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Mind the Wrap is a campaign to reduce single-use gift wrapping paper waste

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    • About the campaign
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    • Alternatives
    • About me
    • …  
      • HOME
      • About the campaign
      • Gallery
      • Contact
      • Alternatives
      • About me

    Mind the Wrap is a campaign to reduce single-use gift wrapping paper waste

      • HOME
      • About the campaign
      • Gallery
      • Contact
      • Alternatives
      • About me
      • …  
        • HOME
        • About the campaign
        • Gallery
        • Contact
        • Alternatives
        • About me
      • About the campaign

        From birthdays, to Christmas, to weddings and other special occasions, giving and receiving gifts is a wonderful tradition. Problem is, most gift wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it's mixed with materials such as plastic, glitter, dye, ink, laminate, foil, sticky tape etc. (BBC article). So tonnes of it ends up in landfills or incinerators every year, and yet a lot of it is unnecessary in the first place. For many, it's often an unconscious purchase - something we buy without thinking about if we really need it.

        • US consumers spent just over US$8 billion on gift wrap in 2018 (source). It's also estimated that 4 million tons of waste in the US over the holidays is made up of wrapping paper and shopping bags - this amounts to around 30 million trees cut down (source). 
        • In the UK, around 100 million rolls of gift wrapping paper are thrown away after Christmas (source). 
        • Canadians throw away about 540,000 tonnes of gift wrapping and gift bags during the holiday season (source).
        • Australians are estimated to use over 150,000 kilometres of wrapping paper for Christmas alone - enough to wrap around the Earth’s equator almost four times (source).

        Even if you question or ignore the statistics, just look around shops and online at how much wrapping paper is on sale all year. A search of Amazon.com for wrapping paper returns over 50,000 results.

         

        Is it right to create so much waste year after year for something we usually use only once? Why do we spend so much money and resource on something that is fundamentally rubbish?

         

        There is nothing wrong with wrapping gifts - it's part of a tradition of celebration and generosity. The issue is with what we use to wrap and the enormous waste created. This campaign is to raise awareness of the waste, to encourage use of more sustainable alternatives and reuse of what we already have instead of buying wrapping paper. Some suggestions are below and you can see examples in the Gallery.

        • Newspapers (e.g. free local papers or the broadsheets for larger items - check out gifts wrapped in special editions covering the Apollo 11 moon landing and the London Olympics 2012)
        • Fabric (e.g. scarves, tea towels, cushion covers, pillow cases, offcuts, and tote bags - all good for trying out the Japanese art of Furoshiki)
        • Brown paper (try to find one not wrapped in plastic)
        • Children's art work
        • Maps brought back home from travels
        • Old calendars
        • Bags and packaging from online and offline shopping
        • Sheet music
        • Tins and jars
        • Bit radical but check out the fabulous wrappers from Who Gives A Crap
        • Fallen leaves and orange/lemon peels make great finishes instead of plastic materials
        • Twine, fabric strips, washi tapes (see below) - seal your wrapping with these or other paper tapes as most plastic sticky tape cannot be recycled and is not biodegradable

        A special thank you to Sir David Attenborough for replying to my letter about the campaign. In his kind, handwritten letter, he explained that he cannot get involved personally in the campaign (which is understandable) but that he shares my concern about the waste created by gift wrapping. I'm very grateful that he took the time to reply in such a personal way. His letter is the first picture in the Gallery below.

         

        Thank you to Lambeth Council (and Peter Green in particular) for promoting the campaign with a blog on their website - Campaign to 'Mind the Wrap' starts in Lambeth.

         

        And a huge thank you to Maker Park Radio of Staten Island, New York City, for giving me the opportunity to promote the campaign by hosting shows on their community radio.

         

        I have been really encouraged by the support for this campaign from all over the world. If you would like to translate this page into your language or run the campaign in your country, please feel free to do so and I am happy to help where I can. Please use my affiliate link (here) if you would like to create a similar website on Strikingly. Thank you!

      • Gallery

        Reduce > Reuse > Repurpose > Recycle

        It can be hard to resist wrapping paper strategically placed by cash desks. Here are examples of crafty and beautiful alternatives to help fight that temptation - spot the tea towel that looks like a Christmas cracker! Also here are letters from people and organisations I have been contacting about the campaign.

        Letter from Sir David Attenborough
        Letter from the Prince of Wales
        Gifts wrapped in maps of Berlin and Malaga. See if you can find the Brandenburg Gate and Jardines de Picasso on the maps. Photo by M Negash.
        Gifts wrapped in maps - photo by M Negash
        Gifts wrapped in scarves, a tea towel and other fabric. Photo by M Negash.
        Gift wrapped in a scarf - no sticky tape used. Photo by M Negash.
        Gift wrapped in a scarf - no sticky tape used. Photo by A Tang.
        Fabric gift bags handmade by Betty Jambanis
        Gifts wrapped in newspaper - photo by M Negash
        Apollo 11 moon landing 50th anniversary newspaper cover page. Photo by M Negash.
        Gift wrapped in Apollo 11 moon landing newspaper cover page. Photo by M Negash.
        Saturn V newspaper poster marking 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing. Photo by M Negash.
        Gift wrapped in Saturn V newspaper poster. Photo by M Negash.
        London Olympics 2012: Guardian newspaper cover page image from opening ceremony. Photo by M Negash.
        Gift wrapped in newspaper double page showing image from the opening ceremony of the London Olympics 2012. Photo by M Negash.
        Gifts wrapped with white paper and twine. Photo by Wijdan Mq on Unsplash
        Gift wrapped in brown paper. Photo by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash.
        Gifts wrapped in brown paper. Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash.
        Gift bag made from a cereal box covered in newspaper
      • Contact

        Do you have suggestions for sustainable alternatives? Would you like to support or run the campaign in your local area/country? Please get in touch.

         

        The purpose of this campaign is also to get newspapers engaged to promote their papers for wrapping - you can see an example of how Unilever did this with the New York Times here. Please get in touch if your newspaper or organisation would like to be part of the campaign.

         

        Please share the campaign and this website on your social media.

        https://www.facebook.com/Mind-the-Wrap-campaign-904272336593176

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      • Sustainable alternatives

        External links with more examples of sustainable alternatives to single-use gift wrap

        Gifts wrapped in brown paper. Photo by Caley Dimmock on Unsplash

        Save your money and our planet

        Wrap anything with newspapers, fabric, brown paper, maps and many more alternatives.

        Learn more > English | Español

        Washi tapes

        Eco-friendly sticky tape

        Originating in Japan, washi tapes are a beautiful and biodegradable alternative to traditional sticky tape and adhesives.

        Learn more

      • About me

        I have lived in London (UK) for most of my life. I started this campaign in March 2019 because I have used newspapers to wrap gifts for many years and I know that many of you out there also use other alternatives. I hope to get as many people and organisations as possible involved to spread the campaign.

         

        My other waste reduction campaign is focused on umbrella covers - the ones that come with small/mini folding umbrellas. Many of us don't need these covers and throw them away almost immediately after purchase or lose them. I did a survey in March 2020 and over 80% of respondents said they would buy folding umbrellas without covers - you can see some of the responses here. Maybe Rihanna can help with the campaign :) What do you think?

         

        Thank you, and I will leave you with a quote from Sir David Attenborough:

         

        "The one thing we all have to do in a way which covers every aspect of our life is simply not to waste, and to live within our means."

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