The unfortunate reality around Christmas is that it can be a wasteful time of year, from the gifts, wrapping paper [1], and ribbons, to the going-out clothes, festive jumpers, and Christmas trees. Christmas trees in particular spark a lot of conversation and debate around sustainability [2]. With nearly six million trees entering UK landfills every January, is it best to get a real one? A fake one? Or just go with no tree at all (sadly the only true eco-friendly option if we're being brutally honest).

There are a number of different companies out there trying to find a solution to the Christmas tree issue, like Christmas on the Hill [3], an independently owned business based in North London that offers pot-grown trees for rent from a farm in Gloucestershire. You can also buy single-use trees from the company, which the company can collect and recycle (they also plant a new tree for every one that is cut down). There's Magic of Foresters [4], which is an organic Christmas tree nursery in Kent that, in addition to not using pesticides, plants two trees for every tree sold, chips any excess trees to use as mulch on the farm, and only sells a maximum of 10 percent of their trees each year. This year, in a surprise move, there's also a beauty company entering the Christmas tree chat — the natural-deodorant brand Fussy [5] — which has an aim to reduce the amount of Christmas trees that end up getting tossed each year because no one wants them in the first place.

This Christmas, Fussy has launched an evergreen-scented deodorant that's made using real Christmas trees. "We didn't want to release just another novelty scent this Christmas but to make an actual difference," said Fussy cofounder and CEO Matt Kennedy "Plus, who doesn't want to smell like a Christmas tree?"

The scent was developed in partnership with a tree wholesaler and essential oil distiller in Norfolk. Together with Fussy, they distilled the trees that weren't attractive enough to sell to create the Christmas Tree Deodorant Refill [6] (£18 for 3), which you can just insert into one of Fussy's reusable cases. If you don't already own one of the brand's cases — available in orange, mint green, dark grey, blush, and pale blue — you can either buy one for £10 for buy the Christmas Tree Gift Pack [7] for £20 that contains one case and two Christmas Tree-scented refills.
Fussy and the tree wholesaler will be carrying on with the project into the New Year, collecting customers trees in and around the London area.

And because I know you're wondering, yes the scent smells exactly like a Christmas tree. It's piney, herbal, and festive, but it's also not overbearing. You'll smell it on yourself for the first hour or two, but no one is going to walk past you and wonder why they're smelling a Christmas Tree. And it's still the same Fussy aluminium-free deodorant formula [8], which I find does a pretty good job of keeping me smelling fresh and feeling dry throughout the day.