Wrapping those holiday gifts

Choosing a method of wrapping gifts can be a challenge when you're learning to be green. Let's look at the options and figure out together, shall we?

Option 1: One certainly does not want to use traditional wrapping paper or gift bags. Full of chemicals, heavy metals, and synthetic inks, it is certainly the least green source. Plus, purchasing it means more trees must be harvested and processed, and more wrapping paper must be shipped out, all with a high carbon price tag.

[Do note that there are more eco-friendly wrapping papers and bags available out there, made of hemp, etc. These solve many of the problems with traditional wrapping papers. However, you are still wasting resources unnecessarily, even if those resources are renewable. Options 3 and 4, below, are better choices.]

Option 2: Last year, I hand-decorated a couple of brown paper grocery bags and used those to wrap my family's gifts. A much better option than traditional wrapping paper. Plus, the gifts I gave had extra value added because of the time and care I put into creating my own wrapping paper. This year, however, we bring reusable grocery bags into stores with us, so we only have one spare paper bag lying around to be used.

Intentionally getting paper bags at the grocery store in order to wrap with them is not appropriate. It requires the production of resources separate from those that would otherwise need to be made. Bring your cloth bags to the store. It doesn't count as "reusing" if you didn't have to use it in the first place. So, paper bags are a no-go.

Option 3: Found paper, on the other hand, is a good idea. If you get the newspaper, use pages of that to wrap gifts. But, again, do not buy a newspaper specifically for wrapping paper!

Try to use the wrapping paper from last year's gifts if you removed it carefully and kept it. And this Christmas try to save the wrapping paper that other people use on your gifts.

But after you open those gifts wrapped in traditional wrapping paper, consider asking the gift-giver to wrap your gifts using a no-waste method next year. My parents have been doing so for years and don't mind. They realize that opening gifts on Christmas morning would be less enjoyable for Ben and me if we were feeling guilty about the paper our gifts had required. Keep this in mind as you wrap gifts for others. You want them to feel happy, not guilt-ridden.

*Note: You can recycle paper with tape on it. Remember that over the holidays!

Option 4: Over the past year, I've been trying to wrap all the presents I give others in cloth. I get odd size measures of cloth from thrift store, thus taking the cloth out of the waste stream since it's too small to be used for large, grand projects. (It is really quite easy to find cloth in any thrift store. You typically have your choice of colors and patterns. It's not a sacrifice when it comes to style.) Cloth is a good choice because it is extremely apt for reuse, so it creates no waste.

For birthdays, etc. it has been possible for me to experiment with sewing the fabric into appropriately-sized sacks or draw-string bags. Again, I think this form of gift wrapping is more meaningful than using traditional wrapping paper because I am putting a large amount of time, thought, and effort into each gift. I hope this makes the recipients feel good about themselves because it is, in part, my way of expressing how special they are to me.

Christmas, however, is overwhelming. Gifts for all our parents and siblings equals a ton of sewing (and a ton of time for me, since I'm not too good with my sewing machine yet). It's possible to use cloth just like wrapping paper, except you use safety pins or just ribbons to hold it together instead of tape.

But there's a prettier way.

Furoshiki, the Japanese art of using cloth swatches to wrap and carry any- and everything, is an excellent idea for gift wrapping. The picture above shows just some of the shapes you can wrap and how your gifts will turn out looking. Check out this link for more information. Lots more info can be found by performing a simple Internet search for "furoshiki."

So, in conclusion:
-Traditional wrapping paper/gift bags = really bad
-Paper grocery bags = better, as long as you recycle it (but you're better off using cloth grocery bags exclusively when you go shopping and, thus, not procuring any of these bags to use)
-Reused paper (like newspaper or last year's gift wrapping) = good, as long as you recycle it (but these materials still have a limited life span)
-Cloth swatches or bags = really good

If you get stuck, just remember your three R's (recycle, reuse, reduce).

No, go enjoy the holidays!

Image found at http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/01/02/furoshiki-elegant-ja.html