Summary
Eco-friendly wrapping paper alternatives
Sustainable ways to wrap your gifts with less waste
Did you know that in Australia alone we use enough paper to wrap the planet nearly four times! Each and every year!
Most wrapping paper cannot be recycled. If it is metallic, is shiny, has glitter on it, or has a pattern on it using these elements, it can’t be recycled. Then there’s the bags, bows, gift tags too. Sure, we know you reuse them, but what about the person you given that gift to? Can you be sure they will? Sadly, we're not completely sure. And if we are sure they will, do you think we're at the point where simply reusing a shiny new bow or goft bag a few times a year is enough to start reversing the damage we have already done to our planet?
So the first thing to do when thinking about reducing waste is to talk about the waste hierarchy.
If you can focus your sustainability activities at the top of the pyramid, you can decrease the amount of waste you dispose of.
For example, if you decide not to buy new wrapping paper this year, you will reduce the amount wrapping paper disposed of as waste. This not only has a direct effect on reducing the amount of paper recycled, it reduces the resources and energy needed to process the recycling.
By looking at this hierarchy you can see that recycling sits in the middle of the pyramid. To be competely honest it's more towards the bottom of it! There are 3 more steps above recycling that we can aim for that would produce even less waste and we'd like to take these basic principals on board and offer you to a few ways to wrap up a gift that will help you to reduce your waste and have a more environmentally friendly Christmas in 2022. (We think most of these ideas look way nicer than boring old wrapping paper anyway!)
Furoshiki
The word Furoshiki refers to both the art of wrapping presents with cloth and the cloth itself. It is an ancient tradition in Japan but it isn’t complicated - as Marie Kondo shows you here!
You don't have to source some fancy Japanese silk to copy this effect though. How about giving it a go by wrapping a present up in something like a SisterWorks tea towel or in a Good Sheets Beeswax Wrap? That way your gift is wrapped up in another gift and your wrapping paper instantly becomes a multi-use product!
Old magazines, picture books, old road maps, music sheets and newspapers
Your local Op Shops have loads of options when it comes to things you can wrap something in!
You can raid the children’s picture book section, use Atlas pages, encyclopedia pages, music sheets and even sewing patterns to create interesting wrapping paper, gift tags and personalised cards.
It’s a great activity to do with the kids too, both the Op Shop hunt and the craft session that happens afterwards.
Brown Paper/ Butchers Paper/ Kraft Paper
As long as the paper isn’t shiny or waxed, it’s good to go into the recycling bin after or even better yet, be composted at home or at your local community centre or neighbourhood house.
We think brown paper has a super rustic charm about it, especially when tied up with brown string or palm frond and embellished with a dried flower head from your garden. The added bonus of plain paper is that you can add a personalised gift message directly onto the paper-meaning no need for a gift tag.
For those of you who are super keen, you can make your own ink stamp from potatoes and vegetable dye from natural food colourings, such as beetroot juice (side note: beetroot juice is also really good for hangovers... apparently).
Eco- friendly Embellishments
Use things that can be composted and things that you have on hand such already instead of buying new. Use something compostable such as butchers twine to secure items to your gift under the bow.
We suggest things like:
- Sprigs of woody herbs such as rosemary and bay
- Dried citrus rounds such as oranges (did you know you can use your air fryer as a food dehydrator?)
- Lollies such as candy canes
- Cut out shapes and images from last years Christmas cards (note- keep this year's cards so you can do the same next year!)
- Christmas Tree Decorations - you can get them back or the recipent can put them on their own tree!
Save your gift wrap and cards!
A really nice cooler day activity is to set some time aside for some papercrafts. Keep your old Christmas cards and pop a reminder in your calendar sometime in the middle of winter so you can have a cozy afternoon indoors collaging and repurposing paper scraps into cards and decorations for Christmas that year.
If you have a worm farm or compost bin handy, you can check to see if the paper your own gifts were wrapped in can be degraded using these methods. To check this, you just need to tear off a corner and put it in water. If/when it breaks down you’ll be able to see if there is any residue left over. If there is it cannot be composted (you don't want that stuff in the garden, or your worms!). However, keep it and at least repurpose it into cards or decorations, so you move one step higer on the waste hierarchy and you're doing the planet a little bit more of a favour than it going into the waste stream straight away.
We hope this little guide got your creative juices flowing! We're off to hunt for old Atlas pages in the local Op Shop.
Wishing you a conscious festive period doing your greatest good!
