![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/1833\/live\/d7246d10-be04-11ef-97a7-0ff098912783.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nSecret Santa, stockings and presents under the tree – gift-giving is at the heart of Christmas Day.<\/p>\n But should it be?<\/p>\n This year more people have been exploring underconsumption – the trend where shopping hauls and miracle must-buys are replaced with reusing beloved possessions and purchasing less.<\/p>\n It’s taken off on TikTok, where mentions soared by almost 40,000% in the UK earlier this year.<\/p>\n Experts say it’s resonated with younger people affected by the cost-of-living crisis and concerned about the climate as they look to make sustainable changes. <\/p>\n But can you mix that lifestyle with a time of year many people associate with overspending and indulgence?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Underconsumption means buying fewer unnecessary things and making the products you already own go further.<\/p>\n It might not sound that radical, especially if you’re used to stretching your weekly budget.<\/p>\n “It’s highlighting a behaviour that’s quite normal,” author and creator Andrea Cheong tells BBC Newsbeat.<\/p>\n “But in the realm of TikTok or Instagram it feels so unnatural it’s gone viral.”<\/p>\n On platforms built around ads and glamourised lifestyles the hashtag stands out, and Andrea does believe that underconsumption is different because “it’s a habit, not a trend.”<\/p>\n “The people who are sharing what they’ve done in their daily lives, they’ve been doing this forever,” she says.<\/p>\n “They were probably taught by their parents to do it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At Christmas, choosing to buy and consume less can feel like a challenge in the face of big-budget marketing campaigns, the pressure to share gifts and the perfectly placed extravagant home decor shared online.<\/p>\n “Companies are spending millions of pounds on ads that make you want to go out and buy that thing right now,” says Darwin Arnold, a retail worker living in Brighton.<\/p>\n Darwin, who shares sustainability tips online in her spare time, says she doesn’t want presents this Christmas.<\/p>\n She admits the “hardest step” is telling your family members.<\/p>\n “My nan, she’s one of those who loves having all of the gifts under the tree,” she says. <\/p>\n “It’s her way of showing love, it’s her way of making me feel special.”<\/p>\n Darwin says it pays to be straight-up with loved ones and it helps to suggest alternative ideas for gifts, such as experiences, rather than products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Influencer Charlie Gill, from Manchester, has been sharing sustainability tips on social media for six years now and says her content has taken off since the underconsumption trend began. <\/p>\n She’s turned her focus on to Christmas, suggesting ways that decorations, gift wrap and even Christmas dinners can be stripped back.<\/p>\n “There are so many small steps anybody can do,” she says.<\/p>\n “Considering how much food you’re purchasing, don’t buy things in excess, make sure you’re actually eating your leftovers.”<\/p>\n Charlie makes her own decorations, and this year she’s created a Christmas tree out of a magazine, as well as “stars out of toilet rolls, all that kind of thing”.<\/p>\n Some people aren’t fans of the homemade aesthetic and Charlie admits she got some hate online over a TikTok of her festive decorations last year, but says it doesn’t put her off.<\/p>\n “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people celebrating Christmas in a different way,” she says.<\/p>\n “There are different ways of gifting and creating the kind of Christmas you want whilst also underconsuming and not creating excess waste.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Underconsumption might be a new hashtag, but it’s not a new idea.<\/p>\n “It’s not a new concern but it is an enduring phenomenon that’s been labelled in different ways in different times,” says Prof Caroline Moraes, of the University of Birmingham. <\/p>\n One example is the voluntary simplicity movement in the 19th Century, she says, which advocated for an anti-consumerist lifestyle.<\/p>\n Prof Caroline, a marketing and consumer expert specialising in sustainable consumption, says the renewed interest in 2024 can tell us about modern-day worries. <\/p>\n She says it points to a greater concern over the environment and the cost-of-living crisis but also a greater awareness of brand ethics and where the things we buy come from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Earlier this year, fast fashion giant Shein said it found two cases of child labour in its supply chain<\/a>, some luxury perfumes<\/a> have also been linked to child labour and concerns about the fashion industry’s environmental credentials<\/a> are widely reported. <\/p>\n “I think all of us are beginning to realise the part we need to play in terms of tackling the sustainability challenges and the climate crisis we’re facing,” says Prof Caroline.<\/p>\n Author Andrea thinks the sudden rise in interest also shows a fatigue with consumer culture. <\/p>\n “I think people like myself are so excited about underconsumption because we share the same mission, which is ‘let’s just slow down’,” she says.<\/p>\n “But really it’s rooted in a lack of control over the cost of living.”<\/p>\n Last week, figures showed prices were rising at the fastest rate since March<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Andrea Cheong<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Darwin](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0476\/live\/1f2501b0-be1e-11ef-bb99-316fff425d8e.jpg.webp\")
Darwin Arnold<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Charlie](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/53a1\/live\/f06cdcd0-be1d-11ef-bb99-316fff425d8e.jpg.webp\")
Charlie Gill<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘The part we need to play’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8366\/live\/74a706f0-15d7-11ef-9b12-1ba8f95c4917.jpg.webp\")
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