The idea behind gift-giving during the holidays is beautiful. It really does create joy to give your loved ones something thoughtful. However, in practice, holiday gift exchanges can be quite wasteful. Here are a few ways you can cut down on your waste when giving gifts this winter.
Gift Donations, Experiences, and Used & Homemade Gifts
If you practice low waste, you probably already spend more of your money on things like experiences and used goods than you put toward buying brand-new merchandise. There’s no reason why you can’t apply this ethos toward gift-giving, too. Giving a donation in your loved one’s name to their favorite charity is not only a zero-waste gift, it’s also a meaningful one.
Go Easy on Wrapping
One of the most wasteful parts of gift exchanges is all of the wrapping and gift bags and tissue paper and bows that go straight into the trash. Instead of wrapping your gifts in brand-new wrapping paper, consider using recycled newspaper or scrap fabric. If you receive gifts that are wrapped in paper, save it for next year instead of throwing it out.
Plan Ahead
Do your best to plan your gift list ahead of time. That way, you’re more likely to buy people things they’ll actually want and put to good use. You also will save yourself the temptation to last-minute panic-buy something online with two-day delivery that will inevitably create a lot of waste in the process.
