Sustainable Christmas - Present Wrapping

The festive season is a time for friends, families and celebration, but many of us are looking for ways to make this time more sustainable.

From the things that we eat and wear, to the places we shop and the gifts we give, there are so many ways we can have a more sustainable festive season that won’t cost the planet.

So, this year our Climate Officer has shared their plans and ideas for simple sustainable alternatives this Christmas.

Wrapping paper 

It's true that most wrapping paper can actually be recycled...but only if it's not the shiny and glittery type.  If you want to know if the wrapping paper can be recycled or not, use the scrunch test.

Scrunch up the paper in your hands and then let it go. If the paper stays scrunched up then it can be recycled but, if it unfolds by its own accord, then it is likely to contain non-recyclable materials.

Fear not though, even if you receive a shiny, glittery present, open it carefully and you can reuse the paper next year.

When doing your own wrapping why not make the switch to brown eco-friendly paper. You can jazz it up by decorating it (great activity for the kids on a rainy day in December) or add some ribbon and holly once wrapped. 

Or you can skip the wrapping all together and opt for gift bags as these can be used more than once. Check out this simple video on how to make DIY gift bags. 

Sticky tape

Sticky tape isn't reusable or recyclable, but a simple swap is to use string. This can be reused, and it looks pretty too!  

You can also get brown paper tape which is biodegradable and 100% recyclable, which makes it a perfect environmentally friendly alternative to standard packing tape.