Once Upon a Tuesday abstract gift wrap is printed with green energy and sent in plastic-free packaging. Sold in folded sheets in packs of 5 or 10, these colourful designs are suitable for any time of year. This company suggests cutting out used months of their recycled calendars to use as gift tags.
Avoid sending plantable gift wrap and cards to homes with pets, as most wildflowers are unsafe near animal friends.
It’s not just the paper and ribbons that are the culprits; the accessories can create quite a lot of waste, too. Here are some offenders:
- Sticky Tape: Often forgotten, but vital to holding your masterpiece together, sticky tape is typically made from non-biodegradable plastic. Read below on alternatives!
- Gift Tags: These small additions often come laminated, making them non-recyclable. They’re like the cherry on top of a wasteful sundae. Curlicue offers nice recycled gift tags.
- Plastic Embellishments: Think glittery stars or plastic flowers, which do nothing but add a bit of sparkle to the waste-pile.
This ‘feed the worms’ recycled gift wrap includes 2 sheets of wrapping paper and two tags, designed and eco-printed in the UK on uncoated recycled paper with vegetable inks. Consciously designed to avoid glitter or foil, everything is sold in biodegradable packaging, so at end of use, you can just rip it all up, and add to your compost bin.
Fabulous flock recycled paper gift wrap
Use with Plastic-Free Packing Tape
This snail mail paper packing tape is an extra-long roll featuring hand-drawn snails, printed with water-soluble inks and made with green energy. Designed to easily be torn by hand, it’s as strong as standard tape, but needs no scissors or dispensers, and can be recycled after use. Also in a fun ‘feed the worms’ design.
Brand name Sellotape was created during World War II to protect windows from bomb damage, and seal ammunition boxes. But most modern brands of ‘eco tape’ contain ‘bioplastic’ that can only be industrially composted. True plastic-free paper can be composted in your garden.
Using Natural Twine or String
Choosing natural twine or string over plastic ribbons is a small change that makes a big difference. Unlike shiny plastic alternatives, twine is biodegradable and adds a rustic, charming touch to any package. Just bin or recycle twine or string (don’t leave it in garden as it could harm wildlife).
Fabric Gift Wrap: Furoshiki Techniques
Fabrap offers beautifully illustrated organic cotton gift wraps, packed in recycled paper envelopes, with notecards to keep or give back the wrap, once gifts are opened. Some wraps are reversible, so you can choose from two patterns.
HappyWrap is a company that produces beautifully designed organic cotton gift wrap. Use to wrap bottles to books to jewellery. The brand was inspired by Dick Whittington, who would carry all his belongings in a fabric bag on a stick!
All the gift wraps are made locally (including gift tags and packaging) to reduce carbon footprint and support fair labour laws. The company also sells recycled paper gift wrap and sustainable Lokta paper (from a bark that sheds naturally each year in Nepal and provides jobs).
The naturally coloured fabrics have lovely weight, so need for lining and your gifts remain nicely hidden. The orders include cotton cord and a recycled card gift tag with cotton twine. And an illustrated wrapping guide to get you started.
The small wraps are good for wine bottles, gloves, books, DVDs, bracelet boxes, watches, aftershave, clutch bags, Kindles and iPads. The medium ones are for a shoe box, board games, shirts, cuddly toys, cameras, phones in boxes and large books.
Battle Green Reusable Gift Wrap is in bright red or green, made with organic cotton. Ethically made in India, these festive gift wraps donate £1 from each sale to a small non-profit that helps care for abandoned, abused and unwanted domestic/farm animals and sick/injured wildlife.
Thick and Chunky Paper Ribbon
This thick and chunky paper ribbon is a much more eco-friendly and safer alternative to plastic ribbon, to wrap your gifts. And at end of use, you can just safely compost it. Most ribbons and bows in shops are not just plastic, but often contain metallic plastic parts, that can pollute our waterways.
This ribbon is easy to work with, and scrunches beautifully, to make your zero waste gifts look super-stylish. Made with paper from sustainably-managed forests, it can be ‘fanned out’ for a crushed effect. No more having to sort through your zero waste gift wrap, searching for fiddly plastic bows.
These Christmas bows are sold as a set of 5, made from a kind of luxury paper made from old coffee cups. Perfect to hang on the tree instead of plastic tinsel, you can also use them to finish off wrapping a present, or even add to your festive table as decoration.
The bowls arrive with strings attached, but these are easily removed, if not needed. You can use these bows for years, there are 5 small and 5 large bows in mixed colours:
- Natural
- Mustard
- Midnight
- Khaki
- Blush
Coffee cups may be made from paper and cardboard (which is a waste of trees anyway). But the linings contain plastic, which means they cannot be recycled. A good reason to take a reusable coffee cup to the store – or use a mug!
Creative Techniques for Gift Wrapping
The Soul of Gift Wrapping is a book that combines inventive wrapping designs with inspiring personal essays by sustainable gift wrap artist Megumi Inouye. Drawing on the gift-giving traditions of her Japanese heritage, this book shows how the act of giving a thoughtfully wrapped gift can be a creative caring act for both the giver and receiver.
Keep glue (even natural versions) away from children and pets (this includes homemade flour-water glue, as it can expand in the stomach).
Using recycled and repurposed materials, her approach inspires readers to think intentionally about the presentation of every gift, whether it’s a tip for an unseen hotel housekeeper, a simple gift of fresh for a neighbour or a special birthday gift for a beloved family member. Learn how to make tape-free folding techniques, paper and fabric bows, clever message tags and unique approaches for odd-shaped items. And how to wrap a book without tape.
