Welcome to a Waste-Less Christmas
You're invited:
Join us at our Waste-Less Christmas Showcase, when we'll bring our unique shop from Cirencester to London, thanks to the generosity of our host Platform in Marylebone Lane.
Tuesday 15th September 2026
8.30am to 10.30am (or pop by before 6pm)
Platform Store, 49 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2NT
RSVP here.
About us:
Different Kind is a retail platform showcasing the best ethical, socially motivated producers on the market. Founded after CEO Liz Warner discovered Luminary, a London bakery that trains and employs refugees, trafficked and disadvantaged women, the company set out to give ethical businesses with brilliant products a bigger stage.
Different Kind stocks goods that do good - from producers employing refugees and ex-offenders, sourcing coffee from women farmers, or training neurodiverse young people for fulfilling careers. Every producer is vetted to ensure their social mission genuinely shapes their products, so customers can shop with confidence.
More than a store, Different Kind exists to shift shopping habits and drive social change - one purchase at a time.
If the stories behind Different Kind's products don't motivate you to buy them, you've got a brick for a heart!
Jo Elvin, former Editor/Editor in Chief, Mail on Sunday and Conde Nast
Context:
Every Christmas, UK households generate over three million tonnes of extra waste. Consumers are spending significant amounts on unwanted gifts and festive items mix hard-to-recycle materials like glitter or foil, making recycling challenging.
The numbers are astounding:
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Every year we spend £700 million on unwanted gifts.
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Only 1% of all purchases remain in use six months later.
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Only 44% of festive waste is recycled.
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12,500 tonnes of Christmas decorations are discarded in landfill sites.
Source: https://www.businesswaste.co.uk/news/christmas-waste-facts-its-not-very-jolly/
Our approach to Waste-Less Christmas:
This year we are offering shoppers the chance to do Christmas differently and put their pounds in the hands of producers who are making meaningful social and environmental change.
The waste-less Christmas range includes gifts for friends and family, food and drink for the table, and sustainable hampers for bespoke corporate gifting or for the whole family to enjoy.
We’ve sourced the very best products that aim to reduce, reuse or regenerate. Our curation process prioritised producers who save ingredients or materials from waste, support UK farming innovation and local supply chains and use truly sustainable packaging. All underpinned by our core curation principles that every product we stock must deliver on both style and substance.
Here are some producer highlights:
In Pelegrims we found a small team that are obsessive over quality, and care deeply about sustainability. Alex Virier is a natural formulator (and previously Director at Haeckels) who joined forces with sommelier trained Jerome Moisan to create a premium skincare range from by-products (grape skins, seeds and vines) of the wine-making process. Products include: Hand Lotion, Hand Wash and Hand Pomade.
Founder Kresse (her partner James is nicknamed Elvis), was horrified when the London Fire Brigade showed her the amount of disused hoses going into landfill. The two of them experimented with ways of reusing them and Elvis & Kresse was born. They now make luxury goods from hardworking recycled materials. Products include Washbag, Laptop Case, Note Book Cover.
The Food and Forest team specialise in agroforestry, combining the cultivation of trees with agriculture. They work with UK farmers to make use of the latest research to grow high-quality nuts alongside other food crops. We’re putting our money on Kent-grown cobnuts as the next big thing (especially when they’re dusted with Pump Street Chocolate). Products include Walnut Oil, Chocolate Covered Cobnuts
Quazi Design work in partnership with a local magazine distributor. Any unsold copies are taken to Quazi where the artisans use different techniques, like pulping, to create an amazing variety of decorative pieces. Products include hand-painted pulp baubles.
Falmouth based Chocolarder, founded by chef Mike Longman, use no plastic in their packaging (which is recyclable and compostable), are free from palm oil and emulsifiers and always source their ingredients from slavery-free suppliers. They’re also a great example of a year-round business in an area of the UK that is highly dependent on tourism and other seasonal work. Products include Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Truffles.
All of the glasses we buy from Ngwenya are entirely recycled, mostly from bottles collected by those who live near the factory, who are paid for their contribution. They use recycled newspaper to pack their products and - we love this - their kiln, which requires a massive 700 litres of fuel per 24 hours - uses a blend of old motor oil and oil that’s been used by KFC. Products include Wine Glass, Beer Glass, Champagne Flute, Martini Glass.
At Different Kind we’ll be encouraging our corporate clients to confirm their orders as early as possible to help manage supply chains and reduce potential waste, we’ll continue to pay our producers within seven days to help with cash flow, and all our orders will be sent out in easily recyclable parcels.
These are just a handful of the impact stories that make up our 2026 Christmas edit. The full list of products and producers is listed below and we'll be sharing their stories as the waste-less Christmas showcase.
The full list:
