Joined Aug 2008
L5: Journeyman
Forum Thread
Alternatives to wrapping paper.
November 17, 2010 at
02:03 PM
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(14)
elf Cosmetics
Posted this last year and too old to bump, but wanted to remind people to try and think of the earth this holiday season. I added a few more things in here, some more inexpensive and less wasteful alternatives to wrapping
From an article: "Wrapping paper, from an ecological point of view, is a pretty worthless use of trees."
"In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags."
I've always disliked using wrapping paper... for many years now, I've wrapped gifts in the comics, newspaper, grocery store brown paper bags, magazines, reused giftwrap I've taken from others, or reusable gift bags. I find a way to make it still look attractive, and anyway - it gets ripped off in a few seconds!
Why use alternatives? Incredibly wasteful. My mom is a teacher and on a school trip they visited a dump.. they were told that wrapping paper is one of the most wasteful and plentiful things they see in a dump - and VERY slow to decompose. It can often be difficult to find a location to recycle your wrapping paper because of the materials are typically non-recyclable.
"People in the trash business will tell you: Wrapping paper is just solid waste with a pretty face."
For those of you who need pretty wrapping... how about trying this:
Use a very pretty envirosax reusable bag - which then also becomes part of of the gift!:
This video and blog [envirosax.com] inspired me to create this post:
Wrap your presents in an envirosax reusable bag [youtube.com]
Here is a thread for envirosax bags
(FYI I personally LOVE my envirosax bags... they're tiny, I keep 2 in my bag and use them for groceries, department store purchases or an extra bag. They're VERY pretty and I get tons of compliments. So they make a very nice gift, in addition to very pretty, environmental wrapping).
Or wayy cheaper, these ELF bags. [eyeslipsface.com]
Envirosax cute kid's bags for $3 at Target (when added to another order with free shipping over $50, plus 20% off $75)
Red one [target.com]
Pink one [target.com]
Just suggestions - there are many very attractive reusable bags at all kinds of stores one can use. I just saw some really pretty ones at homegoods.
Another article about wasteful wrapping paper. [earth911.com]
Please remember this holiday season: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Anyone else have more earth-friendly ways to wrap?
From an article: "Wrapping paper, from an ecological point of view, is a pretty worthless use of trees."
"In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags."
I've always disliked using wrapping paper... for many years now, I've wrapped gifts in the comics, newspaper, grocery store brown paper bags, magazines, reused giftwrap I've taken from others, or reusable gift bags. I find a way to make it still look attractive, and anyway - it gets ripped off in a few seconds!
Why use alternatives? Incredibly wasteful. My mom is a teacher and on a school trip they visited a dump.. they were told that wrapping paper is one of the most wasteful and plentiful things they see in a dump - and VERY slow to decompose. It can often be difficult to find a location to recycle your wrapping paper because of the materials are typically non-recyclable.
"People in the trash business will tell you: Wrapping paper is just solid waste with a pretty face."
For those of you who need pretty wrapping... how about trying this:
Use a very pretty envirosax reusable bag - which then also becomes part of of the gift!:
This video and blog [envirosax.com] inspired me to create this post:
Wrap your presents in an envirosax reusable bag [youtube.com]
Here is a thread for envirosax bags
(FYI I personally LOVE my envirosax bags... they're tiny, I keep 2 in my bag and use them for groceries, department store purchases or an extra bag. They're VERY pretty and I get tons of compliments. So they make a very nice gift, in addition to very pretty, environmental wrapping).
Or wayy cheaper, these ELF bags. [eyeslipsface.com]
Envirosax cute kid's bags for $3 at Target (when added to another order with free shipping over $50, plus 20% off $75)
Red one [target.com]
Pink one [target.com]
Just suggestions - there are many very attractive reusable bags at all kinds of stores one can use. I just saw some really pretty ones at homegoods.
Another article about wasteful wrapping paper. [earth911.com]
Please remember this holiday season: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Anyone else have more earth-friendly ways to wrap?
220 Comments
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I'm going to wrap his beer in it. He always knows it's beer anyway, and this time, it'll say "Brewery Fresh" and have some other cute stuff. The newspaper would just have gone to waste anyway. It was almost past its date.
u know at first your freinds n family m ay think its weird. but they get used to it fast. next thing u know everyone is saving paper.
i TRY to only use re-usable bags now. at Toys r us they have $1 plastic tote bags. they have kids designs like disney princess toy story and some plain ones w elephants etc..i send all the kids birthday gifts in them. then the kids can reuse them. i still stuff w tissue. BLAH
u know at first your freinds n family m ay think its weird. but they get used to it fast. next thing u know everyone is saving paper.
i TRY to only use re-usable bags now. at Toys r us they have $1 plastic tote bags. they have kids designs like disney princess toy story and some plain ones w elephants etc..i send all the kids birthday gifts in them. then the kids can reuse them. i still stuff w tissue. BLAH
It just really makes so much more sense.... it's so much waste (and hassle!), to be ripped open in a few seconds and thrown out. And especially with registries, the gifts are hardly a surprise anyway, and it's all a blur because the present opening goes on and on and usually the honoree just tries to hurry through the opening because people are getting bored!
I also use tissue with reusuable bags and boxes, but I reuse it over and over and collect it at family opening events, etc.
And you can use unwanted yarn as bows. I do that all the time. You can get pretty creative with that. It's quite pretty. You can even use old Christmas ornaments that you don't use on the tree anymore to spruce it up.
Yeah, throw a spotted owl at me. I ain't skeered. I have my own box o' owl and it can KEEL your owl.
Observe.
And you can use unwanted yarn as bows. I do that all the time. You can get pretty creative with that. It's quite pretty. You can even use old Christmas ornaments that you don't use on the tree anymore to spruce it up.
Yeah, throw a spotted owl at me. I ain't skeered. I have my own box o' owl and it can KEEL your owl.
Observe.
<--loves owls.
No need to insult what environment-conscious people do because it's too much effort for you.
200+million Americans do a lot of things that are pretty wasteful or harmful - the fact that a lot of people are doing it only makes it much much worse in the long run.
<--loves owls.
No, I found it in a blog of a girl who was taking him to the vet. She found him in her neighborhood and she and her boyfriend were taking him in and took lots of pictures of him.
I collect owls (and apparently...picutres of owls).
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I collect owls (and apparently...picutres of owls).
Just my opinion.
Like those that use petroleum and lead based products that do nothing but leach poison into the environment. And make us burn other petroleum or coal products to power them. I wonder what the combined carbon footprint of SD and all its users is...
Was it...an owl?
(Sorry...sorry...)
(Sorry...sorry...)
Anyway I was all like "I should tell SK about that"
One year I had tons of compliments on my wrapping. I went to a thrift store and bought a roll of very pretty cream raised design wallpaper. I had pretty cords and rickrack from yardsales. No tape, tied them shut with simple bows with ornaments bought at thrift stores and yardsales. Most elegant wrapping I've ever done.
And the paper was heavy enough that most were keeping to reuse. Saw several using the cord to pull their hair back by the end of the day.
It was fun as well as thrifty.
Anyway I was all like "I should tell SK about that"
Why do you forget me and then remember me? Why?
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Just my opinion.
Like those that use petroleum and lead based products that do nothing but leach poison into the environment. And make us burn other petroleum or coal products to power them. I wonder what the combined carbon footprint of SD and all its users is...
I was just posting about wrapping paper because it's holiday season and I was so shocked about the amount of difficult to recycle/decompose waste that is generated then, and how much of it sits in landfills. Something rather easy that people can do to help right now!
But I'd love to hear more suggestions too, on just less wasteful, more environmental living in general.
One thing I do for instance... I heard in a speech once that clothes dryers account for something like 40% of household energy, that they are extremely wasteful - most other countries I've been to don't even have clothes dryers, at most they have spinners (that spins excess water out), and hang them to dry - outside in nice weather, inside on racks or on the furnaces in cold weather.
So I decided to follow suit - clothes dryers have a tendency to shrink and lessen the life of clothes anyway. I hang all my clothes outside in nice weather, or inside to dry on a clotheshorse and on hangers in some cases.
At most I'll put the really wrinkled ones in the dryer for a few minutes to get some wrinkles out, but overall it's almost entirely airdrying. This also helps in the winter to humidify the air (and make it feel much warmer!) Sometimes I'll purposely move the drying clothes into the bedroom for the humidifying effect.
One year I had tons of compliments on my wrapping. I went to a thrift store and bought a roll of very pretty cream raised design wallpaper. I had pretty cords and rickrack from yardsales. No tape, tied them shut with simple bows with ornaments bought at thrift stores and yardsales. Most elegant wrapping I've ever done.
And the paper was heavy enough that most were keeping to reuse. Saw several using the cord to pull their hair back by the end of the day.
It was fun as well as thrifty.