Most wrapping paper can't even be recycled — the glittery, foil, and plastic-coated kinds go straight to landfill after a single unwrap. Eco-friendly gift wrapping looks more beautiful anyway: fabric, brown paper, and clever reuse turn the wrapping into part of the gift.
From Japanese furoshiki cloth to a jar with a bow, here are zero-waste, reusable ways to wrap that everyone will actually admire.
Fabric wrapping (furoshiki)
Wrap the gift in a square of fabric — a scarf, a tea towel, or a scrap of upcycled denim — and tie it in two knots. It's reusable, and it becomes a second little gift the recipient keeps.
The basic furoshiki fold
The simplest wrap takes about ten seconds:
- Lay a square of fabric flat and diagonally, and set the gift in the centre.
- Bring two opposite corners up and over the gift, and tie them once.
- Bring the other two corners up and tie them in a double knot on top.
- Tuck the ends under or fluff them into a little bow, and add a sprig of greenery.
A 50cm (20-inch) square wraps a book or a small box; a large scarf handles bigger gifts. The recipient keeps the cloth and reuses it, so the wrapping becomes a second gift.
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Furoshiki Cotton Gift Wrap
A beautiful printed cotton square for wrapping gifts the Japanese furoshiki way: no paper, no tape, and the wrap becomes part of the present, to be reused forever.
Read our full review →Paper you can actually recycle
Plain brown kraft paper, newspaper, old maps, or sheet music, jazzed up with stamps or potato prints and tied with twine instead of plastic ribbon.
Reuse what you already have
Gift small things inside a glass jar or tin, a fabric bag, a basket, or a box and gift bag saved from last year.
Natural, compostable trims
Twine, a sprig of rosemary or eucalyptus, a pinecone, dried orange slices, a cinnamon stick, or pressed flowers — all far prettier than a plastic bow, and all compostable.
Zero-waste tags
Seed-paper tags you can plant, brown-card tags, or simply write straight onto the paper. Skip the glossy sticky labels.
Beyond the wrapping
Wrapping is half the picture — for the gifts inside, see zero-waste gift ideas, and for the whole festive season, our zero-waste Christmas & holidays guide.
What to avoid
Glittery, foil, and plastic-coated papers (all landfill), plastic ribbon and bows, and sticky tape on paper you want to recycle — use paper tape or a tuck-fold instead.
Got a signature eco-wrap? Share it in the comments at ecoxee.com — furoshiki knots and all.
Keep reading: Glass vs Aluminium vs Plastic: What's Greener?, How to Declutter Sustainably (Without Landfill), and How to Freeze Food to Reduce Waste.
