Top Alternatives to Amazon for Eco Conscious Christmas Gifts
Amazon is an iconic name and logo we all know and recognise, with it being the world's biggest retailer. However, it has become a one-stop shop and is dominating smaller businesses. Amazon started selling books in 1995 before creating the well-known marketplace in 2000. In 2014, Amazon added one new book every five minutes, and in 2017, Amazon was said to be the biggest book retailer in the world. According to the data gathered in 2016, it has been observed that 55% of individuals in the United States commence their online shopping excursions on Amazon. This forces brands to rely on Amazon; otherwise, they will miss out on the platform's potential sales, strengthening Amazon's market dominance.
A boycott of Amazon was started in 2012 by The Ethical Consumer because of its tax avoidance strategies. They explained that the embargo began in 2011 because the world's biggest online retailer, Amazon, generated UK sales of £2.9bn yet paid only £1.8m in corporation tax. This further practice continues, with The Guardian reporting that Amazon paid just £1m in tax despite a 60% rise in online sales in 2022. The Ethical Consumer in 2022 estimated that in 2021 up to half a billion pounds could have been lost to the UK exchequer from the corporation tax avoidance of just one company, Amazon.
Amazon also has a history of poor staff welfare around the world. In the UK, one worker, quoted in The Guardian, said she has to pick an average of 360 items an hour, or around 3,800 a day. This translates as one item every 6.7 seconds.
Veo
Veo is one alternative to Amazon, which describes itself as the world's most sustainable online shopping destination. Veo has thousands of products listed under categories such as men, women, children, food, and home. Each product has an ethics drop-down menu which looks at if the product is made fairly, suitable for vegans, made with care, free from toxins, made in an energy-efficient manner and cruelty-free. According to The Ethical Consumer, Veo is also a certified B Corporation and the top ethical online shopping website.
Plastic Freedom
Plastic Freedom is an online retailer based in the United Kingdom that offers products such as skincare, haircare, gifts, and sexual toys. Her company started with £300 of her money. Since then, she has grown and added more products to the website regularly. Recently, the brand opened its first shop in the heart of London. All orders arrive plastic-free, and many of the products they sell can be returned and refilled.
Protect the Planet
Protect the Planet is a smaller online retailer with the most bespoke gifts from all the sites listed here. Their site's homepage features categories to refine your search to sustainable, organic or recycled products, for example. Their recycled range sells products from companies reusing old fire hoses and circuit boards, preventing them from going to waste. All orders arrived in reused, recyclable or biodegradable packaging.
Pasoluna
Pasoluna is the smallest website on this guide, with limited categories such as living, kitchen & dining, bath and body and gifts. Pasoluna's HQ is based in West Yorkshire and is powered with renewable energy from Octopus Energy. They sell some plastic products; however, they are made from recycled plastics that can, in turn, be recycled again at the end of their life.
Peace with the Wild
Peace with the Wild has the largest refill section with vegan sweets, dried fruits, herbs, and spices. They currently stock products in different categories such as skincare, haircare, bathroom, kitchen and on-the-go. All orders are shipped from the family business HQ in North Lincolnshire. Most of the brands they stock are independent businesses, with over 230 brands shipping listed. All orders arrive in cardboard boxes, and refills come in paper bags.
