Did you get an unwanted gift this Christmas? In cupboards all over Ireland, you can be sure there are bath bombs, slippers, boardgames, gadgets and novelty items never to be used by the recipient.
Manufacturers and retailers love all of this gifting – but the planet, not so much.
Think of all the resources, energy and pollution that go into making and transporting tens of thousands of pairs of novelty reindeer head slippers, for example, complete with a flashing nose – they get worn for a few days, or a few hours, if at all.
The cost adds up. Average household spending in Ireland this Christmas was estimated at €1,163, according to a survey by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). A fifth of us expect it will take at least three months to pay off the debt.
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We gave and received a lot of unwanted gifts at Christmas, and the CCPC has conducted research into what we plan to do with them all.
[ Only 5% of people ask for a receipt to return unwanted Christmas presentsOpens in new window ]
In the absence of a gift receipt, a third of us will regift the item, according to the survey.
Regifting is good news for circularity – if you get something you won’t use, pass it on to someone else who can.
Some 17 per cent of us are likely to donate an unwanted gift to charity or fundraising events. Consumers aged 55 and over are three times more likely to donate unwanted gifts than those under 35.
‘Family members, friends and neighbours can end up locked in a cycle of mutual giving, buying unwanted and unused gifts to fulfil perceived obligations’
If the regifted or donated item is a pair of reindeer head slippers, however, the solution lies further upstream. Manufactured and shipped from a faraway, lower-cost economy and unlikely to last, you can’t regift or donate your way out of that environmental damage.
Just two out of five people in Ireland said the sustainability implications of the Christmas gifts they choose were important, according to the CCPC. This was least important to those aged under 35.
Indeed, environmental concerns increase with age, rising to 35 per cent for those aged 65 and over.
Men were less concerned than women – some 22 per cent of men say the environmental effects of the gifts they purchase is “not at all important”. This figure drops to 14 per cent for women.
Environmental concerns fall as spend increases too – 25 per cent of those who spend less than €500 say environmental implications are “very important”, compared to 18 per cent of those who spend €2,000 or more.
[ Women are far more likely to re-gift unwanted presents than menOpens in new window ]
Including a gift receipt is always a good idea – doing so will mean the recipient can swap it for something they might use. Some 42 per cent of us, however, never include a gift receipt, rising to more than half of men surveyed.
The older you are, the more common-sense your approach to gifts, it seems – almost one in 10 55- to 64-year-olds will ask the giver for a receipt or gift receipt in order to return or exchange the item.
This figure is slightly higher among the more well-off, and lowest among those aged 15-34.
One in 10 of us will leave an unwanted gift unopened in storage, or dump it, and 15- to 34-year-olds are the worst offenders. This younger cohort are also the most likely to sell an unwanted gift.
Some 3 per cent of us said we just don’t know what to do with an unwanted gift.
If you are buying a gift for someone for any occasion this year, ask them what they want. Including a gift receipt usually means they can swap, and you’re not wasting your money.
Alternatively, give a gift voucher. If you do receive a gift voucher, spend it as early as possible – almost a quarter of us still have unused vouchers from nearly a year ago, according to the CCPC.
Gifts can be bought with the best of intentions, but so often, gift-giving turns into a bit of an arms race.
Family members, friends and neighbours can end up locked in a cycle of mutual giving, buying unwanted and unused gifts to fulfil perceived obligations.
Why not make giving with more focused intention a resolution for the year ahead?
