Eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas

Are you looking to have a more sustainable Christmas? Waving goodbye to your traditional wrapping paper and gift bags for more eco-friendly gift wrapping is an easy way to do your bit for the environment.

Each year in the UK, 227,000 miles of wrapping paper is used with 83km2 ending up in our bins. Here’s some eco-friendly ways to wrap your gifts, while still making them look good at the same time.

Eco-friendly ways to wrap your gifts

Reuse cardboard shipping boxes

Some gifts that you order will arrive in cardboard boxes and reusing these, instead of buying a shop-bought box, is one of the easiest eco-friendly gift wrapping swaps you can make. They’re usually the perfect size for wrapping or you can simply tie some string around them and draw on some festive illustrations.

Forage for decorations

Instead of decorating your gifts with a shiny plastic bow or ribbon, how about sourcing some festive items from your garden instead? Holly, pine cones, mistletoe, pine, even a cutting from your Christmas tree will all look beautiful and very festive. If you don't have a garden, take a trip to your nearest local wood or ask a friend who does have one. You can also use household items too, such as cinnamon sticks and dried slice orange, which will smell incredible.

Use newspaper

If you have an old newspaper lying around your house wrap your gifts in this instead. Its monochrome print will look lovely with string tied around it and you can personalise it by adding some foraged decorations.

Use old clothes for ribbons

Upcycle old shirts and t-shirts that you no longer want and turn them into reusable bows and ribbons for your presents. Simply cut a strip then tie them around your gift. If you want your homemade ribbons to last longer you can hem around the edges, or leave them to fray for a rustic feel.

Buy eco-friendly sticky tape

Regular sticky tape is made from single-use plastic and isn’t recyclable, so swap for a compostable or recyclable tape instead. These options are usually made from kraft paper, wood pulp or fibres, and natural adhesives.

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Don’t use any sticky tape

How about trying to use no sticky tape at all? You can actually fold your wrapping paper in a certain way to secure itself with no tape required, as shown in the tutorial below.

Seek out old household items

As well as the odd newspaper, you may have other items lying around your house that you’ll never use again that would make perfect eco-gift wrapping, especially for smaller gifts. Think old maps, books you may never read again and sheet music; all of these would make beautiful gift wrapping options.

Collect and reuse old gift bags and paper

There’s no shame in reusing a gift bag or wrapping paper that you’ve received a present in yourself, especially if you were careful opening it and it’s in great condition. If you don’t have any to hand, you can also buy recyclable gift bags and start giving your gifts in these instead. It’ll mean less paper being ripped up and thrown in the bin and the present receiver can then also reuse it for their own gifts.

Try Furoshiki

This is a Japanese wrapping tradition using fabric cloth which has become a popular eco-friendly gift wrapping option and is pretty easy to do. Check out this simple guide on how to wrap a gift in furoshiki and some of our favourite festive options:

Opt for recycled paper

If you are someone who adores wrapping paper, choose a roll that’s actually recyclable. Wrapping paper that’s metallic, has glitter on it, has a waxy coating or is textured can’t be recycled. We’ve rounded up some fun, festive recyclable wrapping paper options below.

Use kraft paper

Kraft paper is fully recyclable and gives gifts a lovely rustic look. If you want to spruce it up further why not try some of the ideas we’ve suggested above, like decorating it with some foraged goods, tying it up in string or drawing your own designs on it. Either way, brown paper packages always look great.

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