Last year I posted my DIY Gifts I'll Be Making This Year (And Would Love to Receive) post, and at the end, I shared my new favourite way to wrap gifts in a beautiful yet sustainable way, furoshiki. Even though I still love the look of it, and will continue to use it as much as I possibly can, I still also love the traditional way to wrap, albeit not the ideal to stay zero waste, there is a way to make it more sustainable.
Let's start with the base of it all, the paper. Traditional wrapping paper isn't recyclable, mostly because they are often dyed, laminated and/or contain non-paper additives, like glitter, gold or silver specks, plastics, which cannot be recycled. Also, some wrapping paper is very thin and doesn't contain enough good quality fibres for recycling. Because of this, it's up to us to find new and better ways to wrap our gifts. The internet is filled with beautiful and creative options, such as using old newspaper, re-using old wrapping paper (I'm usually laughed at for keeping every bit of wrapping paper for as many years as possible, but I've grown to ignore the laughs), using old bits of fabric... I usually even go to the extent of saving every bag of flour or sugar I use, or Kraft paper bags from bulk shopping, turn them over so you can't see the branding and use them as a blank canvas to wrap things, from gifts to things I sell online.
Another option is to get actual Brown Kraft Paper - which I'm yet to find at an affordable price in Portugal - and then get creative. My favourite way to do this is to use rubber stamps to create an original print all over the paper (although you should do this before wrapping anything to make sure the ink doesn't bleed into the gift itself). Here are some of my favourite options available on Etsy:
Christmas Jumper Stamp by TheStampPress
Christmas Bauble by LittleStampStore
With a simple search, you'll find thousands of beautiful options, but these are just a few of my favourites. Once you have the wrapping and decorating done and dealt with, it's time for the finishing touches.
Only a year or two ago did I find out that you can't actually recycle duct tape, and I keep thinking of all the pieces I've thrown on the recycling bin over the years and wonder where they are now. To prevent this, you have a few options:
- don't tape your gifts and simply tie them up with Cotton Bakers Twine or any other twine of your choice, maybe even a string of leftover wool/cotton from your knitting projects;
- use paper tape, this Eco-Friendly Packing Tape is one of the many available on Etsy, but if you're in Portugal the best place to get some is Mind The Trash, where you can buy paper tape made from recycled paper, twice the goodness. If you'd like something a bit more festive sometimes, you can go with washi tape, everyone's favourite for the past few years.
