Wrap Green For The Holidays
Happy Products LifestylePublished December 9, 2010 at 9:04 pm No Comments
The fun and excitement of the Holiday Season is highlighted by the excitement of sending gifts to our family and friends. Add to that, we joy of tapping into our creativity by wrapping the gifts we give. Gift giving at the holidays does, however, come with an environmental cost. The typical scenario goes something like this: set up the wrapping station, add wrapping paper, gift bags, bows, ribbons, cards, tape, writing utensils and packaging paraphernalia. As an aside, the US consumer is using a higher number of gift bags than ever before. Gift bags save time but often have significantly more toxic dye and chemicals than do traditional wrapping paper. They are also heavier than wrapping paper and therefore take more time to degrade. The majority of things we use in the wrapping process end up in trash bins and ultimately land fills. Here are some great alternatives to go green this Christmas.
NEWSPAPERS
Want to be unique? Choose the cartoon part the daily newspaper to make your package colorful and eye-catching. Bring out your inner artist. You can even use crayons, watercolors and oil pastels to jazz things up. The more personal effort you put into the gift presentation, the more special the experience will be for the recipient. Add to this that newspapers are some of the most recyclable materials used today and you have a perfect solution for holiday gift-wrapping waste.
BOXES
The classic understatement is often the most elegant. Just add silver or gold ribbons or bows to the top of a plain white box. If plain white isn’t your style, boxes with pre-stamped designs are available at box and craft stores. This eliminates the wrapping paper part of the process while still offering a beautifully colorful gift. The key is to use your imagination to deliver the best gift-wrapping ideas without the associated environmental cost. The more minimalist you can be with your gift preparation, the bigger gift you will give to the environment this holiday season.
JARS AND CANS
For small gifts, you can use the clean, empty glass kitchen containers of things such as pickles, salad dressing or salsa. Often times we put our glass containers in the recycling bin. Try giving these glass containers one more use before you commit them to recycling. Add glitter to the glass by using non-toxic roll-on glue glitter or Holiday stickers. Use sewing scraps or fabric pieces from your children’s outgrown clothes, or leftover wallpaper pieces to make festive bows for the top of the jars.
CALENDARS
Do you still remember just throwing those calendars away after the year ends? Use those colorful designs to wrap your holiday gifts. Cutting them into holiday shapes allows you the benefit of the colors on the calendar without using the entire image. It makes for a beautifully abstract adornment to any present.
USED LINENS, CURTAINS AND OTHER FABRICS
The dilemma of reusing wrapping paper from years gone by is that once the gifts are open, the paper is usually torn to shreds. If you have children that neatly open their presents that option may work for you. But let’s get real, how many homes in America experience Christmas morning in low-key fashion? The best solution to this is to use pre-used fabric. We all have fabric just lying around the house or taking up space in the basement or attic. Why not use them to wrap gifts? You can even sew lovely gift bags that are custom made to fit the size of the gift you are giving. Add dried colorful leaves or recycled confetti for a perfect finishing touch.
The take home message is this: Explore what you have in your house and workplace. You’ll be surprised how much there is to use. Paper scraps, coupons, magazines, and even your children’s school papers (grandparents love this one) can be used to wow your gift beneficiary. As a finishing touch to any gift, consider placing a low-key note on your wrapping to encourage your gift recipient to recycle the entire wrapping splendor.
