Between birthday parties, anniversaries, housewarming celebrations, and those last-minute just-because gifts, you’re likely to give and receive several times throughout the year. But what are you wrapping them with? If it’s not zero waste gift wrapping, you’re likely also giving the planet some unwanted gifts.

Buying zero waste gifts is great and all, but should also be paying attention to what’s outside. Traditional wrapping paper has an environmental wrap sheet a mile long, which you can read a bit more about at the bottom of the article.

So just ditch the wrapping paper and give gifts sans the covering, right?

Not so fast. Research shows wrapped gifts are associated with positive changes in mood that can influence how much that gift is appreciated. You wouldn’t want that thoughtful handmade gift you spent hours making to be valued any less because it didn’t come with a bow.

Fortunately, common household items and upcycled waste products can adorn a gift just as well as a shiny roll of paper. While there are endless possibilities for the creative mind, here are some eco-friendly wrapping paper ideas to surprise your loved one with just a little bit of extra care. Let’s unwrap them, shall we?

Contents: Zero Waste Gift Wrapping Ideas

  1. Upcycled Wrapping Paper Jump to section
  2. Reusable Fabric Wrapping Paper Jump to section
  3. Potato Chip Bags Jump to section
  4. Butcher Or Kraft Wrapping Paper Jump to section
  5. Old Shoe Boxes & Laces Jump to section
  6. Natural Botanical Bows Jump to section
  7. Whatever You Have Lying Around! Jump to section

Upcycled Wrapping Paper

Image by Ruth Black (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

Who doesn’t have an old newspaper, magazine, or coupon book lying around? If you don’t, you probably know someone who does. In literally no time at all, things like these can be whipped up into a cute, clever, and eco-conscious gift wrap:

  • The comics section of a newspaper makes for a great gift wrap for kids. Head to the sports or culture section for adults.
  • Magazines can be transformed into cute glossy ribbons and bows, and can also be used as gift wrap themselves.
  • If you have a travel lover in your life, then using an old map or page from a road atlas (yes, there was a time before Google Maps) is a perfect way to celebrate them.
  • Music lovers will appreciate using old sheet music to cover their gifts. You can likely score some at thrift stores if you don’t have any yourself.
  • If you have old books lying around just collective dust, you can use the pages to wrap smaller gifts, or cobble multiple ones together for larger gifts.

This is just about the simplest (and most affordable) zero waste gift wrapping idea. It also happens to be our go-to option. Just grab your scissors and paper tape, and get wrapping!

Reusable Fabric Wrapping Paper

Image by Katecat (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

Another way to reduce wrapping waste is to opt for reusable wrapping paper that can be places under the sustainable Christmas trees for many holidays to come (and all those that fall in between).

Using fabric to wrap gifts isn’t a new idea. In fact, the Japanese craft called Furoshiki was first used in the Nara period (710-790 AC). It has since become popular around the world. Similar to origami, there is a range of wrapping techniques and styles for different shapesfor square objects, long objects, slender objects, flat objects, and even bottles (don’t we all have a wine enthusiast in our lives?).

If you have old fabric scraps hanging around from past crafting endeavors, you can use these for gift wrapping. Even old clothes are perfect, and this often serves two needs in one as it’s a good way to repurpose clothing that perhaps isn’tgood enough to resell or donate to a thrift store. If you don’t have anything that fits the bill, go to your local thrift store and inquire what garments are about to expire.

Whatever route you choose, it’s a great way to upcycle something that would end up in a landfill or incinerator. Not to mention the final product is sure to look and feel amazing (no needle and thread required).

Cut excess fabric into thin strips to tie around wrapping paper, saving the need to buy any bows or plastic-based decorations. The options are endless, and the gift is sure to look beautiful and makes for a sustainability-oriented conversation starter.

Not only will you give your loved one a uniquely wrapped gift, but you can also pass on the knowledge and the fabric so that they can use this technique the next time they give someone a present.

Potato Chip Bags

Image by Yulia Khlebnikova (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

If you just poured the remainder of a bag of chips down your mouth for dinner (we’ve all been there), put that bag to good use! If decorating with Doritos doesn’t sound like the gift wrapping hack you had in mind, hear us out…

By turning the bag inside out you suddenly get a shimmery, silvery, and (dare we say) elegant upcycled gift wrap. Just wash off the crumbs, wipe off any oil, and cut into an appropriate size before wrapping.

Voila! Your metallic gift will light up the recipient’s eyes—and you’ll find peace knowing that your plastic-lined chip bag will live to see another day.

Butcher Or Kraft Wrapping Paper

Image by Elena Nazarova (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

Julie Andrews and Mother Earth have a few things in common: “brown paper packages tied up with string” are some of their favorite things. Maria was onto something.

Butcher or plain kraft paper is one of the best zero waste gift wrapping ideas. It’s easy to find, affordable to buy, and provides a clean-looking, minimalist gift wrap option that can be composted or recycled after it’s torn to shreds by the birthday boy or girl.

To add a little planet-conscious pizazz, you can add some homemade magazine gift bows. Maybe a cinnamon stick, a bunch of flowers, or a piece of dried citrus for a delicious scent. Alternatively, just some hemp, jute, or cotton string will suit, too.

Plain kraft paper is better since some butcher paper may be waxed, and thus cannot be recycled. Yet waxed butcher paper can also be used to wrap holiday cookies and is a much better option than plastic wrap or foil.

Old Shoe Boxes & Laces

Image by Madvortex (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

Have a tower of old shoe boxes in your closet? So do we (but in our defense, they are at least mostly from sustainble shoe brands!).

Instead of collecting dust, put these boxes to work storing gifted clothes. Use shredded paper as a filler and, if you want to spruce it up more, wrap it with old wrapping paper or any other idea from this list. You can even paint it with chalkboard paint and attach a piece of chalk—which makes for a fun and creative child’s gift.

Sticking with the shoe theme, use old laces in place of plastic ribbon. We’d recommend washing them first, though.

Natural Botanical Bows

Image by Asya Tsygankova (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

For a unique gift that truly screams earth-friendly, add a little special something from the earth itself. Flowers are obviously always an excellent choice—and both fresh and dried —but don’t stop there. Little sprigs of rosemary or lavender, pinecones, pine boughs, acorns, twigs, or even bark can all be those perfect finishing (and sometimes fragrant) touches to zero waste wrapping.

These materials will yield a rustic look sure to brighten up your newspaper or butcher paper wrapping. Use jute or hemp twine to fasten or weave it through several leaves to create a wrap-around ring of greenery on otherwise ‘boring’ brown paper.

If you’ve got a plant with really broad leaves, you can even use it as wrapping ‘paper’ itself!

Whatever You Have Lying Around!

Image by Sustainable Jungle (Who Gives A Crap) (zero-waste-gift-wrapping)

We hope the previous seven ideas have gotten the creative juices flowing because the options are literally endless. Here are a few other upcycled or reusable wrapping paper ideas:

  • Adorn a plain box or package with dried seeds or nutshells (pistachios work well).
  • Use a walnut shell as a zero waste jewelry box.
  • Who Gives A Crap doesn’t just make great eco-friendly toilet paper. Their toilet paper wrappers make some stylish wrapping paper, too.
  • Attach a string to both sides and use an upcycled cereal box as a gift “bag”. Who says Captain Crunch doesn’t scream Christmas?
  • Transform old college papers, your child’s artwork, or book pages into clever and unique gift wrap.
  • Give a gift of beeswax wraps, and use them to wrap something else.
  • Paper grocery bags work well, and plastic ones (gasp!) can be ironed to fuse into thicker plastic “fabric” that also works as wrapping paper.

Now, it’s your turn to start thinking of possibilities. The more creative, the better! Coming up with a zero waste gift wrapping idea might just spark some thought about all the things lying around the house and their upcycle potential.

Why Choose Waste Free Gift Wrap?

In America alone, the wrapping paper industry is valued at around $7 billion. This is equivalent to the approximately 5 million pounds of wrapping paper that’s produced.

Sure, gift wrap looks cute and it’s enjoyable to watch your three-year-old niece rip open that crisply-wrapped box, but our planet doesn’t quite get the same kick from the magic of unwrapping gifts.

Let’s put present-wrapping into perspective: While it’s difficult to find specific gift wrap details, like other paper-based products, your wrapping paper likely started out as a tree on a paper plantation. Generally speaking, these plantations are threats to local flora and fauna (and thus biodiversity on the whole). This is due to associated shocking levels of deforestation, animal extinction, and illegal logging.

Because tree bark doesn’t exactly fit around the basketball you’re giving to your nephew, the tree needs to be transformed into pulp, and then paper. This process can include harmful chemicals like hydroxides, bleaching agents, and concerning metals (chromium, lead, etc.).

Then there’s the waste. Of the 5 million pounds of wrapping paper produced a year, roughly half ends up in landfills. While some of this could be recycled or composted, most wrapping paper is not 100% paper and therefore is not recyclable or biodegradable.

Anything that contains velvet, plastic, non-biodegradable glitter, foil (or really any texture at all) cannot be chucked in your recycling or compost bin. Additionally, anything lined with plastic or with tape still stuck to it also will end up in a landfill and may even contaminate a perfectly good batch of recyclables along the way.

Top tip for received gifts: If you’ve received a gift with wrapping, save what you can for reuse and if it’s got no more life in it, do the “scrunch test” to determine if yours can be recycled.