We LOVE Christmas here at Herbfarmacy! The food, the laughter, spending time with the family and loved ones and sipping on a glass (or two) of mulled cider - it is truly a magical and fun time!

Unfortunately, lots of Christmas decorations are made from plastic and soon end up in landfill. We have recently launched our Festive Favourites where all the packaging is sustainable and easily recyclable. Proudly plastic free, we use aluminium pots and paper labels and presented in a recyclable craft box.

As an ethical company we are conscious of being as sustainable as possible. So, we decided to combine our love of Christmas with our love of stopping waste ending up in landfill to bring you the ultimate guide to low waste decorations and packaging gifts!

Christmas Decorations

·        Wooden stars and trees made from sustainable wood and plastic-free string, wire to make snowflakes, and baubles made from recycled glass.

·        Salt dough decs which can be made using plain flour, salt and water. These can be used to decorate trees and around the house. Plus, this is a great activity to get kids involved with!

·        Make your own Christmas wreaths by using fallen leaves, pinecones, dried oranges, ribbons, cinnamon sticks, berries, holly and fern.

Packaging for gifts

·        Switch to eco-friendly paper. Use the wrapping paper from “Who Gives a Crap” – lots of nice patterns that the toilet tissue is wrapped in.

·        Make your own wrapping paper with ink stamp used vegetable-based inks.

·        Natural flax twine and ribbons to wrap presents

·        Paper tape instead of sticky tape which can’t be recycled.

·        Hessian gift pouches – perfect for gifting jewellery.

·        Organic cotton drawstring bags – like we use for our loose-leaf tea in our Festive Favourites.

Other sustainable tips include:

1. Avoid buying too many things that will end up being thrown out or unused. Instead, make every gift count by purchasing things with value, purpose and meaning

2. Shop locally! Give the smaller, independent businesses a bit of much-needed love and you likely get a gift you wouldn't find anywhere else.

3. Gift a charity donation - a charity donation is a great way to help share the Christmas spirit with others. For every Festive Favourites sold, we are donating £5 to Hereford Food Bank.

4. Choose one present. Choosing to gift fewer presents helps to ensure people don't end up with lots of little ones they don't need.

5. For your Christmas tree, google around your local area where you can rent Christmas trees and they get replanted after the festive period over!

We hope you find these tips useful and please share your sustainable gifting ideas with us!