December 17, 2021
Go Green This Holiday Season 4 Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping Ideas
The holidays are one of the most magical times of the year! Sipping hot chocolate with Mariah Carey blasting is one of the best ways to get prepared to wrap the endless gifts hiding away in the back of the closet. This process is one of the best parts of the holiday for some! You get to be creative and make true masterpieces from your wrapping skills. But have you ever thought about the impact all those bows, ribbons, and sparkly paper wraps have on the environment?
While elaborate wrapping makes for beautiful-looking presents under the tree, it can create a lot of trash. In fact, Americans alone use approximately 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper each holiday season, and of that, about 2.3 million pounds end up in a landfill!
So, before you begin to look up the coolest wrapping trends this year, we encourage you to consider going green this holiday season by choosing more sustainable wrapping options. You may be surprised by how beautiful presents can look without creating an extraordinary amount of waste.
If you’re familiar with Keepers Collective and our values, you know how important living an eco-friendly life is to us! To help you on your journey to becoming a more sustainable gift giver, here are some of our favorite minimal waste holiday gift wrapping ideas.
(If you’re feeling inspired, we also have easy swaps you can make to achieve a more sustainable kitchen!)
Furoshiki Wrapping
Furoshiki are traditional Japanese clothes that are used to carry clothes, food, gifts, and other belongings. The clothes are decorative and square-shaped - perfect for elegantly wrapping presents.
First, the item is placed in the middle of the fabric; then, the material is folded up around the object and tied up in a knot. It’s as simple as that! If you want to add a little more flair, you can add a sprig of dried herbs or fresh flowers to knot for a pop of color and decoration. And since the fabric is far more malleable than wrapping paper, it can make even those awkward-shaped objects look lovely.
Another part of the appeal of furoshiki wrapping is that the receiver can enjoy the cloth and later reuse it to give their own gift.
Kraft Paper
Kraft paper is an affordable alternative to traditional wrapping paper that is entirely compostable or recyclable (as long as it is not oiled or waxed.)
Though it may commonly be used to package up fresh meat at butchers, it can be quite a fantastic gift wrap. There are so many possible looks you can achieve with this minimalist-looking product.
You may choose to tie it up with some colorful twine and tuck in sprigs of eucalyptus, use stamps to create holiday messages, or you can show off your artistic skills and decorate it with markers and buttons. The sky's the limit with kraft paper wrapping!
Pro tip: You can also use paper grocery bags! If you have a stack hiding somewhere in the closet, you can turn them into a simple gift wrap by curing along the crease and bottom to lay it out flat. Then fold it up as you would any other wrapping paper.
Reusable Bags
Like the furoshiki wrapping, opting for a reusable bag instead of wrapping paper kind of acts as two gifts in one!
You can find adorable canvas and straw bags that would be perfect for the receiver to reuse when grabbing groceries or items at the market. Cloth flour bags can be great around the house and can easily be printed on with festive messages and designs.
Newspaper
If you have any old papers lying around, now is the time to use them! Wrapping up gifts in newspapers is a vintage, unique way to partake in a (close to) zero-waste holiday.
Just pay attention to which pages you are using because you’ll want to make sure to avoid any potentially controversial news articles. For an even more fun twist, use the comics section! And if you can find recyclable paper tape, it’s a double win.
Interested in more tips for environment-friendly living? Check out our blog all about natural, sustainable skincare for the entire family.
While elaborate wrapping makes for beautiful-looking presents under the tree, it can create a lot of trash. In fact, Americans alone use approximately 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper each holiday season, and of that, about 2.3 million pounds end up in a landfill!
So, before you begin to look up the coolest wrapping trends this year, we encourage you to consider going green this holiday season by choosing more sustainable wrapping options. You may be surprised by how beautiful presents can look without creating an extraordinary amount of waste.
If you’re familiar with Keepers Collective and our values, you know how important living an eco-friendly life is to us! To help you on your journey to becoming a more sustainable gift giver, here are some of our favorite minimal waste holiday gift wrapping ideas.
(If you’re feeling inspired, we also have easy swaps you can make to achieve a more sustainable kitchen!)
Furoshiki Wrapping
Furoshiki are traditional Japanese clothes that are used to carry clothes, food, gifts, and other belongings. The clothes are decorative and square-shaped - perfect for elegantly wrapping presents.
First, the item is placed in the middle of the fabric; then, the material is folded up around the object and tied up in a knot. It’s as simple as that! If you want to add a little more flair, you can add a sprig of dried herbs or fresh flowers to knot for a pop of color and decoration. And since the fabric is far more malleable than wrapping paper, it can make even those awkward-shaped objects look lovely.
Another part of the appeal of furoshiki wrapping is that the receiver can enjoy the cloth and later reuse it to give their own gift.
Kraft Paper
Kraft paper is an affordable alternative to traditional wrapping paper that is entirely compostable or recyclable (as long as it is not oiled or waxed.)
Though it may commonly be used to package up fresh meat at butchers, it can be quite a fantastic gift wrap. There are so many possible looks you can achieve with this minimalist-looking product.
You may choose to tie it up with some colorful twine and tuck in sprigs of eucalyptus, use stamps to create holiday messages, or you can show off your artistic skills and decorate it with markers and buttons. The sky's the limit with kraft paper wrapping!
Pro tip: You can also use paper grocery bags! If you have a stack hiding somewhere in the closet, you can turn them into a simple gift wrap by curing along the crease and bottom to lay it out flat. Then fold it up as you would any other wrapping paper.
Reusable Bags
Like the furoshiki wrapping, opting for a reusable bag instead of wrapping paper kind of acts as two gifts in one!
You can find adorable canvas and straw bags that would be perfect for the receiver to reuse when grabbing groceries or items at the market. Cloth flour bags can be great around the house and can easily be printed on with festive messages and designs.
Newspaper
If you have any old papers lying around, now is the time to use them! Wrapping up gifts in newspapers is a vintage, unique way to partake in a (close to) zero-waste holiday.
Just pay attention to which pages you are using because you’ll want to make sure to avoid any potentially controversial news articles. For an even more fun twist, use the comics section! And if you can find recyclable paper tape, it’s a double win.
Interested in more tips for environment-friendly living? Check out our blog all about natural, sustainable skincare for the entire family.