Gift the environment with sustainable wrapping this Christmas
What can we do to make Christmas a little kinder to the planet? One simple way is to consider how we wrap our presents.
Picture this: it’s Christmas morning, the kids have been up since dawn and dragged you from your beds to bust open the presents under the tree. Paper tears, flies from excited hands and drifts to the floor. In their wake, the clean-up will start, with great wads of discarded paper and foil, new off the roll yesterday and now headed for the bin. It’s a scenario that plays out in households across the world on the big day.
As a UNESCO Biosphere community here on the Sunshine Coast, we all have the power to make a difference and celebrate Christmas in harmony with our natural environment.
So, what are our options for environmentally friendly wrapping? There’s an solution for everyone, no matter how busy or budget-bound this festive season.
1. The right paper for recycling
Most Christmas wrapping paper can be recycled, but it’s important to select the right product.
As trees must be felled to generate new paper pulp, choose wrapping paper that is made from recycled content or sustainably sourced.
Avoid foil wrapping, or paper with metallic or glitter coatings, as none of these materials can be recycled. The easiest way to check? Rip it. If it tears like paper, it can go on the recycling bin, but if it’s hard to tear or stretches, it goes into regular waste.
Try to reduce the amount of sticky tape used, and remove it from the wrapping paper before recycling.
2. Compostable wrapping
Have a home compost heap on the go? Craft paper and decorative washi tape is all you need for adorable and eco-friendly gift wrap this year.
Washi tape is made from natural rubber and paper, both of which can join your craft paper in the compost.
Once again, try to source recycled paper if possible.
For the extra wow-factor, add some fresh or dried flowers or foliage from the garden as a gift-topper.
3. Reusable fabric
Between our shopping bags, water bottles and coffee cups, we’ve become practised in the art of re-using, and Christmas wrapping can be just as simple if we use the same fabric to wrap our presents year after year.
Christmas-themed fabrics are widely available for purchase, but the extra-thrifty among us will find fabrics, shawls, scarves, tea towels, linen and ribbons around the house. Otherwise, hit up your favourite charity op shop, with the added bonus of your dollar going towards those in need this Christmas.
Re-using materials reduces the environmental strain of both resource use and waste. Provided we continue to re-use our materials, re-using is a more sustainable option than recycling. There’s great satisfaction in receiving a present wrapped with the reusable fabric you gifted away last year, because you’ve inspired your giftee to continue the cycle.
For a Pinterest-worthy presentation, try the Japanese art of Furoshiki, a traditional style of cloth-wrapping that removes the need for ribbon or tape to secure.
4. Re-use paper from around the house
You don’t need that stack of old magazines, do you? What about last week’s newspaper? Or the postage boxes from those Black Friday sales? Last year’s diary organiser? We all re-use those gift bags, but even a paper grocery bag is an opportunity.
With a little imagination, there are already plenty of creative wrapping materials lying around the house. We’ve all used newspaper for a game of pass-the-parcel, and it’s time to normalise newsprint as Christmas wrap, too.
For an extra-personal touch, grab the kids for a potato-stamping afternoon to beautify those old pages and boxes.
Sources
Factsheet: guide to Sunshine Coast waste and recycling
Nothing new for Christmas: Ditch the wrapping
Related links
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