Tip of the Week

Wrap Responsibly

'Tis the season of giving, receiving and of throwing away. Americans toss out an extra 25 million tons of trash over the holidays, largely due to packaging. After the Christmas morning revels in my house, we labor to find the floor (much less the cat) buried under layers of used gift wrap. But when it comes time to clean up, we take great care to neatly roll and fold the glittery paper and tuck it away for reuse. Once that paper has wrapped its last gift and it's time to buy a new roll, we don't. Instead, we scan the house for other ways to wrap. This year, I'll be getting some use out of an old Ace of Base poster that came off the wall ages ago. And some sheer curtains that are a bit too Moulin Rouge for window dressing will become lovely Victorian-inspired packaging. Whenever possible, I won't be wrapping gifts at all, but rather, the wrapping will be the gift. Mom is getting recycled glass jewelry (Smart Glass Earrings, www.smartglassjewelry.com, $48) in the pocket of a Livity hemp wallet (www.livity.org, $30), and my brother is taking home a pocket LED flashlight slipped inside a Klean Kanteen reusable water bottle (adorned with an organic cotton bow cut from an old t-shirt of course).

Not everyone has as much potential gift wrap lying around. Others are tightly bound to the paper tradition. If your wrapping paper habit is too ingrained to quit cold turkey, at least wrap responsibly. Look for paper made from tree-free materials like Papermojo's lokta or banana fiber sheets (www.papermojo.com, $2.20-$3.75/sheet), or from post-consumer waste like Seltzer's 100 percent post-consumer recycled gift wrap (www.seltzergoods.com, $3.25/roll).

© The Green Guide, 2008

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