Scrap the wrapping waste with these incredible, sustainable, Japanese-inspired gift wrapping ideas!
It's hard to think of the holiday season without calling to mind images of mysterious boxes wrapped in festive, shiny paper and bows. In fact, we don't even stop at gifts any more, wrapping front doors, framed pictures, and even cars to resemble fun gifty surprises. Unfortunately, this tradition has a dark side, and it goes WAY beyond paper cuts.
According to Stanford University, Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and Christmas than they do any other time of year...and we already throw away plenty! Wrapping paper is a HUGE part of this extra 7 million pounds of waste, and even worse, it is often unrecyclable due to the addition of laminates and other non-paper materials to give it that magical shimmer we all love.
Here's the GOOD news: if every US family wrapped just three presents in reused or reusable materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields! And since a football field isn't much good when it's covered in wrapping paper, that means that chances are, reams and reams of holiday paper just wouldn't be needed, saving acres and acres of forests from being cut down for wood pulp...what's more spirited than helping to save forests full of the Christmas trees, right?
"So Grinchy," you may ask, "what should I use instead? I've tried old newspapers, and they're ugly and stain my hands. Make-your-own paper from scrap? Just what I need during this hectic season...ANOTHER messy crafts project, only to be followed by holiday-morning crying when little sister tears-up little brother's "art" to get to her new scarf. Gift bags? Alright, but expensive, and all that messy tissue makes it look like I didn't even try to make this appealing. What's left? I am out of gift-wrapping ideas!"
How about something that's beautiful, totally unique, eco-friendly and, once you get the hang of it, faster than wrapping with paper? Sound good? Then you've GOT to try furoshiki.
Furoshiki is the practice of folding fabric squares into a variety of cool, origami-like configurations to hold items, especially gifts. Invented over 1200 years ago in Japan, this fun, creative wrapping solution strikes a perfect balance between form and function, allowing you to create gorgeous, waste-free gift presentations. All you need are some opaque fabric squares (try searching thrift stores for bigger fabric scraps), a quick tutorial (see video above), and a bit of extra time to perfect your technique. That's it! No cutting, taping, or pinning required. Seem a little intimidating? Start by just wrapping one or two gifts using the technique; I especially love the wine-tote technique, which is a great way to make a splash at your next holiday party!
Still craving some sparkly bows this season? Check out our new, limited-edition Merry Moccasins for an adorable gift-wrapping that will last through the holidays and beyond! And for more ideas to get more joy and less waste out of the holidays, check out the helpful links below. Happy wrapping!
Waste-less Holiday Resources:
- Standford University Holiday Waste Prevention Tips
- Wrapping Paper Disposal Brief by "Recycle Now"
- The History of Furoshiki
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