When it comes to eco-friendly packaging, it’s mainly just you reusing and recycling the things around you rather than getting a new one. As a follow-up from the previous post Eco-friendly Gift Wrapping Ideas, I’ll be giving you 9 eco-friendly gift packaging ideas that you can use this season. They’re mostly things around you.

What are these things?

OLD BOOKS

Books are really common stuff and we all have lots of them lying here and there, some of which we don’t have need for. The not having need for is the major point here. Instead of them lying around taking up space let’s turn them to something cool. Wrapping paper!

With your old books, you could take out a sheet or two to make wrapping papers out of them. Use them to wrap your gifts. By doing this, you’re reusing, creating a new thing out of it. In this case, a wrapping paper.

What happens if I don’t have old books?

Well if you don’t have old books, you can ask around. Think the bookstore near you, your friends, neighbors…they may have a book or two they planned on throwing away. By doing this, it doesn’t end up being waste.

SHEET MUSIC

Are you a music person? Do you have a family member or friend that is into music? Well, how about sheet music for packaging?

Old sheet music can also be an eco-friendly packaging. If you have one around you, it’ll be a great choice to use them. If you don’t use them now, they might end up as trash and there goes your wrapper. You wouldn’t want that happening. All you need to do is wrap it around your gift and secure with a tape, rope or ribbon.

CEREAL BOX

Your cereal box is passing as one of the eco-friendly gift packaging ideas. You see cereal, I see eco-friendly wrapper. I mean, if they package your cereals then why can’t they package your gifts? Think eco!

Convert your cereal boxes to gift wrappers. Take out the cereal, put your gift in and seal up. You can also open the box up completely and wrap inside out. If you happen to receive a gift wrapped in a cereal box, no it isn’t embarrassing. It’s simply reusing and recycling to reduce waste which is good for the environment. You should try it sometime!

GLASS JARS

Glass jars make good alternatives to plastic for storing stuff and can also pass as an eco-friendly packaging. If your gifts are glass jar worthy or can fit into them, then take out your jars and package away.

MAPS

If you happen to have old maps in you home then they also pass as eco-friendly packaging. Using them as wrappers is a better alternative then throwing them out as trash. Remember, the whole concept is to reuse and recycle to reduce waste so why create more? Take them out, put your gift in and secure with a tape, just like you did with newspapers in the previous post.

PAPER CUPS

Just like glass jars, paper cups are also great for eco-friendly packaging. If you have the disposable ones, instead of throwing them away, you can convert them to wrappers. They’re paper afterall so yes, they’ll do the trick.

BREAD BAG

What happens to that bag after you’ve taken out your bread? Trash? No? Good.

Bread bags can do you good this season. They’re bags at the end of the day. Just put your gift in and you’re good to go.

OLD ENVELOPE

You know, envelopes aren’t just for letters or documents. If for some reason you have one or two old envelopes sitting around, it’s time to use them. They make such great eco-friendly gift packaging alternatives.

With one of the ends already sealed, all you have to do is put your gift inside and seal up the other end. If you want to, you could fully open it up so you can use as a full paper.

DON’T WRAP

Yes you read that right, don’t wrap. What else could be better and more eco-friendly than this? I mean, let’s face it, what’s really the point of packaging? Some of our gifts can be presented without all that packaging and we really need to normalize the “no packaging” concept. So if you have such gift, drop the packaging. Don’t bother. Just put a ribbon, rope or whatever thing around it.

“But it’s meant to be a surpise”

Okay then, let’s go the old school way. Put your gift behind you or in your backpack, take it out and then you go screaming “surprise.” Or you say “close your eyes” then you bring your gift out. Problem solved!

You have yourself these 9 eco-friendly gift packaging ideas, let’s get on with the wrapping! Protect the environment while giving.

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