3 Eco-Friendly Reusable Giftwrap Ideas

If you’ve already been reusing your wrapping paper and gift bags, kudos to you.   If you are already using reusable giftwrap, you qualify as an eco-badass!

I can thank my Grandpa for always scooping up and saving all the discarded wrapping paper after the gifts had been unwrapped. He would sit there while I played with my newly discovered gifts and gently peel the tape off the wrapping, flatten it out and quietly create a pile of it to stash away until next year.

I hadn’t realized it back then, but his efforts were totally a form of sustainability. I’m sure it was just a product of his upbringing in the 1930’s. Since back then they were always using and reusing the items that they had available. Good habits die hard.

Thanks to his eco efforts during my life, I’ve begun to think outside the (gift) box and have some reusable ways to wrap your gifts, which can be used for years to come.

Fabric Gift Sacks

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This reusable giftwrap idea is something I came across this year and totally love. Make your own if you’re handy with a sewing machine or purchase some pre-made ones from Etsy. It’s a great one-time investment that you can customize for a child or adult. These are versatile enough for any holiday and birthday.

It’s up to you if you would like to have one large bag or multiple bags if you’d rather not have multiple gifts in one bag. I love the idea, especially if you create the bags using materials you already have; blankets, curtains, tablecloths. It’s always sustainable to utilize what you have first to create reusable giftwrap.

Use the Furoshiki Method

Sticking with the fabric wrapped gift idea, have your heard about Furoshiki? It is the reusable giftwrap art of wrapping cloth. Created by the Japanese, it is used for all sorts of items. It is also used for transporting items in make-shift bags. Though mostly known for its use to wrap gifts without tape or string. Follow this link for at least 60 different ways to wrap a gift with a cloth.

Use What You Have Already

Have you recently decided to donate some clothes and accessories? Perhaps there was a scarf in that donation pile? That would be a wonderful additional gift to make a wrap with.

What about all those shipping boxes you receive at work or home? With care, they can be reused for many holidays. Use markers and paint to decorate them, fancy up some ribbon with a marker or just spruce up with some natural elements.

Giftwrapping doesn’t need to be expensive or wasteful. Take a look at your gift wrapping practices and see if they can be more sustainable.