Environmental effects of presents and wrapping are turning many off physical gifts

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

From stocking fillers and novelty gifts to extravagant main presents, for all its religious and cultural significance Christmas has long been a festival of giving stuff, and lots of it.

But with people becoming increasingly eco-conscious and social media savvy, many are forgoing physical presents and opting instead to gift experiences.

Sales on Black Friday, which falls less than a month before the big day – allowing Christmas shoppers to take advantage of online and in-store sales – saw a significant rise in experience packages, including weekend breaks, comedy nights and stadium tours this year.

The department store Debenhams said Black Friday sales in the category were up 13% from last year – with food and drink experiences, such as bottomless brunches and afternoon teas, up 15%.

Red Letter Days, alongside its parent company Buyagift, also reported that demand for experience gifts had almost doubled in the past five years.

Richard Hurd-Wood, the chief executive of Virgin Experience Days, which saw a 92% increase in Black Friday sales compared with 2018, said consumers were becoming more aware of the environmental impact of their purchases and opting out of buying as many disposable gifts.

“Another factor is of course the so-called ‘Instagram generation’. While many people purchase experiences to get away from it all, some use it as an opportunity to garner and share content over their social media channels,” he added.

In light of shifting tastes among younger generations, the selection of gift experiences – which are often sent as e-vouchers, giving recipients the option to decide where and when they want to go – are also expanding.

While Virgin offers eco-friendly activities, such as an £80 class to make bespoke up-cycled shoes and vegan cookery classes, the online shop Not on the High Street is selling all manner of offbeat gifts, from a wild food foraging trip with the Masterchef winner Mat Follas to a 90-minute alpaca walk or an urban beekeeping taster session.

A spokesperson for Buyagift said: “The mindset when purchasing gifts has changed as people are considering the emotional and environmental impacts more; we are seeing more value being placed on gifts that create long-lasting memories over gifts that can be thrown away.”

A study by the waste management company Biffa found that the UK creates 30% more waste than usual over Christmas, including an estimated 227,000 miles of wrapping paper and 114,000 tonnes of plastic packaging.

The rise in sales of activities rather than things comes amid a backdrop of declining retail purchases in the UK. In July, concerned stores reported the longest period of falling sales in eight years, although much of the downturn has been ascribed to Brexit uncertainty.

On Black Friday, which fell on 29 November, Barclaycard reported a 16.5% increase in transactions compared with last year, with the volume of transactions up 7.2%.