Eco-Friendly and Zero-Waste Gift Wrapping Ideas
Dr. Seuss’s beloved classic The Grinch Who Stole Christmas was published in 1957. More than 60 years later, it would be difficult to find an American man, woman or child who can’t recall the Grinch’s change of heart as he declares, “It came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.” Unfortunately, the season of giving remains a season of buying. In 2022, Americans spent nearly $7,000,000,000 on holiday gift wrap. This exorbitant amount of money translates into 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper, most of which ends up in landfills. While many types of paper can be recycled, gift wrap often has dyes, lamination, and non-paper additives (metallic colors or glitter) making it non-recyclable!
Now that Halloween is over, the UNofficial holiday season has begun. (Don’t worry, we here at Kosmatology, savor all the joy and gratitude of Thanksgiving!) We put a list of eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas for you! We’d like to think Mr. Grinch would approve!
Brown Kraft Paper: this is a perfect substitution for traditional wrapping paper. You can make the gifts more festive by tying a holiday ribbon around the package and adding a sprig of holly or fir. As an added bonus, you can write (or even draw) a holiday message replacing the need for a gift tag. Just make sure to write with a pen or washable marker so the paper will still be recyclable. (Paper with crayon or paint on it is non-recyclable.) Papermart is a great place to purchase Kraft paper.
Newspaper, Old Books, Sheet Music, Magazines: Do you have any of these piled up around the house, ready for the recycling bin? There are several cute ways to use these papers to wrap holiday presents instead. Be creative! Wrap your brilliant, little sister’s gift with a page from the New York Times crossword puzzle. Use sheet music to wrap the gifts for all the music lovers on your list. Use a page or two from recipes featured in Real Simple to cover your favorite foodie’s holiday gift!
Reuse Gift Bags: Reusing festive bags is a great way to be more sustainable and reduce waste. This holiday season, save any gift bags you receive and pack them away with your holiday decorations. Most gift bags will continue to look amazing year after year. If you have yet to build up a collection of gift bags, brown (or white) lunch bags are easy to use, recyclable and reusable! Like Kraft Paper, messages and doodles can be written in ink and added for the recipient.
Try Furoshiki: Furoshiki is the Japanese art of gift wrapping! Turn a scarf, a handkerchief or fabric scrap into a beautiful alternative to wrapping paper. The fabric is folded and tied, no tape needed, making it a zero-waste option. We were a bit hesitant to give Furoshiki a try but then we found this video and it was so much easier than we expected! Thank you to Eva at https://www.pointfulthings.com/ for the easy to follow tutorial.
Skip the Plastic Ribbon and Bows: Plastic ribbons and bows are not recyclable and are difficult to reuse. Opting for fabric ribbon, paper ribbon or twine are much better options. Fabric ribbon and twine can be easily reused. Paper ribbon and twine are biodegradable and make great additions to your compost pile!
There are so many ways to be more sustainable this holiday gift giving season! Have you used any of these options? Are you going to try one this holiday season? We’d love to hear about your experience! Please leave us a comment below and let us know.