7+ Zero Waste Gift Wrapping Ideas For Waste-Free Giving

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 low waste wrapping paper ideas to surprise your loved one with just a little bit of extra care.

Let’s unwrap them, shall we?

Note: These ideas focus on reusable and upcycled options. If you’re looking for wrapping paper ideas to buy, see our guide to Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper. Additionally, this list of ideas excludes the most obvious low waste idea of all—to reuse wrapping bags and paper from previous years so we’d suggest doing that first!

Related Guides: Sustainable Christmas Ideas, Reusable Advent Calendars, Non-Toxic Gifts

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!

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 shapes—for 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. Thrifted scarves make for the perfect, easy, affordable and reusable wrapping.

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.

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.

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. You are likely to even have some lying around from a package you’ve received along the way. Holding onto packaging received from online deliveries is one of the ultimate low waste gift wrapping hacks.

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. You can also pain the paper and decorate with stamps to make it look more like traditional paper.

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.

Have a tower of old shoe boxes in your closet? So do we (but in our defense, they are at least mostly from ethical 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. Or just paint it with your own creative design.

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

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!

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. Their annual holiday themed paper is perfect for Zero Waste Christmas Wrapping.
• 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.Wrap small items in repurposed tea towels or cloth napkins that become part of the gift.
• Use old pillowcases as ready-made gift bags. Just tie the top with twine or a ribbon scrap.
• Turn empty paper toilet rolls into little cracker-style parcels for tiny gifts or treats.
• Slip books or flat gifts into brown paper grocery bags, decorated with hand-drawn designs or stamps.
• Use old baking parchment as rustic wrapping paper for food gifts or kitchen-themed presents.
• Tie up gifts using yarn scraps or leftover knitting wool instead of plastic ribbon.
• Wrap fragile items in old scarves, which also double as a wearable bonus gift.
• Save and reuse clean produce bags (like the mesh citrus ones) as quirky, see-through gift wrap.
• Repurpose old calendar pages (the big photos make beautiful wrapping sheets).
• Use postcards or old holiday cards as zero waste gift tags.
• Create a “wrap” by clipping fabric or paper around a gift using wooden clothespins instead of tape.
• Turn old envelopes into mini gift sleeves for flat items like jewelry or gift cards.
• Wrap gifts in burlap coffee sacks (often free from cafés) for a rustic, reusable look.
• Use bake-at-home DIY Christmas ornaments or dried citrus slices as reusable decorations instead of bows.
• For oddly shaped gifts, wrap them in old tote bags.
• Repurpose old bed sheets by cutting them into wrapping squares or tying them furoshiki-style.
• Use cleaned takeout paper bags, turned inside out, as ready-made wrapping paper.
• Decorate plain wrapping with pressed leaves or flowers glued on with homemade wheat paste.
• For grandparents, wrap gifts in kid’s artwork or school worksheets they’ve outgrown.

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.

Plastic isn’t the only planetary villain. Paper does its share of environmental damage, too—specifically wrapping paper.

The global wrapping paper industry is valued at around $20.4 billion. This is an enormous amount! While it’s enjoyable to watch your three-year-old niece rip open that crisply-wrapped box, 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 kid, 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 millions of 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, glitter (even if biodegradable), 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.

Giving not only opens our hearts but can teach us to do more with what we already have. Luckily, many items have become popular and sustainable replacements for gift wrap and no, you don’t need to buy anything new! Most of the items on this list of zero waste wrapping ideas can be found around the house. How does that sound for some gift-giving cheer?

Let’s wrap things up with one more positive thought: If everyone in the United States swapped out conventional gift wrap with one of these sustainable alternatives, the paper saved would be truly enormous and impactful.

Following a zero waste philosophy isn’t always easy, but as this statistic shows, it can make a huge difference. We’re here to help you get started! As you’ll see in our list of impactful zero waste habits, there’s something nearly anyone can do—and you don’t need new items, a huge zero waste budget, or a lot of time on your hands to make new habits happen.

Saving the planet is more fun and more impactful when we do it together, so please share any creative suggestions you have for zero waste gift wrapping.

Editor’s Note: First published in 2021, this article has been updated for 2025 with fresh zero waste gift wrapping ideas, new visuals, and a revamped final thoughts section. We hope it sparks even more creativity the next time you wrap a gift plastic-free.