Christmas time is here… almost!
With the holiday season fast approaching, stores are gearing up for shoppers looking for presents and packaging to wrap them in. Everyone is excited about those huge boxes wrapped in Christmas paper and holiday cards. Everyone except the environment, of course.
This festive decorating may seem glamorous, but it also is taking a negative toll on the environment. The UK throws away around 108 million rolls of wrapping paper each year. To make it even worse, a research report conducted by Greenpeace discovered that 1kg of wrapping paper contributes 3kg of CO2 emissions. The fact that wrapping paper usage alone is enough to wrap Big Ben 260,000 times is terrifying. However, there are solutions that can eradicate this problem so that both consumers and the environment can enjoy the holiday season. We’ve come up with some easy tips to help you be more sustainable this year.
Step 1: Save your gift bags and bows
Those giant plastic and glittery present bags may look festive, but they have a huge impact on the waste produced during the holiday season. These bags can only be used at Christmas time since they have pictures of holiday themes and figures. Reusing bags is one way to reduce this waste, but utilizing bags that are compostable, biodegradable, and recyclable is the best solution. You can even reuse these bags beyond the holiday season.
Nothing makes a present look better other than being wrapped in a big bow. The next time you receive a present with one on, save the bow so that you can reuse it on a future present as well as prevent more unnecessary waste. These bows can be used on more than just holiday presents and they will save you money in the long run.
Step 2: Send Holiday cards with recyclable paper
Holiday cards are such a sincere and joyful memento to send out during this time of year. Using recyclable paper and envelopes to send them out would help the Earth even more. Did you know that only 1 tree makes 3,000 cards? Not something you would want to hear either, but 1 billion cards get thrown away each year which equates to 33 million trees. On average, the UK uses around 300,000 tonnes of card packaging materials during the holiday season alone. That is a lot of trees that can be saved by using alternative recyclable materials that get returned back to the earth. We know those glittery cards are beautiful, but they cannot be recycled either
You do not have to sacrifice design for sustainability, though. envoPAP provides sustainable paper and envelopes that are customizable and can serve multiple purposes. The design possibilities are endless with envoPAP without compromising the environment.
Step 3: Use Sustainable Packaging Materials
You didn’t think we’d skip over this, did you? One of the simplest and most impactful sustainable switches is using paper and packaging materials that do not hurt the Earth. Luckily, there are sustainable paper and packaging options that can eradicate sustainability issues. Contrary to the linear “take, make, dispose” way of living, envoPAP believes in the circular principle of creating wealth from waste. Our Life Cycle Analysis states that our products emit 28% – 38% less carbon than traditional packaging, saving over 1 million trees since our inception. This simple switch has no cost to the environment and is a further step towards solving the environmental crisis we are currently living in.
Traditional wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it contains plastic or other laminates. A more sustainable option is to wrap your presents in eco-friendly paper that has no harm to the environment. Our paper is made from agricultural waste that harms no trees. The only trees hurt this season are covered with decorations and topped with a star.
The holidays are such a joyful and merry time. Help the environment feel merry too by saving your holiday decorations, using sustainable paper for your holiday cards, and by wrapping your gifts in sustainable joy.
Resources
https://www.gwp.co.uk/guides/christmas-packaging-facts/
