It’s that time of the year where many of us globally are busy packing gifts. And while this year doesn’t quite qualify for happy new year everyone, many of us still wish to get the little joy we can get out of life or just have to participate in the social rituals of the holidays. Or you need to send winter care packages to your children. Thank you Mom!

One holiday ritual that overlaps with care packages is the exchange of gifts. After all, to many of us exchanging gifts is a love language, despite it being the commercialization of the holidays spirit to just as many.

All complaints aside, I love giving gifts to the people I care about. What else can a hobbit-core girlie do? In my case, that’s mostly an experience, time together, and food which I haven’t cooked or poetry which I have written. But others might be interested in giving gifts which they have to wrap. You do you, bestie.

Now, we all know that glitter and gift-wrapping paper both can be terrible for the environment. But does that mean we don’t share gifts? Nope. Cuz solutions exist.

So, I thought to share some ideas on what I would do if I had to wrap a gift- after all, you can’t ship pickles long distances in a fabric wrap.

Look at the Distance and Type of Gift

Now I am no expert gift wrapping genius, but I do know this. Different gifts require different wrapping techniques. When I worked with them, the experts at Our Better Planet also told me that it isn’t possible to wrap all materials, especially perishables, in fabric wraps or sustainable wrapping materials realistically. This is because if the product is to be shipped long-distances or through rough weather, it needs heavier protection.

I have seen this with the books we ship at Muses_Saga and Mansi Shah of Gift Green India also shared similar experiences on her socials. My mom had the same experience when packaging my winter care package, in fact. All the suhalis– a traditional flour crisp- she made broke last year when being shipped because she didn’t put them in bubblewrap or honeycomb paper. And those suhalis? They were in containers. Scary…

All this leads me to this conclusion- that if you are shipping your gift a long way or even it shipping it at all, please wrap it in something sturdy like reused cardboard boxes and honeycomb paper. Reused bubble wrap, what my used for the care package this year, is also an option that can be called imperfectly sustainable. Remember, the goal is to keep your gift safe on its journey and keep materials in production longer. And reduce food waste in my case.

Ordering from sustainable stores for your gifts is a good way to ensure this type of packaging but if you are making something at home or buying locally, try and pack it in safe boxes that meet shipping guidelines. The way to make it green is to use your inherent craft skills to reduce new materials as far as possible. I say craft skills for the aesthetic but you can always wrap a newspaper on top on an old Amazon box as long as the inside has honeycomb paper in it.

Or you can do what my mom did with my winter clothing, she took plastic bags with a ziplock that clothing sometimes comes in and reused them. The best part? Those bags can now be used when I am shipping books, merch, and gifts. Yes, the microplastic release isn’t ideal and most likely not healthy but if those exist this is better than the landfill.

Moving on…

Choose Your Tape Carefully

Now when I was starting Muses_Saga, my mom gave me the idea to make homemade glue from flour. While I don’t know how sustainable that is, Going Zero Waste uses it so… I tend to use vegan or local glue to pack my gift items still and Chatsi Ahuja of the imperfectly sustainable Brown Living India recommends water-based tape.

I know realistically, we will end up using whatever glue or tape we have at home, which is why I suggest that we make a switch to water-based tape and green or local glue instead of running around trying to find some for the holidays. Remember, a healthy and realistic sustainable life is dependent on you building consistent eco-friendly and ethical habits. As far as you can, my friend, as far as you can.

Choose Your Container

Many gifts need a container and while a cardboard box works for most items, some need to be bottled and boxed. Remember the suhalis? In such cases, many eco-folks’ first move is to pack their products in glass which is breakable and has a high transport emission. It also has a higher carbon footprint when manufactured so it’s better to use materials that are recycled and compostable.

Or you can use whatever is readily available in your home or that you can thrift, if reusing for gifts is something that’s culturally acceptable for your recipient and you.

If you must buy, recycled aluminum or recycled flex-packaging are good options, and while reusable plastic isn’t the worst, it isn’t the best either. Sort of like glass, now that you think about it. In fact, even recycled aluminum, has it’s cons. Like releasing toxic by products.

This is why I say realistic eco-friendly and ethical living is imperfect.

And let’s not forget, there’s more to packing a gift than a container. There’s wrapping to consider too. We touched upon it a little but in the holiday spirit, let’s go on a little more.

Choose Your Wrapping Options

While many of us go straight for plastic, or try and find compostable packaging- which is good for the environment- there are options you can use to wrap your gift in your house itself. Or perhaps even the gift itself. And while I don’t not recommend compostable packaging, what with the limited knowledge I have of it, to me realistic sustainability means reusing what I can find in local shops and at hand. Which includes wrapping options like…

Reused paper, cardboard, and plastic

When I shop online with sustainable e-commerce stores or small businesses, which I do despite my vow to try local businesses first and get everything back in my tote bag, I get boxes. And while I don’t have a ton, when combined with shopping my family and friends do? I can rack up a lot of cardboard packaging and honeycomb paper as well as plastic packaging.

This accumulation means both for packaging for sending books to Muses_Saga’s readers and for gifts, I have a lot of reused and reusable packaging items. Even if it is plastic, which releases microplastics that we know frighteningly little about, reusing it is better than sending it to the landfill or worse, leading to the creation of new plastic. Personally, I prefer reusing cardboard over reusing plastic except in the case of bags because plastic bags tend to last longer and be greener but reusing anything is better for me than the creation of new materials, especially single use items. That’s personal preferences though.

Oh, and the best part about plastic and honeycomb paper? They can be used for sensitive products. Reused plastic, especially, can be used during monsoon, which is when my sister’s birthday falls so it’s especially important for me.

Another option when it comes to reusing is newspaper and string. It gives an old-timey aesthetic, especially if you can get your hand on some reusable or reused brown paper. Sustainable and aesthetic? Sign me up, sista!

And you know what else fits that niche? A gift that is also a gift wrap.

Aka…

Fabric Wraps

While I wouldn’t endorse cotton wraps unless they are reused, upcycled, linen, hemp, and other fabric scarps you have lying around the house can make great wraps for gifts you can give in person or need to send small distances without additional packaging.

Especially, for items like food in cans and books? If you are giving them in person, a wrap is just the best idea. Plus, you get to gift a scarf in addition to your holiday gift and who doesn’t love that during the winter? To make it holiday themed, you can do what Shelbi Orme does and stitch or paste cut outs or patches of holiday themed designs on it.

But say, you are out of options and it is late…what do you go for?

Reused Gift Wrapping Paper

Listen, if we open our gifts carefully and keep the wrapper safe, like my mom has done ever since I can recall? You have a veritable treasure of holiday themed gift wrappers saved just for the right occasion. You get the glitter without addition to new litter.

What’s not to like my guy?

A Parting Note

While what we wrap our gift in is important, it is not as important as the gift itself. As long as the gift is meaningful and adds value to the life of the recipient, you are doing good. If it’s meaningful, it won’t become part of the 1 in 6 gifts that are thrown away every year. And while gift wrapping paper has an impact, many people reuse the wrapping paper they get. And realistically, if you must, choosing reused packaging over recyclable alternatives or the trendy new eco-packaging on the block is always better. Yes, compostable packaging sounds great, but in a pinch, we all know it’s between using a new paper envelope or reusing last year’s gift wrap. And I would rather reuse. But in a pinch, we all got to do what we go to do, until sustainable choices are second nature.

Happy building an eco-friendly and ethical life, my friend!

P.S.- Need more options for susty gift wrapping? Gittemary Johanson has some recs. And let me know what gifts you are wrapping this holiday season, in the comments below!