Wrap Your Gifts in Cloth This Christmas for an Eclectic and Eco-Conscious Look

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of handing someone you love a beautifully wrapped Christmas present. And though the gift itself represents your generosity and love, the presentation is the ultimate finishing touch, letting the receiver know just how much time and thought you put into making their gift extra special. But if you’re not careful, your lovely wrapping job can come at a price—and we don’t just mean the price of the supplies.

Unfortunately, a lot of wrapping paper that’s being sold in stores cannot be recycled, and ultimately ends up in the landfill. So, while it might look lovely in the days (or maybe minutes) before it’s torn apart, it makes a big impact on the environment in the long run.

The adverse effects of wrapping paper waste have led people away from single-use paper, and toward reusable and sustainable (plus stylish) options. In fact, the piles of landfill-bound wrapping paper that litter living rooms on Christmas Day inspired Jane Park to found Tokki, a reusable gift wrap company.

Park says that one easy and eco-friendly way to refresh your giving style this year is wrapping gifts in cloth—a material that can be used over and over again, and repurposed after the fact. While it does take a little more planning, and a slightly different mindset than you may be used to, the payoff will be worth it—for your presents and for the planet.

Marty Baldwin

A few years back, Park took a look at her post-Christmas morning living room, and tried to pick out the wrapping materials she’d be able to recycle. But she soon discovered that almost every piece of wrapping paper had to be thrown in the trash—whether it was covered in sparkles, had textured elements, or was coated in plastics, most of her wrapping