What do you do at birthdays, Christmas and celebrations things to make it sustainable? We used to end up with a huge pile of wrapping paper every birthday and Christmas but now we have very little as we have swapped to reusable wraps and bags.
At Christmas the amount of wrapping paper thrown away at Christmas in the UK alone would stretch to the moon, according to estimates by recycling advisors WRAP. If the wrapping paper is foil or glitter-decorated paper it cannot be recycled. For more information on recycling wrapping paper and check out the crunch test if you are not sure if you can recycle it.
Fabric gift wrapping, a great way for a sustainable and less wasteful Christmas is to use fabric to wrap your presents. Firstly you can make reusable fabric draw string bags or you can learn the art of fabric wrapping: Furoshiki from Japan. All you need is some squares of fabric and you are ready to go.
Fabric Bags
Make your own fabric gift bags. A simple project if you have a sewing machine. If you make various sizes to cover all sizes of presents and can be used again and again for celebrations. There’s lots of simple instructions on how to make fabric gift bag, here’s one to get you started:
Fabric Wraps
Every family celebration such as birthdays and Christmas, these wraps come out. Its reduced dramatically the amount of packaging waste left over from a celebration.
I love fabric wrapping. Get square scarfs, fabric napkins, make fabric bags or squares out of left over fabric. The last few years, I get out our reusable furoshiki square fabric wraps and reusable fabric bags out for family birthdays and Christmas. I have picked up quite a few square scarfs and napkins at markets, vintage and charity shops. Some shown above are made from scraps of materials I have left over from other projects, cut into squares and added zig zag stitch around the edges to stop fraying.
Getting our box of fabric wraps out is like getting out old friends with memories of other celebrations. The kids love choosing which wrap to use for presents. Below is wrap techniques you can use; my favourites are the first two top left.
To read more here: How to: Furoshiki (Japanese Fabric Wrapping), 1 Million Women.
What do you make celebrations more sustainable?
Contact us with your ideas.
Ealing Repair Cafe 
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