Did you know 545,000 tonnes of waste is generated each year from gift wrapping? Crazy right? And if each family wrapped 3 gifts in re-usable material we would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. So this year we’ve decided to wrap all our gifts in a zero-waste manner (that means no tape too). Today, in partnership with Home Hardware, we’re sharing a few sustainable gift wrapping ideas below. We know there’s nothing better than beautifully wrapped present but sustainable gift wrapping can be beautiful and keep our world beautiful too!
So the idea is that you try to use what you already have around the house, old reused wrapping paper, sustainable materials or something that is part of the gift like festive tea-towels. I visited my local Home Hardware and picked up some cheese cloth, napkins, twine, string, Kraft paper and Beauti-tone paint. It’s important that none of your zero waste gift wrapping includes tape or sparkly wrapping paper. Tape does not biodegrade and the sparkly wrapping paper can ruin an entire batch of recyclable paper. Don’t forget to forage your own decorations like trimmings, dried orange slices or even herbs like rosemary.
1. Furoshiki
Furoshiki is the ancient Japanese art of gift wrapping with fabric, without paper, ribbon or tape. The fabric is simply folded around the package and tied in a knot. Similar to a boho sack. The great thing about this option is that it is adaptable to any size gift and depending on the fabric can look really festive. We’ve used napkins but you could also use dish clothes or even an old shirt. You could make this part of the gift or simply ask for it back after the gift has been open.
2. Kraft Paper & Paint
Kraft paper always gives that old world charm to a gift. Maria from the Sound of Music knew what she was talking about when she said “brown paper packages tied up with string!” (sorry for putting that in your head for the rest of the day lol). Honestly, there’s something about the simplicity of this wrapping that can make any gift exceptional. I decided to paint the Kraft paper with some Beauti-tone paint from Home Hardware (specifically Honey Dew List C43-6-0748-0 and Cheddar Corn B43-5-1001-0). I painted a simple plaid pattern and used some twine to close the package.
3. Cheese Cloth & Twine
Again, just like the Kraft paper, as long as you don’t use tape this option is biodegradable and can be dyed to your preferred colour. Adding a few extra details to the gift wrapping can really help, we found these rings in the chain department at the Home Hardware and I think they add a little bit of sparkle.
That’s all it takes. If everyone makes a small commitment we can make big changes. I never really thought about it growing up but now I can see what a problem gift wrap can be. Sustainable gift wrapping will continue to grow in popularity and someday we will think it was weird to use anything else.
This post is in partnership with Home Hardware. All expressed opinions are my own.
