There’s nothing quite like the scent of a real Christmas tree in your home over the festive season, and this year London’s top Christmas tree delivery services are adding some extra seasonal sparkle with their ethical offerings. From pot-grown trees that you can rent or re-plant outside to charity donations, tree recycling schemes and eco-friendly electric vans for delivery, any one of these responsibly sourced trees is guaranteed to put a smile on your face this Christmas and beyond. Here’s our edit of the leading ethically-focussed sellers in London to get your sustainable Christmas tree delivery this year.
This ethically-focussed online garden centre has just launched its Christmas offering, with its hardy pot-grown Blue Spruces taking centre stage. By choosing pot grown, you can either replant your tree in your garden at the end of the holidays, or leave it in its pot to use again next year, reducing wastage. Even better, each of these trees is hand-delivered by electric van free of charge to help keep that carbon footprint to a minimum. You can also order lights and decorations through them, too.
This eco-friendly, family-run producer based in Richmond partners with TreeAid, so that for every Christmas tree they sell, they donate enough for one tree to be planted in Africa, helping tackle the climate crisis and provide food and income to alleviate poverty there. Back in the UK, it also plants a tree for every one cut down, and works on a sustainable nine-year harvest cycle to allow for a more stable habitat that welcomes wildlife.
As well as offering sustainable, British pot-grown and traditional cut trees for you to buy online and have delivered via an all-electric fleet of vehicles, this year Green Elf are also offering the option for you to rent a Christmas tree, which will be collected after the holidays and replanted (making it the most sustainable option around). What’s more, they’ll donate £3 for every tree purchased to a Ukrainian refugee charity here in the UK (or you can choose from five other charity partners, including Mind, Great Ormond St Children’s Hospital and British Red Cross), and this festive season they’ll also be donating trees to displaced Ukrainian families currently living in the UK.
Sustainably sourcing its UK-grown trees through NeedleFresh – a grower which minimises its use of pesticides to protect flora, fauna and waterways – On Cloud Pine promises at least two trees will be planted for every one cut down. Fuel emissions are offset and the brand is committed to using exclusively electric vehicles in the next three years for their Christmas tree delivery. What’s more, it also partners with The Royal Parks charity, so by buying through On Cloud Pine you’ll be helping protect London’s green spaces.
Setting up shop at more than 30 sites across London, Pines and Needles is a great option if you want a festive outing to pick your own sustainable Christmas tree this season. Carbon positive throughout the year, Pines and Needles remains carbon neutral even after the festive season, as all emissions from transport are offset by their growing plantations. They also focus on offering organically grown trees from sustainable British forests, all of which can be recycled through the company afterwards. New for this year they’re even offering a range of sustainable Christmas decorations, from wooden tree toppers to baubles made from recycled materials
Good Elf was set up in 2004 to take the hassle out of Christmas tree shopping and since then they’ve curated a short list of the best growers in the country. There’s a huge variety of trees on offer – from non-drop ones to potted varieties – and you can even hire your tree to arrive fully decorated. All of their trees are cherry-picked from quality British growers with the highest sustainable credentials and for every tree harvested, they replace it with a new sapling to start the nine-year growing process all over again. They’ll even come and collect your tree and recycle it for you when you’re done with it.
Every year, up to seven million Christmas trees enter landfill. Christmas on the Hill is on a mission to change that by launching their clever Christmas tree rental service, where you can hire an environmentally friendly pot-grown tree to brighten up your home. All of their trees are grown on a farm in Gloucestershire, and they encourage you to name your tree and rent the same one each year. You can order online to have your tree delivered anywhere in London, or if you’d rather choose one in person, they’re currently hosting a pop-up at Alexandra Palace where you can do just that. What’s more, this year they’re donating 20% of their profits to local schools.
