Say no to single use wrapping paper

Loose Change is a series of blogposts by members of the UK Money Blogger community where they let loose on a financial issue important to them.

This week Zoe from ecothriftyliving shares why she wants us to #CutTheWrap this Christmas.

—-

Have you started thinking about wrapping your Christmas gifts yet? Before you go out and buy any wrapping paper (if you haven’t already), try something new this year and join my campaign to #cutthewrap! The idea is to pledge to avoid single use wrapping paper this winter. You can sign up  and make your pledge here: #cutthewrap and use wrapping paper alternatives!

Why am I doing this?

• Most wrapping paper is not recyclable. The wrapping paper that we buy in shops is often lined with plastic and some has glitter stuck on it which is also plastic. This means that it can’t be recycled and after the festivities are over all that wrapping paper has to go to landfill or incineration.
• Brown paper can be reused and recycled. But it counts as card and cannot be recycled as paper and is very energy intensive to produce if you buy it new. It also involves cutting down trees! We are at a time in history where we need to protect trees more than ever, so just switching to using new brown paper doesn’t solve the problem.
• Wrapping paper is an added expense at a time of year, when so many are already stretched for cash.
• I think the pollution and expense involved in buying single use wrapping paper is unnecessary as there some great alternatives!

What are the alternatives?

There are lots. A simple one is to buy fabric gift bags or sacks especially for immediate family members that you can put all the gifts (unwrapped of course) in, rather than wrap them all up individually. It is a real time saver as well and can be reused for years! There will be an initial investment, but you could save money finding them second hand or making them yourself and in the long run they will save you money.

Over on my blog, I have 5 blog posts coming up during the last week in November which will go into detail about alternatives to wrapping paper. Make sure you don’t miss anything by signing up here: #cutthewrap and use wrapping paper alternatives!

Who else is joining in

I asked the UK Money Bloggers community if anyone wanted to join in with this campaign and these lovely bloggers said yes! They also have some ideas about what to do instead.

• Adam from moneysavvydaddy.com: I’m joining in the #CutTheWrap campaign because I know there is more we as a family could be doing to be eco-friendly above the basic recycling we do already. Especially at Christmas when the waste is so excessive. I’m looking forward to learning more about the alternatives to single-use paper and sharing the ideas with the family to do the same.

• Victoria from lyliarose.com and healthyvix.com: The challenge is such an amazing way to generate awareness to the vast amount of waste created on Christmas Day, including lots of non-recyclable gift wrap and Sellotape. Many of us don’t realise most gift wrap from regular stores is actually plastic based and can’t be recycled, so further increasing landfill waste and contributing to the plastic pollution problem. I have already purchased fabric gift bags and fabric sacks for my children instead of wrapping paper. I will be taking part in the #cutthewrap challenge to ensure I find alternative solutions for friends and family gifts too. I also pledge to raise awareness to my own blog readers of the unnecessary waste that is caused every year when there are other eco-friendly and cost-saving reusable options. Read Victoria’s posts about the campaign here: Eco Friendly alternatives to wrapping paper and here: Cut the wrap, save money and stop single use wrapping paper this Christmas

• Rachel from thesavvysisters.com: I pledge to join in and make Christmas more of a sustainable holiday. There are plenty of alternatives to wrapping paper, this year I will be using magazines and newspaper wrapping, and second-hand hampers. Check out their blog post about #cutthewrap here:

• Katie from studentskint.com: I’m joining in with this campaign because I’ve become more environmentally conscious in 2019 and reducing waste is something I’m continually working hard on. I’ve started to share more eco-friendly tips with my readers so this is a great way to keep the conversation going and keep planting the seed whilst applying it to something really topical and applicable to a lot of people – Christmas!

• Jane from www.shoestringcottage.com: For the last couple of years I have been using recycled brown paper and twine to wrap presents but I love the idea of going a step further and finding truly reusable alternatives. I will give it a go!

• Jennifer from monethalia.com: I’m joining because I don’t want to be part of the throw-away society we live in. When I die I want to be able to say “it’s not my fault that the oceans are full of plastic and the landfills are overflowing”

• Di from superlucky.me: Count me in! All the shiny paper and bows drives me crazy, I love to see fabric wrapped goodies under the tree instead!

So come and join me and the money bloggers in the #cuthewrap campaign and save money and the environment this Christmas by avoiding single use wrapping paper! If you haven’t already done it, sign up here: #cutthewrap and use wrapping paper alternatives!

—-

This article was written by Zoe Morrison who blogs at www.ecothriftyliving.com and who is the author of Eco Thrifty Living the book! She can be found on Facebook, on Twitter and Instagram under @ecothrifty and on Pinterest .

Articles in the Loose Change series are written by members of our community. The views do not necessarily represent those of UK Money Bloggers or other members.