{"id":27868,"date":"2020-12-03T09:22:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T14:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=27868"},"modified":"2025-07-02T04:10:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:10:06","slug":"never-buy-gift-paper-again-the-ultimate-guide-to-zero-waste-wrapping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/27868\/never-buy-gift-paper-again-the-ultimate-guide-to-zero-waste-wrapping\/","title":{"rendered":"Never Buy Gift Paper Again: the Ultimate Guide to Zero Waste Wrapping"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“The most sustainable item is the one that already exists.”<\/em> – 2018 State of Reuse Report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Canadians generate 540,000 tonnes of waste from gift wrapping and shopping bags every year<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 that\u2019s the equivalent of 100,000 elephants if you need a visual. Most gift wrapping is made out of hard-to-recycle mixed materials and so goes straight to landfill.<\/p>\n\n

Over the Holidays, our waste volume goes up by at least 25%<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 hardly a surprise to anyone who has ventured out into the streets on the garbage day after Christmas. The sidewalks become an obstacle course of overstuffed garbage bins and bags nearly exploding with old wrapping, ribbon and packaging.<\/p>\n\n

If every Canadian wrapped just 3 gifts in upcycled materials rather than buying wrapping paper new, enough paper would be saved to cover 45,000 Hockey rinks<\/strong><\/a>. So for those looking to reduce their waste this Holiday season, gift wrapping is an easy and simple place to start. Here are 12 techniques to rethink how you wrap up your gifts the wasteless way this year.<\/p>\n\n

1) Furoshiki Wrapping<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

A series of Japanese wrapping techniques for wrapping gifts in cloth, this is a go-to for gifts of all shapes and sizes. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from journal.rikumo.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

But before you rush out and buy brand new cloth just to wrap gifts, remember that textile waste is a significant issue in and of itself – we send 81lbs of textiles to landfill<\/strong><\/a> per person each year in North America. It\u2019s far more sustainable to use pieces of fabric you already have or check out local thrift stores to find second hand fabrics to use. <\/p>\n\n

Check out this guide<\/strong><\/a> for an amazing list of the different Japanese Furoshiki folding techniques you can try.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

2) Stop using tape<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

We\u2019ve all grown up with tape as a staple in the gift-wrapping experience. But what if I told you – you don\u2019t need it to wrap gifts? <\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s just as simple – maybe simpler, actually – to fold up your gift the same as you would with tape, and then fasten it together using string. And again, bonus points for reusing string you already have. <\/p>\n\n

If you really feel you need to have tape, opt for paper washi tape<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from trashisfortossers.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

3) Use natural greenery and foraged sprigs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Skip the plastic bows and ribbons and go foraging for leaves, pine cones, berries, cedar or pine branches instead! These are truly biodegradable and can be returned to the Earth when the unwrapping is complete.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
from unsplash.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

4) Use old maps<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Do you have any old maps lying around? If you don\u2019t have a use for them anymore or anyone to pass them on to, consider using them to wrap up your Holiday gifts. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
via itsahashtaglife<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

5) Upcycle magazines<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

That old stack of magazines sitting at the back of your closet or on a shelf in your neighbour\u2019s garage? Their glossy finish and brightly coloured pictures will make for stylish and chic looking gifts<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from janemeansblog.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

6) DIY bows out of upcycled magazines<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Not only can you wrap your gifts using old magazines, you can also make bows with them! You\u2019ll find instructions on how to do this here<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>and <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> If you need a video tutorial, you\u2019ll find a good one <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

You can also use maps<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from 100layercake.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

7) Use newspaper<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Here\u2019s an easy one: head to a coffee shop at the end of the day and grab the newspaper before it goes in the bin. Today\u2019s news becomes tomorrow\u2019s perfectly cute and trendy gift wrapping.<\/p>\n\n

And here\u2019s how to make<\/strong><\/a> the newspaper roses.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

8) Use a shirt <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Check out your local thrift store for a cute shirt or find one you\u2019ve already got but aren\u2019t wearing anymore. You\u2019ll find an online tutorial for how to use shirts as wrapping<\/strong> online here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from Pinterest<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

9) DIY gift bags out of cardboard boxes<\/strong>
<\/h4>\n\n

Put any cereal boxes in your recycling bin lately? Go get them out and make these cute DIY gift bags<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from the centsiblelife.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

10) Make your own Holiday cards and tags <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Reuse old cards<\/strong><\/a> you\u2019ve received with gifts and upcycle them into holiday cards and gift tags. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from goodhousekeeping.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

11) Kids artwork<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Kids bring home a ton of artwork from school. You can\u2019t keep all of it, but it probably feels bad to throw it away. With their permission, get them to select some of their drawings or paintings and use those to wrap some gifts<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
from theartofsimple.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

12) Use whatever you have lying around <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

I keep a little basket tucked away on a shelf where I throw cards people send me, packaging paper or string on gifts and parcels, etc. I pull this out whenever I have to wrap a gift. This saves me money and time – I don\u2019t have to shop for gift wrapping paper and everything I need is always in one place.<\/p>\n\n

Keep the magic of the Holidays, skip the waste \u270c\ufe0f #LetsGetWasteless<\/p>\n

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Canadians generate 545,000 tonnes of waste from gift wrapping and shopping bags every year \u2014 that\u2019s the equivalent of 100,000 elephants if you need a visual. <\/p>\n

Here are 12 techniques to rethink how you wrap up your gifts this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":27919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"not set","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[24,71],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-27868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-sustainably","category-our-work","tag-consumption","tag-plastic","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27868"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71011,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27868\/revisions\/71011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27868"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=27868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}