Wishing you a Merry Eco Christmas

Packaging is one thing we throw away in large volumes all throughout the year. But Christmas time is really where it peaks, with almost 3.5 million tonnes of wasted packaging in the UK alone! 

Wrapping paper is a HUGE part of this waste, throwing away around 108 million rolls of wrapping paper yearly! Although most of this paper can be recycled (yay!), a lot of it can’t, especially when it includes metallic bits or glitter.   

 

Here at Organic Works, we think eco-friendly packaging is so important, it reduces our carbon footprint, whilst also looking great!  

Our Top Tips:  

  1. Using old newspapers:  

Super easy and cheap alternative that doesn’t require a lot of effort and can be made beautiful with ribbons & bows -  Et Voila!   

(Just be careful with the headlines on this one!)  

 

    2. Reuse:   

Do you ever get given a gift in such a nice bag that you never want to throw it away? Keep it! Re-use it the next time you give a gift away, throw away with wrapping paper completely and just use a gift bag. I think sometimes the bag looks so much better than wrapping anyway! 

 

    3. Invest in reusable bags:  

Lots of brands have come out with gorgeous fabric gift bags recently that can be used over and over again. We love The Hessian Shack on Etsy who sell some gorgeous hessian gift bags, they're one of our top choices for an eco Christmas! If you would like to know any more about the brand, check out this link. 

 

    4. Arts and Craftsy option:  

If you’re a crafty person, you could have so much fun this year with your gift-wrapping ideas! :  

a. Foraging for decorations: instead of using ribbon, why don’t you look for some nice leaves, or acorns to decorate your gift with. (If you’ve got a real Christmas tree, you could pinch a few cuttings) This looks great and saves all those ribbons and bows being thrown away straight after opening. 
 
b. Make your own bag: Drawstring bags are brilliant eco-friendly alternatives to wrapping paper, and making them yourself adds a more unique and thoughtful aspect to your gift. These can also be reused by the person who receives it! If you like a bit of sewing, then you should definitely give this a go.  
c. Furoshiki: Use the Japanese tradition of using Furoshiki – a square piece of cloth – to wrap your presents in! This is not only fun and unique, but it looks amazing too and the cloth can be used again and again for a variety of things! 
5. Go online:
This year, sending a physical present is much more difficult, so why not buy someone a gift card? A much easier idea, and saves potentially wasted wrapping paper! Check out the gift card on our website, perfect for Christmas.

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