How to Make a Recyclable Gift Bag
Enviro-Friendly Wrapping Paper Alternative is Easy and Cheap
Jan 1, 2009
Many commercial gift bags are either made of, or coated with non-recyclable plastic material, to make the packaging more shiny and attractive, not to mention water-resistant. There is no denying that they are far more convenient for gift giving, especially for the wrapping-impaired, but the toll it takes on the planet is not worth it.
The slick, plasticized surface on the bags often find their way to a landfill, since few facilities in Canada can recycle them. It’s true; it only costs a dollar in most dollar stores, but how about using up all those newspapers that are filling up your recycling bin? All you need is some hemp twine and a couple of sheets of yesterday’s news.
Advantages to Making Your Own Gift Bag
Amy Stultz of scrapjazz.com had the bright idea of making do-it-yourself gift bags. DIY Gift bags have two advantages over buying them in the store: Paper can be selected to the size and proportion of the gift, can match a particular colour scheme of the present, be made in the gift recipient’s favourite colour, or for the particularly OCD, it can match the clothing of the gift bearer. (Don’t you just hate it when your present clashes with your clothes?)
Environmentally Friendlier to Use Newspaper
Stultz’s article (June 28, 2005) recommends buying and using crafting paper or scrapbooking paper, which can be sturdier than newspaper. While infinitely more attractive, it has the disadvantage of being costlier and sometimes non-recyclable. Shiny surfaces, paper woven with or decorated in fabric, sequins or other non-recoverable materials are hard to separate in some recycling facilities.
If you are looking for an attractive paper that is environmentally friendly, try buying newsprint or rice paper based papers, but keep in mind it may not be sturdy enough on its own: It could require repeated folding to maintain integrity. In all, there may be a certain urban charm to the newspaper page you use for your gift, if you do opt for the environmentally friendly and inexpensive route.
Newspaper Gift Bag Themes
- For a housewarming party, choose a page from the “Home” or “Real Estate” section
- For a baby shower, try a page from birth announcements, or an article that features a photo of mother and child
- Birthday parties for children can include a sheet from the cartoon page
- For an adult’s party, try making your gift bag from a food page that includes an appetizing recipe, or a photograph of flowers, a favourite celebrity, or listings for a show you both might like to see
Check out Stultz’s entry on making your own Last Minute Gift Bags, and try an environmentally sound take on a great craft. Replace the ribbon with sisal or hemp twine, or an organic cotton ribbon. Suggest that your gift's recipient either use or remove the ribbon before recycling the bag.
Make a Gift Bag from a Used Envelope
An even easier idea is a contribution from the RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching) on making a gift bag out of an envelope. The 2005 article features 6 steps that even children can follow.
By making that bag out of a used manila envelope, that’s one less thing to find its way to the recycling bin: If you have children, they can cover the address with some stickers, paint or marker art, and suddenly, you’ll have a craft for the little ones as well.
Last minute gift bags were never so easy!
