Recycled and re-purposed materials have always been the cornerstone of Dolan's artwork, a spirit of "turning the discarded and ordinary into the extraordinary." This green philosophy can be transformative during the Christmas season, a period in which the average American household generates 25% more trash or 5 million extra tons of garbage. With some creative solutions in recycling and repurposing, people can save a bundle on holiday gift wrapping and reduce the amount of wrapping paper, bows, boxes and other materials being sent to the landfill.
Jar It- Some of the best holiday presents come in reusable glass mason jars. Give cookies or cocoa mixes and small presents like jewelry or ornaments in a mason jar. Pop the mason jar into a drawstring bag to disguise the contents, which the recipient can reuse as a produce, bulk bin or snack bag.
3 Wide Mouth Mason Quart Jars- cattalesBag It- Reusable gift bags are the ultimate in quick, easy and eco-friendly wrapping. If you own a sewing machine, make your own gift bags with eco-friendly fabrics and instructions from BurdaStyle or The Green Country Mom. When shopping for fabric, look first at the thrift store for Christmas tablecloths, sheets or other festive fabrics to repurpose as gift bags. If you cannot sew, Etsy offers a plethora of options for purchasing fabric gift bags. Shop local if you can!
Wrap with Fabric- Furoshiki are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths which can be reused again and again for gift-wrapping. In this special Storque feature, Jenn Playford of Furochic ™ demonstrates how to use Furoshiki to wrap holiday presents. For another option for reusable fabric gift wrap cloth, check out Etsy shop Chewing the Cud. This San Francisco based shop uses organic cotton printed with soy-based inks.
Wrap with Household Paper- Use recycled papers from around the house to wrap your Christmas presents, such as comics, maps, paper bags, or children’s drawings. Use an origami pattern to make your own boxes and add a little flair to the packages. For something shinier, wrap presents with 100% recycled aluminum foil.
Wrap with Eco Paper- If you want to purchase pretty paper for wrapping your holiday gifts, look for options with 100% recycled content or alternative, non-tree fibers. Quality Craft Supplies sells handmade paper made from the lokta bush, a quick-growing and thus sustainable resource.
Skip the Tape- The clear tape used for wrapping gifts is plastic and thus petroleum-derived. Instead of using tape to secure your gift-wrapped presents, use twine or yarn. Try hemp twine for a rustic look or recycled silk sari yarn for something more colorful. By not using tape or glue on your packages, the paper will be in better shape for the recipient to re-use.
Top It- Instead of purchasing new gift bows and throwing them out each season, make your own bows from magazine pages with this simple tutorial. Use natural berry sprigs, holly or evergreen to decorate your packages. Top your Christmas presents with tags made from recycled paper, upcycled manila folders, or felt. My favorite holiday gift tags are made from plantable seed paper.
Plantable Snowflake Gift Tags- gracegraphicsNext week, look for the first of a series of gift guides, Rustic Gifts for Men.
4 comments:
You have great ideas here for greening Christmas gifts. Consumerism in general creates a lot of trash, so your ideas help me stay in the gifting mood. I think I will try the mason jar idea first...I have a stash in my closet. Now my mind goes toward what fun items to tuck inside them! Georgianne
This is a lovely roundup. I especially like the ornaments in jars - who knew how cool that would look? Thanks for sharing!
Great ideas!
Good stuff! I like re-using all kinds of old boxes year round. I hardly throw any out any more.
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