| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Maxwell Smart |
eco gift wrappingDoes anybody have a good source for "nice" recycled wrapping paper and non-polyester ribbons? |
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| sally_in_wales |
What about the handmade paper with the flower petals in it? | ||||
| sally_in_wales |
There is for example, this sort of stuff out there, but its imported, you should be able to find versons with less miles attached
http://www.ancientwisdom.biz/forms/ecop/ |
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
what about brown paper decorated by yourself or a fabric bag to put the gift in that can be reused for something | ||||
| hamster |
I got a big roll of recycled brown paper from WHSmith for about £1.50 at Christmas, which can be decorated with whatever takes your fancy. I can't help with ribbons, but if it's to avoid using sticky tape I've been told that actual Sellotape brand tape is fine to compost. | ||||
| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
my granny had the art of tying a parcel with ribbon so that no tape was needed. | ||||
| Fee |
I third brown paper, I think even undecorated, it looks rather beautiful 
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| marigold |
Especially when tied with string, like a proper old-fashioned parcel  .
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| Maxwell Smart |
Thanks for the replies - I guess I should of said I need something pretty luxurious for commercial use. | ||||
| jamsam |
try this:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/11/how_to_use_furo.html Furoshiki is fab!! |
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| Fee |
I think brown paper is luxurious
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| Maxwell Smart |
Now that is interesting and warrants more thought. Thanks |
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| drunk_nik |
I just use plain brown paper - mostly cos Hamster brought a roll and decorated it once she'd wrapped the presents. Me, I just used the remnants of her roll and didn't decorate it, but that's cos I'm lazy. Although I do second Fee's (and other people's) comments that I think it looks funky as it is anyway.
I think Hamster tried using potato printing to decorate hers, just using ink pads rather than poster paints. Looked pretty good to my memory. |
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| wellington womble |
I always use brown paper - every year, people comment on how elegant and chic it looks, with real ribbon. Never found natural ribbon, but I reuse it all. An aunt uses tissue paper, which looks very smart. | ||||
| Frewen Feltmaker |
What about using cellophane? | ||||
| Helen_A |
Or you could fuse some plastic bags together? | ||||
| Quail By Mail |
I agree with the ladies here, less is more, much more. I use recycled kraft paper tied with a raffia bow. Raffia is derived from a type of palm is very strong, unfiddly and looks great. I bought a 90cm x 50m roll of kraft paper for about £20 and I think it'll last at least until next year.
What is it that you need to wrap? |
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| Slim |
I haven't tried it yet, but I like this idea:
http://ecostreet.com/blog/sustainable-lifestyle/2007/12/03/its-a-wrap/ all you need is a square of a fabric of your choosing, even a bandanna would work |
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| jamsam |
yep..thats furoshiki..the japanese art of wrapping with fabric. You can use any square peice of cloth that takes your fancy, which then becomes useful for the person recieving the gift too... | ||||
| Fee |
But then you'll be able to see the pressie inside 
No use here, but with birthday presents given in person, we play a game of imaginary wrapping. You have to close your eyes and imagine that you're unwrapping the present, good fun, people always get much more enthusiastic about the present
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
Sorry cello over some tissue tied with some raffia
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| James |
we use brown paper when we're going posh, or newspaper when its just gifts between us. | ||||
| gnome |
we used to use leftover rolls of wallpaper | ||||
| Slim |
I like that idea, especially if you could find really funky rolls leftover from the '70s ....aahhhh, "harvest gold" 
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| Maxwell Smart |
Most "cellophane" available today is made from PP and thus a petroleum by-product and not very eco-friendly. We were using proper biodegradable cellophane at one point to wrap our products in for display on shelves but the problem is it would look terrible after only a few weeks due to the moisture in the air causing it to ripple. That and it was a dust magnet. |
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| mochyn |
I papered the living room in our last house in brown paper. Looked wonderful. | ||||
| rivergirl |
our supermarket sells eco gift wrap i think it is 5 metres for 2 euros but will check its a good quality paper and the print is relevant to the season before that as others is was printed paper or newspaper and for the ribbons raffia or ribbons from other things | ||||
| joeecou.com |
check out ecoU.com, theres some good quality eco wrapping paper made from Lokta bark, a plant which grows in the Himalayas at altitudes in excess of 6,500ft and is abundant in supply. | ||||
| Fee |
And then transported to a central location, then shipped/flown over here, I presume? Doesn't sound very eco to me. | ||||
| Jamanda |
I must admit, I'd have thought paper made from European conifer plantation wood was more ecologically sound. |
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| mochyn |
Ditto. |
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| colour it green |
we use used newspaper. if feeling very posh, i made try and use newspaper headlines and articles that relate the the giftee or the gift....
but the paper just gets torn off... its the thing inside you want! |
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| joeecou.com |
Harvesting of the Lokta helps preserve the fragile eco system in Nepal and gives regular fairly paid work to the people of many mountain villages. | ||||
| Treacodactyl |
Probably if the paper is bleached and probably several other variables. |
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| Treacodactyl |
And I think it's a Daphne, Daphne papyracea, which makes me wonder if it could also be grown happily in the UK. Another one for the list of things to try. More details here: http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Daphne+papyracea Should be a link to pfaf but it's not working at the time of posting: http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Daphne+papyracea Personally I don't need much wrapping paper as I try not to buy gifts!  Seriously, I'd guess the far more wasted in unwanted gifts than is wasted in the use of wrapping paper.
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| Slim |
Ooh, an instructional video....
http://www.wrap.org.uk/recyclenow_08/what_can_i_do_today/furoshiki_japanese_w.html |
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| Gervase |
Now that is stylish! | ||||
| Cathryn |
MJ, please can you video Gervase wrapping the Christmas presents?
Oddly hypnotic that video. |
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| cinders |
I like this idea so have wrapped 6 present with some christmas material i intended to make bags with,looks great will do the same next year
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| gnome |
i use wallpaper. it's often just as nice or even nicer than wrapping paper, is more durable, and it's something most of us have leftover rolls of somewhere. | ||||
| purplehoob |
Hi, if you check out florist supplies you can usually find paper raffia - it comes in loads of colours and looks great. For wrapping - my local decorating centre saves the wallpaper sample books - the papers in these are amazing | ||||
| ***merlin*** |
last year i managed to get a bunch of re useable shopping bags very cheaply, i used those,
this year, we are making our house to your house baskets, i got 50 lovely large rafia baskets for 20p each 
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