Enviro-Friendly Wrapping and Paper Alternatives
Gift Giving That Won’t Send the Wrapping Paper to the Landfill
Dec 13, 2008
Gift wrapping was invented roughly as the same time as gift giving was concieved; it leaves a little mystery to be solved only by removing the protective sheath from the present itself. The industry of wrapping paper became popular in the Victorian era, and an industry was born.
However, the papers used in previous centuries were biodegradable, where most wrapping papers today are shiny, being coated with various plastics to make it smooth, or sparkle and cannot be recycled. Even gift bags that have a sheen to them cannot be re-used.
This leaves the eco-friendly few choices during seasonal gift giving. Shoppers either learn to become very choosy in buying recycled wrapping paper, or make earth friendly gift bags and wrappings themselves.
Choosing Environmentally Friendly Wrapping Paper
Buying a wrapping paper made from recycled material is a good start, but it doesn’t in itself make a “green” wrapping paper. Looking for tree-free paper is an option, but try looking for more renewable resources that are not made with toxic dyes.
Finding a fair trade place that sells environmentally friendly paper needn’t be a difficult task. Some online stores like Paper Mojo feature exotic materials such as lokta paper which is made from the inner bark of the lokta bush, (a quickly regenerating plant that grows in Nepal) and banana paper, which is created from the waste bark of Thai banana trees.
Sweet Organics and Naturals features paper made from 100% post consumer recycled content, which is packaged by adults with developmental challenges. Their products also include gift bags.
Making your Own Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper
If finding a store that sells fair trade, recycled wrapping paper is impossible, or the price of the paper cost more than the gift itself, try making your own. We’ve heard how people have given some watercolours or crayons to their children, and gave them newsprint or newspaper. It may make an endearing wrapping paper.
If using newspaper and printing on it with stamps if you or your children are not inclined to paint or draw, try buying a couple of artful stamps, or just dunking some cookie cutters in paint and creating a print of their outline over newspaper.
If last year’s calendar is still kicking around, the pictures or full pages can be cut out and used as wrapping paper. If it’s a collection of several pictures that make for a calendar page, try cutting out each individual picture and pasting them in place with tape or poster putty.
Plain brown paper bags can be bought in grocery stores or bulk box stores; writing a poem or personal note will transcend that ordinary bag into a work of art.
Tree-Free Gift Wrapping
Wrapping your present in a large, men’s cloth handkerchiefs can be a terrific gift-wrap during the cold, flu-riddled season; It’s two gifts in one, and a monogrammed hanky can last years. For gifts of food or drink, cloth napkins can make an elegant wrapping.
Cloth shopping bags are becoming more and more attractive; if not attractive, some are at least re-usable, and can be a practical double gift that originally serves to transport the gift, as well as presenting it.
Covering a present in wrapped, individual treats like colourful candies or chocolates is another way to sweeten your gift without using paper; chose treats that environmentally friendly or healthy, and it’s sure to be as big a hit as the gift itself.
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