BETTER LIVING: Green + Cost-Saving Gift Wrap

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Candita Clayton, GoLocalProv Lifestyle Expert

Creative reuse in wrapping makes for stunning, memorable gifts

It’s Thanksgiving and the opening bell of the holiday season! I thought I’d share with you some resources and ideas to help you make your own holiday a little greener. These ideas aren’t complicated or time-consuming, and they can even save you money. Best of all, you’ll feel good about giving, because you may be helping to save the polar bears at the same time.

Waste from the manufacture and use of conventional wrapping paper is a huge concern for conservationists during the holiday season. Today, I’ll give you some ideas about how to incorporate greener wrapping practices into your holiday routine. These tips aren’t only good through the holiday season, either: you’ll use them all year long.

Pre-Holiday: Get Wrapping

Buy sustainable: Many companies are producing beautiful wrapping papers made from recycled materials, or from paper bleached without chlorine and other harmful chemicals. You can find these products through web retailers, and perhaps through your local stationary or specialty store. A Google search for eco-friendly wrapping paper will turn up many great resources, including several UK companies with stunning products to offer. If you can’t find 100% recycled or tree-free paper, look for paper containing at least 30% post-consumer recycled materials.
Make your own: Newsprint, butchers’ paper, and even good old recycled copy paper can be turned into stunning gift wrap, and yard for yard they’re far less expensive than conventional gift wraps. Using pre-made rubber stamps (available at crafts stores) or your own homemade potato stamps, paints, pencils, pastels, or crayons, you and your children can make every piece of gift wrap as unique as the present it contains. And, you’ll have so much fun creating the gift wrap, you may end up making extra for next year!
Reuse, rewrap, recycle: If you’re not too concerned with the pristine lines of your gift wrap, why not reuse paper from past years? So long as it’s not ripped or torn, there’s no reason that old paper can’t embrace another present. Tissue paper, like that used to wrap clothing, can also be reused over and over, if it’s carefully treated. If your family is on board, make paper-saving a tradition. One downside: reused paper can look a little wrinkly, so if you’re concerned with making an impression this may not be the best way to go.
Create a theme: Are you giving to a musician? Wrap the present in old sheet music. A traveler? Use an old travel guide or road map. A boating enthusiast? Tie up the gift in rope, or wrap it in old clean sailcloth. All of these use no new materials, and make your gift original and fun.
Sew it up: For the truly eco-savvy, fabric bags are the way to go. You can make gift bags of all shapes and sizes from remnants available at fabric stores, with hardly any effort involved (two straight seams and you’re done!). Or, you can make bags out of old sheets, curtains, even clothing, and use no new materials at all. Fabric gift bags can be used dozens of times, and recipients always appreciate the extra effort.

Accessorize

Instead of plastic bows and ribbons, which create lots of waste in landfills, use fabric ribbons on your packages: you can save them and reuse them season after season. Bright fabric ribbons look particularly stunning when used with fabric gift bags.
Natural raffia ribbon and bows are available at most crafts stores, and look great with handmade wrapping papers. Raffia can also be reused, provided it’s handled gently.
Flowers, fragrant eucalyptus or pine boughs, and even miniature wreaths make great gift toppers. Just be careful not to use holly, mistletoe or other poisonous plants if there are kids around.

Post-Holiday: Clean it Up

Conventional wrapping paper can be recycled at a growing number of facilities. Check with your local recycling authority for details. Newsprint and butchers’ paper can be recycled everywhere; simply fold it up and place in your recycle bin.
If you’re saving paper for next year, try not to rip while you’re opening gifts. Remove tape if possible, and fold paper into neat squares you can store in a shoebox or plastic bin. Ditto for tissue paper, bubble wrap, and other packing materials.
Fabric gift bags should be washed if necessary, and stored in a place safe from mildew and mold. Space Bags or other airtight storage bags are a great way to keep fabrics safe and dry in basements or even garages.
Ribbons, raffia, and other accessories should be carefully stored for use next year. Iron out any wrinkles in fabric ribbons with a warm iron before reusing.

The holidays are big business in the retail world – but they don’t have to create big pollution. Even small changes in your own household can make a big difference to our planet’s health.