Gift giving as a zero waster comes with a slew of wasteful problems to overcome. My efforts this year were not perfect, but I’ve done so much better than in years past when giving physical gifts. In the spirit of keeping the gifts themselves a secret (many of the recipients follow this blog), let’s just talk about wrapping.
If you didn’t know, traditional shiny wrapping paper can’t be recycled because it’s a paper-plastic hybrid.
That’s why Americans’ waste production increases by 1/4 every year during the Christmas season. In the past, I’ve opted for not wrapping gifts (which for the record is still a completely viable option) or giving the gift of experiences, but this will be the first Christmas with my niece and nephews and kids LOVE unwrapping gifts. So instead I tried to find recyclable or compostable wrapping alternatives. Or at the very least upcycle odds and ends from around the house. This is the result:
Here’s what you’re looking at:
- Toilet paper wrapping from Who Gives A Crap
- Secondhand cotton T-shirt yarn from Seattle ReCreative
- Secondhand acrylic yarn left over from old projects
- Discontinued upholstery samples from Pottery Barn that I snagged from being tossed in the dumpster
- The cardboard separators from a box of cat food
- Gifts that were wrapped for airplane travel by the store (we were afraid they’d break on the trip)
- Reusing the box from the chocolates our landlord gave tenants this year
There you have it! Are you wrapping Christmas gifts this year? What are you using?