Eco-friendly gift wrapping challenge helps Spilled Ink staff make the holidays green

Eco-friendly wrapping can make the holidays not only fun, but sustainable too!

December 16, 2022

Newspaper, a repurposed yogurt container, a bandana, moving paper, and a napkin. While it may not be easy to make the connection between these items, the answer lies in how they can make your holidays a little more cheerful and a lot more green. This year, in preparation for the holiday season, the Spilled Ink staff participated in a White Elephant gift exchange, with a twist. 

The rules of the game: each gift was wrapped in an eco-friendly fashion, either recycled or  able to be reused, so that we can suggest the easiest, earth-friendliest way to reduce waste during the holidays. To add an extra dose of friendly competition to our exchange, each gift was rated on a 5 point snowflake scale based on ease of wrapping process, appearance, and sustainability.

Addie ❄️ ❄️ Made of: Brown packing paper and yarn Pros: – Accessible materials – Easy to wrap – Uses up extra yarn Cons: – Appearance isn’t as nice – Not sturdy
Rayne ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ Made of: Newspaper, tape, recycled twine, and cardboard box (Third) Pros:  – Easily accessible – Very pretty – Mostly recyclable –  Nostalgic Cons: – Uses Scotch tape –  Newspaper rips easily so had to use more
Maelyn ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ Made of: repurposed yogurt container, paper towel, and colored pen ink Pros: – Easy – Quick – Can be decorated Cons: – Difficult to make paper towel fit
Paige ❄️ ❄️ Made of: Repurposed poster and tape Pros: – On theme – Cute design – Easily accessible – Gives unwanted posters a purpose Cons: -Uses Scotch tape – Present size restrictions
Hadley ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ Made of: Bandana and ribbon (Honorable mention) Pros: – Easy – Quick – Materials are infinitely reusable –  Cute Cons: – Works only for smaller gifts
Ava ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ Made of: 100% cotton napkin and natural flower fabric dyes(second place) Pros: – Wrapping is part of the gift – 100% eco friendly – Fun to make Cons: – Can only wrap certain sized objects – Hard to fold and intricate process to dye – Messy
Ichigo ❄️ Made of: Paper towel and tape Pros: – Easy – Accessible – Quick – Can be decorated Cons: – Looks last minute –   Use Scotch tape-   Not sturdy
Ken ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ Made of: Paper grocery bag, scrap fabric ribbon, reused metal tin, and paint pens (Winner!) Pros: – Very cute – 100% eco-friendly – No tape necessary – Easily accessible –  Can decorate – Same look as wrapping paper Cons: – Time consuming depending on how big the gift is – Stiff
Kate ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ Made of: moving paper, two napkins, tape, and cardboard box Pros: – Thick paper so it doesn’t rip-  Very cute – Resembles real wrapping paper – Creative freedom to make a present wrapped in any pattern you would like Cons: – Intricate –  Napkins are hard to use  – Uses Scotch tape – Moving paper may not be accessible