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.Â
London Christmas Tree Rental
London Christmas Tree Rental was started in 2018 after founders Jonathan Mearns and Catherine Loveless couldn’t stand the sight of the Christmas tree graveyards that littered London’s streets. As a solution, they launched a company that allowed people to rent the same tree year on year. Order a pot-grown Norway Spruce online before going to choose the one you want from one of their hubs in Dulwich, Barnes, Orpington or Southall to enjoy for the festive season, before returning it when you’re done with it. A simple and effective way to take the guilt out of Christmas tree shopping.Â
The Stem
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.Â
The Christmas Forest
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.
Green Elf Trees
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, Green Elf also offer 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 £2 for every tree purchased to one of their UK charity partners, which include Mind, Great Ormond St Children’s Hospital, Refugees at Home and British Red Cross.Â
Pines and Needles
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. They even offer a range of sustainable Christmas decorations, from wooden tree toppers to baubles made from recycled materials.
Good Elf
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.Â
Christmas on the Hill
Every year, up to seven million Christmas trees enter landfill. Christmas on the Hill is on a mission to change that with their clever Christmas tree rental service, where you can hire an environmentally friendly pot-grown tree to brighten up your home. Based in north London, 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 and what’s more, for every tree bought they’ll donate to a local school.Â
