Every year, we tend to toss a lot of wrapping paper in the trash after unwrapping gifts. Not many of us realize that there are many ways to prevent this trash. Accordingly, here are a few green alternatives to standard wrapping paper that would have less impact on the environment while making your gifts look as great as ever.
Paper Grocery Bags
Got many plain grocery bags lying around the house? Then you can utilize them to create beautiful gift wrappers. Simply wrap the gift in a grocery bag and proceed to decorate the latter with paint, markers, crayons, ribbons or even magazine cutouts. You will be amazed with the results for sure.
Reusable Cloth Bags
Many of tend to discard scrap fabrics, without even realizing the potential ways in which we can reuse them. One of the best ways to repurpose scrap fabric is to turn it into beautiful gift wrappers. Old shirts and skirts with lovely patterns can be made into cloth bags effortlessly with just a needle and some thread. Sewing them by hand would also enable you to create different patterns and styles for your gifts. You can also design the bags in such a way that the recipient can use them as normal shopping bags after unwrapping the gifts. So don your creative hat and test your imagination as you set to work transforming these useless fabrics into striking cloth bags.
Lace Wrap
If you have some lace lying around the house, you can use them to wrap your gifts. Simply wrap the gift in plain brown paper. Now wrap the lace around the paper nicely until you cover it completely. Complete with a ribbon salvaged from old gifts. Voila! Your lace wrapped gift is ready to be delivered.
Old Calendars and Maps
Most of us tend to discard old maps and calendars after some time. However, you can use these large sheets of paper to wrap your gifts. In addition to giving a glossy finish, these calendars and maps can make the gift really colorful and intriguing. While wrapping your gifts in maps would have the recipient turn them over and over again before unwrapping, calendars come with some very beautiful images which you can cut and paste on the surface for a more elegant look.
Jars and Tins
You may be surprised to know that you can repurpose medium as well as large sized jars and tins as gift holders. While tins can be used to gift soaps, candies and cookies, glass jars can be used to gift flowers and candles. You can even decorate these tins and jars with glitter paints or pens to make them look more customized. Even ribbons would go great on these jars and tins. So try them out.
Tissue Paper
The good thing about tissue paper is that it comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns. In addition, it is much cheaper than standard wrapping paper. While you can use the normal on at stocking stuffers or wrapping paper for odd shaped gifts, you can use the shinier and glitterier ones to wrap standard gifts. Certain stores also sell tissue papers with holiday themes and colors that would make your gift wrappers more appropriate for the occasion.
Environment Friendly Brands
If you still like the look and feel of regular wrapping paper, consider buying them from companies that incorporate green practices to create them. For instance, companies like Green Field Paper Company, Ecosaurus and FishLips make gift-wrapping paper from recycled post-consumer waste. The gift wrapping papers made by these companies would look and feel like any other gift-wrapping paper, but are chemical free and did not contribute to the felling of trees in any way.
Summary
There is no need to buy expensive wrapping paper to wrap your gifts and then throw it away afterwards. Choose from this list of green gift-wrapping ideas to make your gifts more eco-friendly.
