Eco-Friendly Wrapping Ideas
Did you know that 227,000 miles of wrapping paper is thrown away each year? To avoid unnessecary waste, we've chosen some of our favourite eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas to share so you can gift sustainably this Christmas!
NEWSPAPER
Newspaper can make the perfect gift wrap. It saves spending money on new christmas wrapping paper and frees up some space in your paper rack! Just wrap your gift, add some jute twine to spruce it up and attach your tag.
FUROSHKI
Fabric wrap leaves no waste; no tape, no leftover paper and no paper roll. Using some old fabric or material off-cuts as wrapping means you don’t only recycle but you reuse! You could even make one gift two by wrapping your present in a scarf if you have any that you never wear. Follow the Japanese art of furoshiki and create unique packages! If you don’t have any spare fabric lying around, you can purchase some from some great brands; it still has less negative environmental effects than using regular wrapping paper
Furoshki Gift Wrap - The Fabric Wrapping Co.
Furoshki Gift Wrap - Lush
How to wrap gifts with fabric - CountryLiving
PAPER BAGS
Put your gift in the bag and clip it with a wooden peg or bunch up the opening and tie with some jute twine around it. Add some dried flowers, cinnamon sticks or candy canes for decoration!
FABRIC GIFT BAG
Why not invest in an eco-friendly reusable gift bag? There’s plenty of brands that sell fabric gift bags or sacks that can be reused over and over so your wrapping can be passed on and on and on. Or if you're spending Christmas with the receiver, ask for it back and reuse it next Christmas! Plus this simplifies wrapping those awkwardly shaped presents so you can spend less time wrapping and more time sipping mulled wine!
TOILET ROLL
Got a small and precious gift in mind? Pop it inside an empty toilet roll and push in the ends to seal the opening. Wrap some ribbon or string around it or you could even get creative and get your paints out to decorate!
ECO-FRIENDLY WRAPPING PAPER
If you’re a sucker for good ol’ fashion wrapping paper there are some great alternatives to regular wrapping paper that you can use to wrap your gifts, such as recycled, recyclable and plantable wrapping paper. Plantable or seed paper can be planted after use and the seeds germinate & grow into plants & the paper biodegrades; you can find plenty of great ones on Amazon. As for recycled or recyclable wrapping paper, here are some of our favourite brands:
Re-Wrapped
London-based company producing Wrapping Paper, Cards and Notebooks, using 100% recycled unbleached paper and card and only using environmentally friendly vegetable based inks, meaning all products can be recycled.
Wrapped by Alice
Recycled wrapping paper, designed and printed in Sheffield, UK made from a minimum of 80% recycled materials and 100% recyclable, with minimal ink and the majority of inks used being water-based.
If you order with us, you don't even need to wrap as they come ready to put under the tree! Jewellery comes in a black recyclable jewellery box and is packaged in a 100% recycled + recyclable mailing box filled with tissue paper.
While stocks last, all rings and earrings come in our hand-hammered tin Bali boxes! They make perfect jewellery boxes, soap dishes or even baby plant pots so you can gift your loved ones two presents in one! These come packaged in our 100% recycled + recyclable mailing box with tissue paper.
If you use any of these ideas, be sure to let the receiver know the benefits of their wrapping (plantable/recyclable) so your efforts don’t go to waste! And be sure to share your creations with us on Instagram by tagging @housethirteen. Which was your favourite idea?