers start from as little as £5 and are valid for 1 year, leaving your secret santa recipient plenty of time to choose their eco-friendly gift.