Wrapping paper from holiday gifts is largely to blame for a 25% spike in curbside trash volume between Thanksgiving & New Year’s Day, according to the EPA.
What is the eco-minded gift-giver to do?
The best thing to do if you are giving physical gifts this season is to wrap them in an eco-friendly way. You can make the wrapping a part of the gift, something that can be used for another purpose afterwords, or just use plainer wraps made from recycled materials.
Here are a few ways to give a thoughtfully wrapped present and give back to the Earth too.
Use a Container as Gift Wrap:
Containers make great no-wrapping-needed packaging. It’ll give the recipient a little hint as to what’s inside, but your creative wrapping will get years of use.
- Wooden wine boxes, baskets or tins
- Watering can or garden bucket
- Mixing bowls or a stock pot
- Canvas shopping bag
- Scarves or handkerchiefs
- Towels
- Blankets
Use Art as Gift Wrap:
When you wrap your gifts with art work you can personalize them for each recipient.
- Outdated maps, old posters, sheet music or leftover lightweight wallpaper
- Newspapers, foreign newspapers are great or the Sunday comics
- Kids artwork
- Magazine images
Use Recycled Gift Wrap:
To reuse gift wrap is a great way to extend the life of a product.
- Aluminum foil
- Paper or bag from last year
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Great tips! It is so important to reduce all of the waste that is associated with something as wonderful as holiday gift giving! I am so passionate about “greening” the gifting process that I started my own little eco-gift wrap company last year. eWrapz (www.ewrapz.com) is reusable fabric gift wrap that is stylish and easy to use. Just another option for making holiday gift wrapping more eco-friendly!