As we finish up our personal holiday shopping, all those gifts for friends and family need to be wrapped. But many people don’t know that most wrapping paper is not recyclable because it’s made of multiple materials, like paper and plastic.
It takes too much energy to recover the paper fibers, so this material is thrown away. This adds up to about 2.3 million pounds of wrapping paper in U.S. landfills each year, according to an article by Green Peace. This year, why not try upcycling existing materials for an eco-friendly holiday?
Here are some eco-friendly gift wrap alternatives:
- Newspaper makes a great present concealer
- Fabric or even thin blankets safety pinned around a larger item
- Consider using the shipping boxes your gifts were mailed in – they can be bedazzled, adorned with stickers, or even the canvas for a fun drawing
- Reuse jars, bags and boxes
Have some fun with it and kids will love the creativity, too.
And while you’re at, why not try an eco-friendly gift. The best gifts are the ones made with heART — work on something creative and share the love.
