5 Environmentally Friendly Wrapping Options

The holidays are a great time for giving and all-round good cheer, but it does encourage lots of consumption. Most of this – the eating and drinking and the giving of gifts – boosts the lovely warm feelings we get. Others, like wrapping paper, just use up resources and give us extra things to clean up. This year, you might want to try something a little different. Here are five environmentally friendly wrapping options.

Reusing cartons

This sounds a bit odd, but if you can find nice packaging, you can actually create cool boxes for smaller gifts. You have to clean out the packaging carefully, so you don’t leave anything that might start smelling or attracting pests. After that, its just a matter of cutting, folding and taping, then decorating with a lovely bow. The result is unique yet festive, which is ideal for environmentally friendly wrapping options.

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Wrapping with fabric

The Japanese have a traditional method of folding items into a cloth parcel. It is called furoshiki, and these days, many people are using the method to wrap gifts in cloth. Cloth is of course reusable, and it can look gorgeous underneath a tree. This is a great option for people who want to be eco-friendly and chic at the same time.

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Using old newspaper

Newspaper is the traditional wrapping paper for those who can’t be bothered to go out and get real wrapping paper, right? Well, if you decorate it with drawings or stamps like the example below, no one can accuse you of not putting effort in. More than that, though, the handmade feel and the sight of type bleeding through the accents and colours make decorated newspaper look completely modern.

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Putting it in a sturdy box

Most eco-friendly options are (conveniently) also very cheap. This particular option isn’t, but you will essentially be giving two gifts. Find a selection of beautifully printed sturdy boxes, and put your gifts in the boxes. You can tie them off with string in coordinating colours or top them with bows, if you like. The great thing about this wrapping option is that you will essentially give your loved one a gift and a beautiful bit of storage that they can use for years.

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Using an old calendar

As it’s the end of the year, you are probably thinking about getting a new calendar. Don’t just recycle the old one, though. You can use the pages to wrap gifts. It’s not as easy to use as wrapping paper, but it does look great. You can even use the date pages for a minimalist look if you haven’t written on them too much.

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These five environmentally friendly wrapping options allow you to wrap your Christmas gifts and save the planet, which seems the very definition of win-win. So what kind of environmentally friendly wrapping options will you use this year?