Here at WholeLife, we love to be eco-conscious all year round and Christmas time is no exception! In the age of excessive consumption, maintaining that eco conscious ethos during the festive season can sometimes feel like an impossible task.
Christmas is the most wasteful time of the year in Australia. In 2019, It was estimated that $400 million was spent on 10 million unwanted Christmas gifts, which contributed to tonnes and tonnes of landfill waste.
For each of these 10 million unwanted gifts were also hundreds of kilometres of discarded, non-recyclable wrapping paper – and that’s without consideration for the wanted
When we put our Christmas wastage into perspective like this, it becomes clear as day that we should all strive to make our Christmas celebrations more eco-friendly.
Instead of heading to the supermarket for a few dozen rolls of wrapping paper this Christmas, opt to get creative and use supplies that you already have instead.
Keep reading for our top eco friendly gift wrapping ideas.
1. Old linen sheets
We all have some old, torn, or unused sheets stuffed in the back of the linen cupboard! Sheets can make the perfect upcycled wrapping paper and can be used again and again. Simply cut your sheet up to size, place your gift in the middle, and use the opposite corners to tie together in the centre.
3. Supermarket paper bags
Next time you find yourself stranded at the supermarket without your reusable bags (it happens to the best of us), instead of opting for the 15 cent plastic bag pick up a few of the paper bags instead. You can then cut these up, turn them inside out and either leave them plain or decorate with paint.
We love this cute DIY checkered pattern idea by Geneva Vanderzeil (@genevavanderzeil) using cut-out sponges or potatoes (yes, potatoes!) to stamp the pattern on the paper. Take a look at her ‘Stamped Wrapping’ highlight on Instagram to see the whole process.
3. WholeLife Catalogues
We wouldn’t normally endorse ripping apart our beloved catalogues, but in the name of sustainable Christmas we can make an exception! The pages of our old catalogues can make the perfect wrapping paper for smaller gifts.
This method can work for any catalogue, newspaper or brochure you might receive in your mailbox or pick up from the supermarket.
4. Reuse Shipping Supplies
The ‘Add to Cart’ button got a bit of a workout this year. Hopefully you’ve saved some of those boxes, satchels, and fancy tissue paper from your online shopping hauls to upcycle for your gifts at Christmas time.
Now that you’re ready to wrap your gifts in an eco friendly fashion, why not leave a gift underneath the WholeLife Kindness Tree? Click here to read all about our Kindness Tree Christmas in-store initiative.
