Holiday Wrap Alternatives

PRESENTation is Important This Holiday

Well, your Holiday shopping is almost over..maybe. Of course you bought gifts that are environmentally friendly. If you are not done shopping yet, try to buy gifts that the recipient will really use or needs. Don’t forget to shop through Earth council. Just click on a banner on our Home page and Gift Ideas page and shop ‘til your heart’s content. Don’t forget Jill’s Photo Gallery for great gift ideas. Many gifts are used once and end up in the landfill. In today’s economy being frugal is important but frugal is often better for the environment. So while shopping try to stick to gifts the person really wants and will use, or needs.

That being said, the next step is presentation. How do you present the gift? Traditionally, or at least in thee modern times we buy gift wrap and plastic bows and wrap it up.

Did you know…

Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, Americans generate 25% more waste per week than during the rest of the year. This creates an additional 1.2 million tons per week, or an extra 6 million tons, for the holiday season. This is up 20% since 1995!

According to the USDA, Americans throw away 25% of food purchased -- 52 billion pounds each year, or 170 pounds per person! When you add in food waste from restaurants, retailers and other commercial purveyors, the University of Arizona estimates that the real amount wasted is closer to 50%.

If every American family reduced holiday gasoline consumption by just one gallon a week, the result would be an annual reduction in greenhouse gas production of 13 billion pounds (6.5 million tons) of carbon dioxide.

If American households reduced their holiday ribbon usage by just 2 feet, the result would be a savings of 50,000 miles, enough ribbon to circle the Earth twice.

(Statistics from The Use Less Stuff web site)

Wrapping paper also contains dyes and chemicals that can be toxic and some contain carcinogens. Metallic paper cannot be recycled. Now, let’s change those statistics and save money, our health and the environment all at the same time. We all win. Here are some Holiday wrap alternatives.

ü Instead of buying wrapping paper this year reuse paper from last year. If you receive a gift wrapped, unwrap it carefully so you can reuse it next year. Any scraps of paper too small for wrapping can be cut and used as gift tags. The really ragged pieces can be recycled as fill for packaging. Don’t buy bubble warp or peanuts for packing. Use old magazines, wrapping paper or newspaper to wrap your things securely for shipping or giving.

ü Use the comics or travel section of the newspaper or old maps for gift wrap. They are colorful and decorative. At least the paper will be used once more before going to the recycling center (NOT the landfill folks!).

ü Use the gift to warp the gift. Give a scarf, blanket, tote bag or other items that can be used to bag or wrap the gift in. If the fabric or material gift is the only gift then all you need is to tie it up in a nice decorative fabric ribbon. Giving your gifts tucked inside a tote bag is nice because it is two gifts in one and it encourages the recipient to bring their own bags shopping instead of using the plastic ones at the store. You can buy some nice tote bags from our Earth Council Store.

ü Make your own vintage wrapping paper. The earliest wrapping paper was plain brown paper. You can decorate it to make it more festive. Use butcher paper, paper used in packaging you may have received stuffed in items you bought and shipped for Christmas. Use the paper bags from the grocery store or other stores. You can either put the gift in the bag and put a bow on it or cut it up to use as wrapping paper. You can decorate them with markers, crayons or Christmas stamps you can buy with different colored ink. You cam make your own stamps by cutting a potato in half and carving a shape or design in it and use the ink pads to stamp wit it. To really give it a vintage feel use vintage designs like tress, leaves or vines. Personalize the wrap by writing or stamping the person’s name on it. If you have kids this is great for them. It is teaching them it doesn’t take money to give nice things and it shows them the importance of recycling. Besides they will have a blast drawing pictures or going crazy just scribbling colored abstract designs. No coloring within the lines, completely free and wild. Come to think of it that sounds good for us adults, especially at this time of year.

ü Use cloth and cloth bags for wrap. You can get scraps of fabric cheap at your local fabric store. You can get all different sizes, designs, and colors. You can use them as wrap or make gift bags with the fabric. If you sew then you probably already have scraps you can use. This is especially great if you are giving a gift to someone who sews or quilts. They can use your “wrap” for their next project. The great thing about the fabric is , if the message gets across, you will get it back some time later wrapped around a gift for you. Once family and friends keep circulating these fabrics for wrap, no one will ever buy wrap again! Just tie it up with fabric ribbon, which you can also buy on sale as scraps.

Using fabric for wrap is an old Japanese custom called Furoshiki. It is similar to Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into different shapes and designs, Furoshiki uses different folds to make gifts look attractive. The cloth can be used again or it can be a scarf for the person receiving the gift. Here is an instructional video from Recycle Now showing how to fold the fabric to wrap chocolates, a bottle, and a book. It also shows how to fold the fabric so the recipient can use the beautiful fabric as a purse!

ü If you absolutely have to have wrapping paper then at least buy paper that is made form recycled materials and safe soy based inks. Earth Care Papers has a wide selection of gift wrap and ribbons for any occasion.

Remember this Holiday Season to keep it simple. This simple idea makes life easier on you, your bank account and the Earth. It also makes the holidays that much more special since you know you are giving and receiving a sense of pride and satisfaction knowing you have lightened your load on the planet.

Most of all…ENJOY!