Earth-Friendly Gifts and Wrappings

Fact Sheets

When selecting gifts and wrappings, consider those that can be recycled.
When giving (homemade) cookies, cake, candy, etc., place the cookies in a cookie jar that the recipient can keep. Or, use a plastic refrigerator box or a basket that the recipient can use later.
To decorate a bottle, jar, or canister, make a miniature wreath of vines or use greenery to encircle the container.
Give a healthy potted plant with instructions for its care.
Give a toolbox with a small assortment of tools.
Give gift certificates for food, flowers, sports, or entertainment.
Wrap a gift in handkerchiefs or bandannas that will become part of the gift.
Put a gift in a Christmas stocking or tote bag that becomes part of the gift.
Wrap a gift in the sports page of the newspaper for the sportsperson, the cartoon pages for a child, or the stock quotations for a business person.
Wrap a gift in plain brown paper and decorate it with greenery, your own personal artwork or pages from the children’s coloring book.
Purchase wrapping paper made from recycled paper.
Paste old Christmas cards on old shopping bags and use them to hold awkwardly shaped gifts.
Use old maps or posters, leftover wallpaper, pages from old calendars, or old sheet music to wrap packages.
Reuse wrappings, tissues, and ribbons from gifts that were received previously.