“If you have to go with gift wrap, more sustainable choices include: tree-free paper available in woven grass (TREES AND GRASS…BOTH PLANTS, BOTH RENEWABLE, NOT REALLY SOLD ON THIS), Lokta tree bark (made from the inner bark of the Lokta bush quickly re-grown in Napal)(NOW YOUR SHIPPING FROM NEPAL…NOT REAL SUSTAINABLE!), banana fiber (made from the bark of the Thai banana tree)(NOW YOUR SHIPPING FROM THAILAND, NOT VERY SUSTAINABLE!), spun silk (NO COMMENT, NOT SURE ABOUT HOW SUSTAINABLE SILK IS), recycled office paper and recycled rag (GREAT THOUGHT, BUT RECYCLING PAPER TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY AND SOME HARMFUL CHEMICALS). You can also buy recycled wrapping paper (ALSO GOOD THOUGHT, BUT SAME AS ABOVE).”

The truth is, paper is actually fairly sustianable. There are a lot of revolutions in the industry right now that are doing great things, and the ultimate truth…TREES ARE A RENEWABLE RESOURCE! Plus, they are some of the most locally available materials as long as your purchasing from an appropriate source! I never thought about it before, but as long as you only use paper when you need it and recycle it into forms of lesser grade paper (such as cardboard, paperboard, insulation, etc.), paper itself can be pretty sustainable.

On that note, however, you also gave the most sustainable suggestion of all…”Reuse the things you have around the house such as bags, boxes, fabrics, newspaper comics, magazines, and gift wrap from last year.” and “Or instead of sending a card, make a phone call to a loved one.” NOW THAT’S SUSTAINABILITY!

Thanks for sharing!