Sustainable Gift Wrapping
Wrapping a present is almost as fun as giving the present. What isn’t fun is the pile of trash that ends up in the garbage after all the gifts are given. This post will give you some alternative gift wrap options that are kinder to our Earth.
1. Wrapping as a Gift
Use a silk scarf or a piece of cloth and the Furoshiki Method to make your gifts look nice without producing waste. You could consider packing the present in some kind of reusable bag, whether it’s a patterned canvas bag or a high quality pack-able Baggu. Transform the wrapping from trash into part of the gift!
2. Give Paper a Second Life
Use what you can find in your home. Save your newspapers for a few weeks so you can choose the nicest looking sheets. Last year a few things I ordered online came with crumpled brown paper as padding. I was able to smooth it out and use it as minimalist wrapping, giving the paper a second life before it got recycled. Do you have an unfathomable number of The New Yorker magazines piled in your home? It’s a perfect way to get rid of them!
3. Get Creative
My family has had to put up with my environmental antics for much longer than most people in my life. My mom’s solution for all-year-round sustainable gift wrapping is using our pillowcases and sheets! It makes sense when you think about it: the item is wrapped for a day at most and we are not always using every single pillowcase in the house. Why waste the wrapping paper?
4. Start a Tradition
These festive Christmas Santa Sacks could be reused year after year. You can fill them the way you do a stocking or use them for larger gifts that would require a lot of paper.
5. Opt for Recycled Paper
Sometimes, a gift will look best wrapped in paper with a big bow. You don’t have to cut all wrapping paper out of your life if you responsibly choose your wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue paper, and ribbon. At my job, we use this brand that has a variety eco-friendly options and I can personally vouch for their quality. Sugar Paper is a brand sold by Target. Their wrapping paper rolls are FSCTM certified, “which promotes environmentally, socially and economically responsible management of the world’s forests.” Sugar Paper gift bags and tissue paper also hold this certification.
How do you wrap gifts sustainably? Let me know in the comments!
I do not make money from the links in this post. They are there to make sustainable gift wrapping easier for you.