Where To Buy Ethical Christmas Jumpers In The UK
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I’ve rounded up the sustainable and ethical Christmas jumpers and sweaters in the UK this festive season, so you can keep warm in festive sartorial style.
How do you feel about Christmas jumpers? Love them? Hate them? By the fact that you’ve landed on this article, I’m guessing it’s the former, rather than the latter.
For those of us of a certain age, Christmas jumpers were very much not a thing. That was until Mark Darcy, the love interest in the 2001 movie Bridget Jones’s Diary, donned a garish Christmas jumper.
Suddenly, people started wearing Christmas jumpers, unironically. And then in 2012, the Danish thriller, The Killing, really popularised the Christmas jumper. Some twenty-plus years later since first being seen on screen, it seems Christmas jumpers are here to stay.
If that wasn’t enough to put Christmas jumpers on the map, then Save The Children also hosts an annual Christmas Jumper Day. This is a fun annual event where people wear their best (re: most ostentatious) Christmas jumpers to work or school and donate money to Save the Children.
Since it was launched in 2012, the event has raised millions of pounds for children in the UK and across the world who live in poverty. This year it’s on Thursday the 11th of December 2025, should you be looking to don your best festive garb.
Why Do We Need Ethical Christmas Jumpers?
Christmas Jumper Day is undoubtedly a really great way to raise money for charity. However, like many forces for good, the event has been hijacked by the fast fashion industry.
The Christmas jumper craze started ethically with people raiding their granny’s wardrobe or rummaging in charity shops and vintage shops. However, fast fashion retailers quickly got in on the act. Now every supermarket and fast fashion retailer sells Christmas jumpers in the run-up to Christmas, often at bargain prices.
This low cost comes at a high environmental price. According to research by environmental charity Hubbub, one in four Christmas jumpers bought are thrown away or are unlikely to be worn more than once.
In fact, one in three under-35s buys a new Christmas jumper every year. When asked why 24% say they do not want to be seen in the same jumper as in previous years. Meanwhile, 29% say they are so cheap that they might as well get a new one every year.
Guide to Ethical Christmas Jumpers
With the impacts of fast fashion so devastating to both people and the planet, it makes good sense to minimise our impact where we can.
I am all about spreading festive cheer and raising money for charity. So, rather than go without a Christmas jumper, here are some ideas of where to buy more ethical Christmas jumpers:
The Spark Company
A great place to check out this festive season is The Spark Company. This is a female-founded, feminist, and LGBTQ+ friendly retailer.
Each year it produces a great selection of ethically made feminist and LGBTQ+ Christmas jumpers, in UK sizes 6 – 28, for around £46. These are made of soft cotton, rather than polyester.
What makes its jumpers ethical? All of its products are manufactured in a WRAP Gold-certified facility. This means that their products have been independently verified to be sweatshop-free, and there is no child labour involved.
What’s more, with every purchase, The Spark Company donate sanitary supplies to shelters and drop-in centres for those who can’t afford to buy these essentials.
Oxfam Online
Charity retailer Oxfam Online is also worth checking for Christmas jumpers. It’s a great sustainable option that gives unwanted festive knits a second life while helping to fund Oxfam’s work in alleviating global poverty.
Owing to the nature of being donation-dependent, their stock levels do vary. However, at the time of updating this post (7th November 2025), there are hundreds and hundreds in stock for men, women, and kids, from lots of big-name brands. These range in price between £6.99 and £24 for this dog-print jumper.
To make your money go further, you can get a 10% discount on your order when you sign up to the Oxfam mailing list. Plus, postage is a £3.95 flat fee, regardless of how many items you buy.
Rokit
Vintage retailer Rokit has a small selection of ethical pre-loved Christmas jumpers for men and women, at varying price points between £29 and £65.
Whilst the collection is small, they’ve got some lovely vintage gems in there – including ones made from pure wool, rather than synthetic fibres.
Get 10% off at Rokit by using the discount code TAKE10 at the checkout.
Etsy
If you are specifically looking for vintage Christmas jumpers or new jumpers made by small independent sellers, then Etsy has a good selection.
The best I have found on Etsy is the Christmas jumper selection at a secondhand boutique called Marmalade Vintage, based in Manchester (pictured above). Here you’ll find eco-friendly preloved Christmas jumpers priced between £12 and £15.75. However, there are some real gems to be uncovered on Etsy if you are prepared to search.
Preloved Shopping Sites
Preloved shopping sites are great for finding sustainable Christmas jumpers on a budget.
Sites like Vinted, eBay, and Depop are full of festive knits looking for new homes, often at a fraction of the original price. You’ll find everything from subtle Fair Isle styles to over-the-top novelty jumpers, all without adding to the demand for new clothing.
I’ve just picked up a Christmas jumper for my daughter on Vinted. I got a lovely Fat Face one for £3, which I’m over the moon about.
Beyond Retro
Finally, Beyond Retro has an amazing selection of vintage Christmas jumpers and cardigans for both men and women. I’m talking amazing. From knitted Christmas vests to 80s winter scene sweatshirts to Nordic jumpers, right through to jolly festive cardigans, it’s all right here, in sizes XS to XXL.
With prices coming in at £20 or under on most Christmas jumpers, cardigans, and vests, you can pick up an ethical bargain comparable in price to the fast fashion retailers, without the environmental or social impact.
Other Ethical Christmas Jumper Tips
Of course, buying a new Christmas jumper should be your last resort. Here are some ideas for making your festive wardrobe more ethical and sustainable.
Keep It For Next Year (And The Year After That)
One of the most sustainable things we can do is to keep wearing the items we already have and to look after them. So wear your jumper as many times as you can over the festive period, and then wash and dry it according to the laundry care labels. Make any repairs to your jumper as you need to, and store it carefully for wear again next year.
Swap With a Friend
If you can’t bear to wear the same item twice, or if you have changed size, then why not organise a Christmas jumper swap with your friends? It’s a fun and sociable way to get a new-to-you item without buying anything new.
Organise A Christmas Jumper Swap Shop
Related to, something my daughter’s school has started doing is a Christmas jumper swap shop.
Parents and carers are invited to drop off clean jumpers in good condition that their kids have grown out of. These are sorted into sizes, and for a small donation to school funds, kids can pick out a new jumper in the right size.
I think it’s a great idea that helps to reduce waste and raise money for the school.
Buy Something You Can Wear All Year Round
Many Christmas jumper critics decree the ethics of buying a jumper that you only wear once or twice a year. If you feel the same, then why not buy something like a Fair Isle or Nordic-style patterned jumper?
These types of jumpers are festive enough to wear over Christmas dinner. However, no one would question you if you were still wearing them come February!
Try my guide to ethical jumpers to see if you can find something that fits the Christmas jumper bill.
Upcycle It
If your best Christmas jumper is on its last legs, don’t bin it. Instead, you can get creative and upcycle it. Firstly, here’s how to make a cute Christmas-themed cushion from your old jumper. And if your jumper is too far gone, you can try this eco-friendly gift wrap idea using parts of your jumper.
Make Your Own Ethical Christmas Jumper
Another way to spread ethical cheer is to make your own Christmas jumper. Simply take a jumper you already own and add some temporary festive embellishments. From festive brooches to pinning on festive decorations, it’s really easy to add a seasonal twist to your existing wardrobe.
More Sustainable Christmas Inspiration
Looking for more sustainable Christmas ideas? Then do check out my big guide on how to have an eco Christmas. You’ll find everything from sustainable gift ideas and advice on picking the most eco-friendly Christmas tree, as well as tips on making your own natural Christmas decorations and a whole lot more!
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