Sure, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, but we are going to hit you with some melancholy news about your presents:  Most gift wrap is not recyclable. Americans spend over $12 billion on wrapping and more than 2 billion pounds of it end up in the landfill every year. Textured, glittery, or foil stamped must go in the trash; same with tissue paper (yes, tissue paper!).  Most ribbon is plastic and not recyclable.  Also keep in mind glitter is a sparkly microplastic (we try to avoid it for that reason, and also because it gets EVERYWHERE!). We know that it is fun to create beautiful gifting experiences, and many people have fun wrapping in these materials! In that case, try to REUSE some of your materials. 

Consider:

  • If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

  • If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

If reusing is not an option for you (e.g. if you have eager paper-ripping children), a quick test to see if your wrapping paper is recyclable is to scrunch it up. If it stays in a ball it is likely recyclable. If it unfurls, it probably contains plastic or other non-recyclable materials. 

Ready to get creative with some other ideas for greener wrapping? 

Green wrapping does not have to be grim looking! You can still have chic and fabulous wrapping with gift wrapping that is sustainable. Shop your house to see you what you can use to 'present' your gifts. Get creative! Some of our favorite ideas include:

  • Soft wrapping: Use hand towels, reusable gift sacks, vintage scarves, etc.

  • Paper wrapping: Consider old maps, newspaper, kids' artwork, brown paper bags, the calendar you're about to replace, stuffing paper from packages, etc. Re-use Trader Joe or Aldi Paper bags: turn inside-out, use stamps or have your kids create holiday (or random!) marker or crayon drawings.

  • Funky wrapping: Balloons or potato chip bags cut open and washed and turned inside-out can give a metallic look

  • New ways to present your gift: Attach jewelry to an old playing card (a la Gather & Collect!) and put in an envelope, put your gift in a mason jar or attach to a plant (which is part of the gift!)

  • Ribbon replacements: SAVE your ribbons year to year, try twine or reusable gift bows, or go natural with sprigs of evergreen, rosemary, or dried flowers.

  • Tape: use paper tape, authentic fiber-based washi tape, or better yet, learn how to wrap without tape!

  • Fillers: Use a hole punch to make confetti from leaves or scrap paper, cut or rip up kids artwork, newspaper or scrap paper into strips to tuck into gift bags.