Talking About Green

You pride yourself on running a clean, green, and efficient household.  You’ve managed to remove the worst pollutants from your home, you built a recycling center (which, incredibly, your kids use), and you’ve successfully made the switch to organic foods.  And for the holiday season, you’ve decided to make a concerted effort of stick to your eco-conscious sensibilities by creating the majority of your gifts with green components in order to use your consumer dollars for the good of the Earth.  And yet, despite all of your noble intentions, you have somehow forgotten about the wrapping paper.  Yes, indeed, holiday gift wrap is largely non-recyclable, meaning that even though it is a hallmark of the season, it is likely to end up in the landfill en masse after the holidays.  So if you really want to try to be as green as possible this season, perhaps you should consider a few alternatives to your run-of-the-mill gift wrap.

1. Holiday bags.  Giving your gifts in reusable cloth bags is a great way to avoid the shiny papers that permeate this season.  You can buy them in holiday prints or make them yourself for less if you have some skill with a sewing machine (DIY also means you can select organic cotton or other sustainable fabrics).  If you want something that can be used for more than gifts, consider picking up reusable grocery bags, which are sold at most markets for about a dollar.
2. Wrapping that’s part of the gift.  Scarves, blankets, bathrobes, towels, or other large cloth items can be used to wrap smaller gifts so you can eschew wrapping paper and give two presents in one.
3. Household paper.  There are plenty of paper items around your house that can be repurposed as interesting gift wrap.  You can use leftover scrap paper from the printer, spray newspaper with a fixative (to hold the ink), or pull some old maps out of the drawer (will you ever use them again now that you have GPS?).  If you do a little digging, you can find tons of paper around that house (that you might otherwise throw away) to double as gift wrap.
4. Recycled paper.  Not surprisingly, many companies that sell recycled paper items also include 100% recycled wrapping paper.  In some cases you can even find shiny and colorful sheets of recycled aluminum foil (bonus: no tape required).  And don’t forget about the ribbon.  Instead of the standard stuff, opt for colored raffia or hemp twine.
5. Fibrous alternatives.  Did you ever even consider banana fiber as an option for paper?  Luckily, someone did.  Actually, a lot of someones did.  Many companies now carry paper products made from the cast-off bark fibers left over during banana production.  These fibers are pulped and formed into paper which is then colorfully decorated for different purposes with soy-based inks, making them super eco-friendly.
6. Natural elements.  Once you’ve chosen your green gift wrap, you’ll want to decorate your presents with some equally Earth-friendly add-ons.  So get outside, pick up some fallen pine cones, branches, leaves, feathers, and so on to add to your packages.  It will give them added flair with an all-natural feel.

Sarah Danielson is a writer for PUA Reviews where you can find great tips and advice on dating and the art of seduction.