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Perfectly wrapped presents under the tree, with decorative paper showing patterns of snowflakes and gingerbread men, nicely finished off with a big bow. This is the iconic imagery of the holidays. But what we don’t see is the approximately 4.6 million pounds of this very same paper that winds up in landfills every year, according to Earth911.
The holidays are a nice time to get together with loved ones, but during them, we’re not very nice to the planet. Between chopping down tens of thousands of trees to put in our living rooms to increasing carbon footprint tenfold by ordering gifts that have to be flown and driven across the country to wrapping presents, we consume and create a lot of waste this time of year. In fact, Brightly reports that our average daily trash production per person jumps from five to 6.25 pounds this time of year.
Living a more sustainable life starts with small steps. And one thing you can do this year is find creative ways to wrap your gifts that don’t involve wrapping paper destined for a landfill. Here are sustainable ways to wrap holiday presents.
Wrap It In Another Gift
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One of the most eco-friendly ways to wrap a gift is to simply wrap it in another gift. You can wrap a present up in a scarf, a t-shirt, a decorative towel, a blanket or a similar item, and then tie the whole thing up with a bow. There will be no wasted materials when you wrap one gift inside of another.
