Top 5 Ways to Conscious Gift-Wrap
Much of what we wrap our gifts in is shiny, glittery, glossy, and... not recyclable. Do you ever wonder who made the ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper you find every year? Or how it got mass-produced + delivered to you in ANY color, print, or pattern you could possibly imagine? Our wrapping lives such a short (and beautiful!) life before it gets dumped into landfill.
Just think of the mountain of wrapping paper your family creates on Christmas morning and multiply that by 100 million (there are 128 million households in just the U.S.!). That's a LOT of trash.
With all of the time we are spending at home, this is the perfect year to get our creative/DIY juices flowing and explore conscious gift-wrapping alternatives! Of course we want all of our gifts to look festive and put-together.. that is why I explored and tried out several gift wrap options + compiled a list of my Top 5 Ways to Conscious Gift-Wrap.
1.) Craft Paper - The best biodegradable + recyclable alternative to traditional wrapping paper. Not to mention it is easy to dress up and is becoming the next trend-worthy way to give gifts. Add natural touches like pine, dried fruit, or dried flowers to give it your own flare.
2.) Reusable Fabric Wrap - The number one no-waste alternative to gift-wrapping. Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese cloth for wrapping gifts, which can be unique and re-used multiple times.
WRAPPR - No-waste alternative fabric gift-wrap company. Their mission is to support real artists while eliminating the waste created by gifting.
3.) Don't Unwrap to Rewrap - Most products we buy today come in BEAUTIFUL packaging from the retailer.. before you unwrap it from the box and toss it in the trash, re-think what you can re-use (tissue paper, unique stickers, ribbons, boxes). A lot of thought goes into the way in which your product is delivered to you, which could be meaningful to your recipient.
4.) Use What You Have - Tote bags, gift-bags, gift-boxes, newspaper (especially if you live in a city, e.g, The NY Times could make for unique gift-wrap), and scarfs are all things that can be easily re-used for years to come.
5.) The Final Touches - Old or cheap jewelry, dried fruit, pine sprigs from a live Christmas tree, or even last year's holiday decor (think of things you were going to throw away or donate); all of these things can dress it up nicely.
*Tip - Grab old Christmas cards or postcards + cut them up to make gift-tags!
That wraps it up (hehe)! Like anything in the sustainability world, little steps are meaningful ones. Starting small and doing just one thing can help. Have fun with it. Comment + share your favorite ideas to help each other out!