Giving and receiving gifts is one of the most cherished Christmas traditions.

The polling conducted for this report shows that more than three in four Australians (77%) like buying gifts for people at Christmas. However, more than half (52%) would prefer it if people did not buy them gifts for them at Christmas.

One quarter of Australians (27%) expect to receive Christmas presents that they will never use or wear. We estimate the value of these unwanted gifts, many of which will end up as landfill waste, at over $1 billion. This is an increase on the estimated $921 million spent on unused gifts in 2023.

Despite this, our polling shows that almost half of Australians (47%) don’t think about how the gifts they buy will eventually be disposed of.