Wrapping paper’s bum rap
December 18, 2008 by Ask the Expert
Filed under Ask the Expert
Q: Dear GGIS,
Christmas is almost upon us. Every year we have tons of wrapping paper and other gift wrap left over. What is the green solution?
Swimming in bows and ribbons,
Sean
A: Dear Sean,
Bags and bags of wrapping paper. My memory is of my dad playing basketball with the wrapping paper into the garbage bag. WOW. That’s a lot of recycling is my first thought.
- Wrapping paper: Recycle it as though you would any other paper in your house. OR create a fun new tradition- make it a contest to see who is the best at unwrapping their gifts without tearing the paper. Then you can reuse it next year!
- Tissue Paper: Tissue paper cannot be recycled but it’s great to add to your composting or reuse again. Red will be great for Valentines in little over a month.
- Bags and bows- Reuse, reuse, reuse. A little tape on the back and your bow is as good as new.
If you’re still shopping for gift wrapping- strive for wrapping that is more eco friendly. Look for recycled content wrapping paper at places like Target or make your own out of paper grocery bags.
Have a blessed holiday!
Mandy
Alix on Fri, 19th Dec 2008 5:22 pm
Great suggestions, Mandy! I’m challenging my family to an unwrapping contest. Two gift tag ideas for the list: 1. use the fronts of last year’s Christmas cards as tags/decoration for this year’s gifts, or 2. if you get holiday catalogs, cut out photos of mittens, ornaments, etc. to use as gift tags.
matt hoots on Sun, 21st Dec 2008 8:21 pm
Here is a zero cost wrapping job that I just did for my wife:
http://www.sustainword.com/2008/12/20/green-present-wrapping-101/
It’s more Eco Brute than Eco Chic but still effective.
Ofra on Tue, 6th Jan 2009 9:52 pm
I wrapped all my christmass gifts this year in cloth. Bandanas, scarfs or just beautiful pieces of square cloth. The technique is called Furoshiki http://furoshiki.com/techniques.php – it is an ancient Japanese art, it is easy, looks amazing and is totally reusable and sustainable!