As the holiday season approaches and gift shopping begins, not only do stores fill with customers but the environment strains with the inevitable waste of this otherwise joyous time of year. North Americans are slowly changing our ways, however, and one way to give back to the world this year is to practice sustainable gift-wrapping.
As the holiday season approaches and gift shopping begins, not only do stores fill with customers but the environment strains with the inevitable waste of this otherwise joyous time of year. North Americans are slowly changing our ways, however, and one way to give back to the world this year is to practice sustainable gift-wrapping.
While no one’s about to give up wrapping entirely, gift-givers are reusing their gift-wrap and demanding more eco-friendly options, according to a recent study conducted by Asia Pulp & Paper Canada (APP), one of the world’s largest paper companies. Nearly all Canadians (95%) support the movement towards more environmentally friendly gift-wrapping.
The survey, led by Opinion Research Corporation International (ORC), was completed in late September 2014, and interviewed about 1,000 Canadians and 1,000 Americans.
Of those who reuse paper products, gift bags were listed first (85%), followed by boxes (74%), and wrapping paper (59%). Almost all women (92%) said that they would reuse paper gift-wrapping, which is significantly higher than the percentage of men (79%).
Half of Canadians (50%) said that they plan to seek out more eco-friendly gift-wrap, compared to forty-one per cent of Americans; this statistic remains more-or-less consistent across generations.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of Canadians prefer gifts with more environmentally friendly packaging, whereas only half of Americans (52%) are committed to this approach.
Here are eight ideas for reducing your wrapping waste.
1. Reuse or recycle your wrapping paper, bags, boxes and tissue paper.
Tips: Break out the new paper for large presents, and avoid stickers or writing directly on the paper. Ribbon and tags are your friends.
All of these could be wrapped in previously-used paper and you’d never know! Photo: christmasstockimages.com CC BY 3.0
2. Don’t forget the shopping waste: use a reusable tote bag for your holiday shopping, available at most grocery stores and shopping centers.
You probably have a couple dozen of these already – use ’em! Photo: Aaron Warren. CC BY-ND 2.0 \ Flickr
3. If you purchase something fragile wrapped in tissue, reuse it for your gift-wrapping!
7. The Keeper of the Homeblog suggests a unique wrapping idea for scarf lovers: use one you’re gifting to wrap the rest of the present and tie with a ribbon.
8. Make a homemade baking mix, hot chocolate mix, body scrub, or lotion in a jam or Mason jar, and finish with a bow for a really thoughtful, thrifty and reusable option.
Mix sugar and coconut oil in a medium mixing bowl until desired consistency is reached
Add a few drops of the peppermint essential oil
Divide into two equal portions
Add one or two drops of food coloring into one portion
Alternate white and pink layers in a Mason jar for the candy-cane effect (push down sugar to compact)
Christmas shopping can be hard on both your wallet and the environment. By making some simple changes to your gift-wrapping, you will be contributing to the green movement this holiday season.
Stay safe and warm this winter, and remember: reduce, reuse and recycle!
Elise Marion has a masters in Comparative Literature from Dublin City University and a bachelors degree in English and Classics from McMaster University, and is keenly pursuing a literary career.