Eco-Conscious Choices for Gift Giving

*Collaborative Post

While it’s easy to get swept up in swanky gift wrapping, gift bags and maybe even party favours for birthdays, Christmas and other special events, there are always ways to make the art of gift-giving a little bit more eco-conscious. From what you gift to how you gift it, let’s have a little look at the swaps you can make.

Wrapping Paper Alternatives

Did you know there are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives to wrapping paper? Although it has paper in the name, not all wrapping paper can be recycled. If you’re wrapping paper has glitter, foil or plastics, it’s automatically excluded from being recycled. If you leave ribbons and bows attached, it also won’t go through to recycling.

Only paper-based wrapping can be fully recycled. Instead of wrapping paper, you could opt to give out your gifts in gift bags you’ve previously received, or in a hamper, or wrapped in gift wrap you’ve saved. You could also go down the route of furoshiki, the Japanese traditional way to wrap gifts in fabric. This will automatically make your gifts look very festive, and the wraps can be endlessly recycled and reused for future gifts. Brands like Frugi have made dedicated kiddo versions you could use for kids’ birthdays.

Eco-Friendly Gifts

There are also ways to be more conscious in what you select as a gift. Try to avoid single use items or things that are made of non-recyclable plastics; instead, opt for durable materials. You could also focus on giving experiences rather than things. Consider gifts that allow for memory making rather than cluttering up a home or adding to a pile of nice, but lets be honest: unneeded things.

If you would like to gift a physical gift, here our some of our other suggestions.

Second Hand Gifts

To make the actual gifting more eco-friendly, you could opt for second hand or lightly used items. Especially for kids toys, there is a huge market in second hand toys that have barely been played with. Your local charity shop might have an influx of unwanted toys and gifts right after Christmas (you might even find some new and still in the box). You will also find items on Facebook Marketplace or Vinted.

Recycled Materials

If you’re looking to gift something new, then you can always look at items that have been made from recycled and durable materials. For example, underwear brand Bawbags have men’s underwear made from recycled bottle plastic, whereas sock company Socko do socks from recycled materials. These could make ideal gifts for friends and family.

Gifts that keep on Giving

For gifts that keep on giving, you could also look at gifting reusables, such as water bottles, fun totes or beeswax wraps. Nowadays, there are many reusable options at many different price points. Meaning you can find a reusable water bottle, drink cup or lunch box at pretty much every budget. Klean Kanteen and Sho are both very popular brands in the UK. You could also look at seed bombs for those who love gardening. There are so many eco-friendly swaps that can be made that lower your carbon footprint.

Happy Gift Giving!
We hope we have inspired you with ways you can make gift-giving a little more eco-conscious. You can take it one step further and try making your own paper with your kids or make your own cards with paper that otherwise would have gone in the recycling bin. It’s amazing what you can turn your old paper and cardboard into.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.