I’m not sure about you, but the amount of wrapping paper used during the holidays stresses me out. It’s no secret that thousands, likely millions, of kilograms of paper are consumed each holiday season in the Western world, and that’s never good. Over the past few years, I’ve been trying to wean myself off of wrapping paper. By no means am I trying to abolish gift-wrapping altogether – that’s half the fun of giving the gift! Instead, I’ve been looking for creative ways to make my gifts stand out in a more “reduce, reuse, recycle” kinda way. While there are ways to have a sustainable holiday without giving up any traditions, here’s my list of sustainable gift wrap ideas.

5 Sustainable Gift Wrap Ideas

#1: Fabric

In Japan, “furoshiki” is a way of gifting or transporting goods with fabric. It’s become so popular, it’s now an art form! Try using any cloth, scarf, small blanket, or pillowcase. There are tons of beautiful fabrics out there.

#2: Newspaper

We’ve all got our local paper lying around. Once you’ve got your daily Peanuts update, try wrapping your gift up. Your giftee will love the classic black and white look, and will definitely applaud you for being so resourceful.

#3: Compostable Paper Bags

The classic brown paper bag is a timeless look, and sustainable too. It can actually be quite beautiful! Especially if you top it with pine or fir leaves (that have already fallen – don’t go picking them off your tree now!), or tie it up with twine. Once your giftee has been pleasantly surprised by your Mother Nature-inspired gift, reuse the paper and twine or toss it in the compost. Voila.

#4: Maps

We ALL have that old map in the back of the car. Guaranteed. While I’d love to keep my maps for nostalgic summer road trip memory purposes, in this day and age, Google Maps has got me covered and those physical maps are just clutter. Perfect for sustainable gift-wrapping.

#5: Antiques

One person’s trash is another one’s treasure, especially in thrift shops. If you dig, you can find some goldmines! When it comes to gift-wrapping, antique thrift shops are great for scarves or tea towels (similar to furoshiki), jars, and coffee or cookie tins. And if you’re like me, I’d take an antique jar to paper gift wrap any day.

What are your sustainable gift wrap ideas? We’d love more inspiration!