Zero Waste Ways to Wrap Your Gifts
Good Tuesday Recycled Paper Gift Wrap
Gift-giving can be special, without the waste. Many common wrapping choices, from glossy paper to sticky tape, end up in the bin. By switching to zero waste methods, you can cut back on rubbish, support the planet and still present a thoughtful parcel.
Avoid buying glossy gift wraps or ones with glitter, as these usually cannot be recycled. Also read our post on zero waste greetings cards.
Avoid sending plantable gift wrap and cards to homes with pets, as most wildflowers are unsafe near animal friends. Read our post on keeping pets safe at Christmas.
Recycled Paper Gift Wrap
There are absolutely gorgeous recycled gift wraps on the market today, sold in plastic-free packaging. So stock up, so that next time a birthday comes around.
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. You can use their used recycled calendars to use as gift tags.
It’s All Eco offers lovely recycled gift wraps, sent in plastic-free packaging. Choose from Flowers and bees or Pink floral.
Choosing recycled paper gift wrap is also good to save trees. Although most paper gift wrap is FSC-certified (to protect rainforests), conventional virgin (new) paper still comes from mono plantations of young saplings, grown using pesticides.
Use with recycled paper gift tags.
Such trees also don’t support native wildlife. So save slow-growth forest trees, and use up waste, by choosing brands that make post-consumer gift wrap. This also requires less water and energy, over making paper from trees.
Gift Wrap Made from Grass!
Grass-paper gift wrap is indeed made from grass fibres, and easily compostable after use. So pretty you could even use it as place mats or table runners.
Plastic-Free Tape Alternatives
Traditional sticky tapes again can’t be recycled, so invest in plastic-free packing tape, which you can also use in the office.
This adhesive paper tape is sold in a wide or narrow size. Easily recycled after use, it’s made by a family business in Lancashire, also available in a floral design.
Sarah Frances Washi Tape is a more decorative option, made from easy-to-recycle paper adhesive.
Natural Twine and Ribbon
If choosing to wrap gifts with ribbon, choose biodegradable versions made from paper, or use natural twine that is easily chopped and composted, or breaks down naturally in the bin.
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.
Or use natural twine, which is biodegradable, and adds a rustic charm. Just bin or recycle twine or string (don’t leave it in garden as it could harm wildlife).
Fabric Wrap (Furoshiki)
This Japanese method of wrapping gifts is thousands of years old. You can do-it-yourself by using scarves, decorative tea towels or fabric scraps to wrap gifts, without waste.
Most people choose to buy commercial fabric wrap, as it comes with instructions! You can use it to wrap everything from books to bottles, and then the giver or recipient can pop it away in a drawer, to use again for the next time a gift is given.
The beauty of fabric wrap is that due to using knots and folds with only your hands, no scissors or tape are required.
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!
This fabric gift wrap features a beautiful sea turtle print, sure to inspire friends who love our endangered marine creature friends.
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.
Sent in zero waste packaging with an illustrated guide to get you started, choose the correct size:
- Small is good for wine, gloves, books, DVDs, bracelet or watch boxes, aftershave, clutch bags or iPads.
- Medium is good for shoe boxes, board games, shirts, boxed gadgets and portable radios.
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).
Battle Green Reusable Gift Wrap is in bright red or green, made with organic cotton. Ethically made in India.
£1 from each dale is donated to a small non-profit that helps care for abandoned, abused and unwanted domestic/farm animals and sick/injured wildlife.
Handmade Gift Wrap
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.
Keep small parts (like buttons) and glue – even natural versions) away from children and pets (toxic, and can expand in the stomach).
Using repurposed materials (like old maps and sheet music), her approach inspires readers to think intentionally about the presentation of every gift.
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.
