Discarded bags full of gift wrap and tinsel are a thing of the past. Gift wrap might be pretty but what everyone’s after is what’s inside, not what’s on top. Join us for some nifty tricks to reduce our collective carbon foot print this festive season with some alternative ways to package festive parcels that are pretty too.

6 Ways to reduce your festive paper-waste.

1. The gift swaddled in re-useable wrapping – bags are best because they show very little wear from one use to the next.
2. Make the sticky bits easier to remove from wrapping paper by closing up gifts with washi-tape, it doesn’t leave residue or tear paper when removed.
3. Use unidentifiable paper (like newsprint, or plain gender-neutral colours) that can easily be reused for any occasion.
4. If you need to purchase new paper be mindful of its’ recyclability. Paper is recyclable if it has no metallic flakes, colored shapes, glitter and plastics added to the design.
5. Purchase already recycled products like newsprint or handmade papers.
6. Ever heard of Geami? @home uses this ‘bubble wrap’ that is made entirely out of paper! It’s so pretty that there is no need for anything else to make your fragile gifts look just perfect.

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Out with paper & in with re-usable paperless alternatives.

First prize for eco-friendly gift wrapping goes to presenting the wrapping as part of the gift itself!

1. Glass storage containers: for home or locally made treats like these from our Simply Stored and The Home Edit collections.

• Vases: to present a bunch of perfectly arranged seasonal blooms. Paired with a bunch for our forever florals. Shop our extensive range of vases, all sizes, shapes and colours accounted for!

• Tea towels or hand towels as Furoshiki* . Use these to wrap loose leaf tea, a new teaspoon set, or teabox filled with a selection of tea blends. Or a personalised edit of our curated bathroom supplies – our Bath & Body Care collection has something for everyone.

• Bag it! – Curate a DIY / Foodie Hamper and hand it over in a fabric storage bag that can be repurposed for storage. Shop Simply Stored cotton storage bags for curating an ‘All You Need is Bread’ gift hamper, or make your own edit of our Gifts Under R200.

• Already wrapped – many items today are sustainably packaged with minimal branding, simply remove branding / tags and add some dried foliage and fabric ribbon, et voila! Shop our bagged napkin sets and table cloths.

*The Art of Fabric Wrapping

Like us, you probably didn’t know there was a name for clothes used for wrapping, Furoshiki – one cloth, but many ways to fold it around a thing. Traditionally these clothes were used to transport items but more recently these cloths are used for gifting.

Need help? We’ve found you some easy Furoshiki wrapping tutorials:

Not coming right with gift wrapping? We are here to help, but so is your mom or friend if you are all thumbs 😊