A good sustainable Christmas gift for clients is one they will actually value, that does not end up in a drawer or a bin, and whose environmental claims would hold up if a sceptical client read them twice. Trees planted in a named place meet all three tests, provided the provider can show where the trees grow and when they go into the ground, and says plainly what the gift does and does not claim. For a client Christmas card, the practical version is a card-sized certificate slipped into the envelope, ordered early enough to be printed and posted.
Several companies sell tree gifts that a business can give its employees or clients, among them Treedom, EcoTree, Eforests and, in Iceland, ourselves at Reforest Iceland. They differ in the smallest order they take, in what the recipient receives and, above all, in where the trees grow. Below is what each says on its own pages, and the checklist I would use with any of them, us included.
Which companies offer tree gifts for employees and clients?
Last checked: 28 October 2026. Figures are as shown on each provider's own business pages, in the currency shown.
| Provider | Smallest business order | Price | What the recipient gets | Where the trees grow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reforest Iceland | 10 trees | EUR 8.50 to EUR 14 a tree, VAT included where it applies | A certificate for each person (PDF and a card-sized insert), or one certificate for all your clients | Fagrabrekka, a farm in north-west Iceland |
| Treedom | 20 trees (Starter: EUR 298 minimum), or a monthly subscription of 3, 5 or 8 trees | Online prices include VAT; subscription prices exclude it | Trees gifted from the company's Treedom profile; each tree has an online page with a downloadable card | 16 countries, 15 of them in Africa, Latin America and Asia, plus Italy |
| EcoTree | No minimum stated for online orders; tailored offers from 100 trees | No prices shown on its corporate gifts page | Ownership of a tree, sent by email or as a PDF; an optional wooden card; updates twice a year | Managed forests in France and Denmark (its FAQ also mentions Germany) |
| Eforests | Not stated | From GBP 9.79 down to GBP 5.49 a tree, plus VAT | A certificate with a unique number, co-branded with your logo; entered on Eforests' My Tree page, the number shows the species and woodland; saplings in gift bags as an alternative | Woodlands around the UK |
How we compared
We opened each provider's own business, corporate gifts and help pages on 28 October 2026 and recorded the smallest order, the price and what the recipient receives, as stated there. "Not stated" means we could not find the point on that page, not that it is unavailable. It is a selection of providers selling to businesses in Europe, not a complete list. Prices and terms change, so check them before ordering. If you spot an error, write to contact@reforesticeland.com and we will correct it.
What to check before you order
Most tree gifts look alike on the certificate. The differences lie in what stands behind it, and six questions bring them out:
- Proof. What evidence will you and your recipients get, and at what level? Some providers report on each tree, while others, including us, report on the planting area as a whole through maps, photos and aerial images. Ask for an example of the reporting before you buy.
- Place. A named farm or forest is easier to check than a region or a promise to plant wherever trees are needed. It also matters what the trees do there: Iceland, where we plant, has the lowest forest cover of any European country in the FAO's data apart from Monaco, with 0.6% of its land in 2025 (FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment, via Our World in Data). Ask, too, whether recipients can visit.
- Claims. What will your company be able to say about the gift? Since 27 September 2026, EU consumer law has banned claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive climate impact because of offsetting (Directive (EU) 2024/825), and in the UK the Competition and Markets Authority's Green Claims Code, its guidance on consumer law, says environmental claims must be truthful, accurate and substantiated. A card that says how many trees are planted, where and when, is far easier to stand behind than a "carbon-neutral Christmas".
- VAT and invoicing. Is VAT included, can the invoice be made out to your company with your VAT number and a purchase order reference, and can you pay by invoice? For UK buyers, tax treatment is worth a word with your accountant: HMRC treats a gift to an employee as a trivial benefit only if, among other conditions, it costs GBP 50 or less and is not a reward for work, and gifts to clients are generally deductible only if they carry a conspicuous advertisement for the business and cost no more than GBP 50 per recipient a year. Whether a tree certificate qualifies is a question for your adviser.
- Certificates. One per person or one for all? Can you add your logo and a dedication for each recipient? Is there a printable, card-sized version, and does the provider email recipients directly or send everything to you?
- Timing. When will the certificates arrive, what is the last order date for posting with your Christmas cards, and when do the trees actually go into the ground?
When to order for Christmas 2026
If the certificates are to go out with your client Christmas cards, printing and the post set the deadline. Our own company gift deadlines (last checked: 28 October 2026) are:
- Paying by card: order by 25 November for cards posted abroad, or by 4 December for cards posted within your own country.
- Paying by invoice: order by 19 November for posting abroad, or by 30 November within your own country, because bank transfers take a few days to arrive.
- Without posting: card orders placed by 17 December arrive by 21 December; invoice orders should be placed by 11 December, with payment reaching us by 17 December.
Certificates are sent within two working days of confirmed payment. The trees themselves are planted at Fagrabrekka between mid-May and the end of June 2027, or between late August and the end of September 2027 if the ground or weather is not ready in spring.
How a company tree gift works with us
There are four ways to order a company gift, all one-off payments in EUR with VAT included where it applies. A tree each costs EUR 14 a person, for at least 10 people. A copse each is five trees for EUR 45 a person, and a woodland each is ten trees for EUR 85. Trees for all your clients is a single certificate, worded for example "Our clients and partners", at EUR 8.50 a tree for 10 to 2,000 trees, so 120 trees come to EUR 1,020. For one person outside a company order, give a tree instead.
You upload a list of names as Excel or CSV, up to 500 people per order, with an optional dedication of up to 250 characters for each person, and add your logo. Each certificate shows the recipient, the dedication, your company and logo, the number of trees, the farm, the species and the planting season, and it comes as a PDF for each person, one combined file for printing and A6 card inserts, four to an A4 sheet with cut marks. We do not email your recipients; you decide how and when they receive their certificates.
The trees you pay for are native downy birch, rowan and willow; where the soil requires it, we also plant larch or other hardy species. A certificate does not name one individual tree, because we plant and report by plot: we keep a public plot log, and we film the planting areas by drone and share satellite images of them once or twice a year, in spring and late summer. We make no carbon claim for these gifts, and we are a company, Reforest Iceland AG, not a charity.
Anyone with trees at Fagrabrekka may visit, from a single tree upwards, including employees and clients who received theirs as a company gift (travel to Iceland is not included). Fagrabrekka is a working farm on the Ring Road between Reykjavík and Akureyri, and visits are always arranged in advance, because the farm manager must be at home. We are also a young project and would rather say so: our first 120 trees went into the ground in September 2026. I grew up planting trees on our family farm in Skagafjörður, and in my experience walking a young wood you have a share in stays with you far longer than a hamper does.
Questions people ask
What is a good sustainable Christmas gift for clients?
One that the client values, that creates little waste and whose claims you can stand behind. Trees planted in a named place, with a card-sized certificate posted alongside the Christmas card, are one such gift; check where the trees grow and what the certificate claims.
Can a company give trees to all its clients on one certificate?
Yes. With us, trees for all your clients is a single certificate at EUR 8.50 a tree, from 10 trees, and the clients who receive it may visit Fagrabrekka by arrangement.
Is a corporate tree gift a carbon offset?
Ours is not, and we make no carbon claim for it. Since 27 September 2026, EU law has barred traders from claiming that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive climate impact because of offsetting.