Gift wrapping paper is one of the most wasteful aspects of Christmas. Every year we see ever more elaborate and expensive Christmas wrapping paper, it hardly gets looked at before it is torn open by eager hands and ends up as landfill. One of the biggest sources of waste each Christmas is gift wrapping paper, with more than 8,000 tonnes being used each year – the equivalent of approximately 50,000 trees {The Guardian UK].This is a whole forest cut down each year just to wrap Christmas gifts!

Most of the wrapping paper cannot be properly recycled as it is often coated in metal foil or plastic laminated. Think also of the toxic inks and dyes used in the manufacture and you could easily see how the seemingly innocuous Christmas paper is very damaging to the environment.

There are many creative ways to wrap your Christmas presents and save the environment as well as give a green message.

Here are ten ways you could use to make an environmentally friendly Christmas wrapping for your presents:

1. Use a pretty scarf as a wrap and tie it like a normal parcel or bundle it up and tie it with a fabric ribbon.
2. A piece of fabric which could be reused as something else.
3. A funky tea towel made of organic cotton for edible presents or recipe books.
4. Recycle and reuse last year’s paper wrapping.
5. Paint a plain pillow case for several small presents for children.
6. A reusable shopping bag with handles made out of cotton, hemp or bamboo .
7. A cardboard box or a tin that could be used as storage for other goods.
8. Recycle old boxes or paper bags with cut out pictures from old magazines.
9. A Tshirt can be used to wrap a present for a teen.
10. Purchase fair trade recycled paper printed with eco friendly ink if you are too busy to make your own.

There are so many ways to avoid the waste of Christmas wrapping paper, get the children involved and they will have hours of fun devising ways to save the environment.

For more ways to save the environment this Christmas go to: http://www.greenlivingtemple.com

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