Gift giving is a tradition that has been practiced for years, especially during Christmas season.  Thousands of dollars are spent each year on wrapping paper, gift bags, and ribbons.  Unfortunately, all these wrapping materials become wastes within minutes on Christmas day itself.  However, we can do our part on preserving the environment by planning our gift-giving tradition and using greener wrapping materials.

Many manufacturers produce handmade wrapping papers that are tree-free.  These sheets of wrapping paper are obtainable in various natural materials, such as woven grass, tree bark, spun silk, banana fiber, hemp, and lokta.  Lokta paper is made from the inner bark of lokta bush, which grow plentiful in Nepal.  The lokta bushes grow very quickly, which makes them as great papermaking sources.  On the other hand, banana paper is made from the fiber off banana tree barks, commonly found in Asian countries.  Other materials used to make green wrapping paper are recycled office paper and recycled rags.  When purchasing recycled wrapping paper, watch for products with 100 percent post-consumer waste (PCW) content and processed chlorine-free (PCF) paper products.  This means that no additional chlorine was used to bleach the recycled paper product.

Besides using recycled wrapping paper and gift bags, you can also get a little creative by using old posters or magazines as wrapping paper.  If you are crafty, you can use newspaper pages, decorate them with fun colors, and design them to make your gifts look more personalized.  You can learn to make your own paper by following papermaking tutorials available online.  As for gift bags, you can learn to make them yourself using paper.  If you know how to use a sewing machine, you can even sew your own gift bags using natural material like spun silk or excess fabric from your own quilting stash.  Fabric gift bags are washable and reusable; hence, the recipients can use them for other purposes.

There are other alternatives that are greener than synthetic ribbons.  You can use natural fiber raffia ribbons to tie up your gifts.  Use packing tape that is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) free, as PVC releases carcinogenic dioxins when the packing tape is being produced.  You can also use recycled gummed paper tape or clear cellulose tape.  Instead of using ribbons to accentuate your gifts, you can try decorating those using reusable items such as handmade ornaments and cookie cutters.  Even fresh herbs can be used to decorate your gifts.  You can also make your own gift tags using recycled materials that you can find at home, making them very personalized but cost-effective.

When purchasing recycled products, you can find online retailers that offer green shipping options.  Some websites donate a small percentage of their customers’ purchases towards environmental campaigns, such as tree-planting projects and awareness programs.  Certain websites offer gift-wrapping service using tree-free materials like silk scarves and other materials that have high PCW content.  You can also save on gas by purchasing online and having your items delivered to you.  There are many other ways to preserve the environment, but you can do your part just by making small changes in your lifestyle, starting this holiday season.