Looking for ways to reduce your environmental impact this holiday season? Ditch the wrapping paper on this year’s gifts and reduce your paper waste.
Can wrapping paper be recycled? Photo Source: MollyMaid
Between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the amount of waste we generate increases by 25%. Did you know that consumers throw away over 12 billion dollars’ worth of wrapping paper every year? This generates enough wasted wrapping paper, tissue paper, and gift bags to circle the entire planet nine times!
Most wrapping paper is simply not recyclable. If the paper is metallic, glittery, or textured in any way, it can actually contaminate the recycling process.
Make a genuine impact this holiday season and opt for one of these sustainable alternatives instead:
1. Feeling Crafty?
Have a pile of grocery bags, newspapers, or old maps lying around? These paper goods, along with old cardboard boxes or even glass jars, can be great ways to not only wrap your gift, but express your creativity. You can draw on grocery bags, add a sprig of holly or greenery, or just some ribbons or bows instead of using paper to give it a thoughtful, personal touch.
Photo Credit: Grateful Images
2. Reuse Gift Bags
Give your gift in a colorful, festive gift bag that can be used again and again by the recipient!
3. Go Thrifting Shopping
If you’ve found yourself loving the trend of shopping sustainably at thrift stores, secondhand shops, or vintage outlets, this could be a perfect opportunity to utilize your eye for style! Look for a scarf, a shawl, or a tea towel, and accessorize the final product with festive trinkets. The best part of this method is that every part can be reused in a variety of ways–it’s a zero-waste approach to gifting!
4. Repurpose Old Holiday Cards
A personalized gift tag can be the perfect thing to tie your gift together. You can cut the festive, decorative front sides of cards and reuse them as holiday gift tags, or even another card!
Photo credits: goodhousekeeping.com
5. Want to Gain Some Cultural Knowledge?
There are plenty of ancient traditional methods of wrapping that utilize any extra cloth materials that you may have stored away. For example, the Japanese method known as Furoshiki is a great way to beautify your gifts themselves and show the ones you love a little extra care.
Photo credits: Chatelaine
Although these choices may seem small, your sustainable decisions today are what builds a shift for positive change in the long run. Reduce not only your own holiday expenses, but your environmental footprint as well.
Article by Lizzie Quackenbush, Sustainability Intern for Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants
