The Reusable Gift Bag

Regardless of religious affiliation, we all (hopefully) give gifts from time to time. This generous ritual is a corporeal manifestation of our gratitude for others and the loving bond that we share with them. For obvious reasons, gift giving increases dramatically this time of year and so, unfortunately, does the amount of waste that we create, specifically WRAPPING PAPER.

According to the Clean Air Council, about 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bags are used during the holiday season throughout the United States. Assuming that wrapping paper makes up around half of this figure, we can estimate that at least 30 million trees (15 TREES per ton of wrapping paper) are cut down each year simply to wrap our gifts.

That is a significant amount of energy invested and waste created for such a short-lived, frivolous use. Though frivolous, a certain excitement exudes from the unveiling of presents, a rising-of-the-curtain effect that can’t be equaled by a simple presentation of gifts. So, for those wishing to be more sustainable and yet retain the magical mystery, there are several existing alternatives that can and SHOULD be incorporated into the gift-giving lifestyle.

In the very least, recycled wrapping paper can be used, as well as other materials such as newspapers and magazines that would have otherwise been thrown away (but hopefully recycled). An even better alternative is to utilize gift bags and cardboard boxes that can be folded up and used again in years to come.

Best of all, in my opinion, are cloth gift bags. They are durable, festive, highly sustainable, and blissfully versatile due to varying sizes and the conforming nature of cloth. By purchasing or creating these reusable wrappings and passing them on to our friends and families, we can mirror the movement that has been initiated with cloth shopping bags and help to cut down on the amount of unnecessary waste that is created each year.

HERE is a great source of reusable gift bags that will really help to ensure a green and blithe holiday season for all!