The holiday season is the best. The spirit we get into and all the decorations around make the atmosphere magical. The way the smile comes to your loved one’s face with the thoughtful gifts is the thing you can look forward to every year.
Not only the thought of gifts are the first thing that comes to mind. But wrapping them in beautiful wrapping paper makes the experience better. Well, wrapping paper cannot be an environmentally friendly thing. So, how to make it more sustainable gift wrapping?
First of all, sustainability is a concept related to developing products, goods, or services. This concept improves the quality of our lives, also, protects our ecosystem, and preserves natural resources for future generations. So, try to choose clothing, beauty brands, food, or energy companies that provide you with sustainability. Before purchasing something from a brand, make sure you look this up because sustainability should be a top priority.
In general, some people don’t think there is a way to make more sustainable gift wrapping. But we say you can do that while recycling old linen fabric scraps, unusable linen napkins, towels, etc. It is an excellent way to replace paper with something that can be used every year.
Linen is an eco-friendly material that is made from the flax plant. So, it is natural and can be a great addition to an already unique gift. The beautiful thing about this is that you can use it in many different ways, in every prospect of your life.
This article will introduce you to wrapping gifts with linen fabric and a few tips on being more sustainable this holiday season.
The Japanese Method of Fabric Wrapping
There are quite a few methods to wrap your gifts in. The most outstanding out of all is Furoshiki. Furoshiki is a Japanese method of fabric wrapping. In general, the Japanese have mastered the art of wrapping in fabrics a long time ago. Over the years, this particular wrapping method evolved into a practice that people use to be more sustainable. The usage of the fabric is environmentally-friendly and a beautiful way to present the gift to your loved one.
Furoshiki is a square piece of cloth or fabric used for wrapping gifts, transporting items, fashion, and even home decor. The beautiful thing about Furoshiki is that it refers to the craft and the cloth, meaning the fabric can have an elegant and decorative design.
Before its popularity around the world, Furoshiki was a craft that was used for transporting items. This craft originated in Japan around 710 B.C. in the Nara period. The cloths that the item was wrapped in were called Tsutsumi, which translates as ‘package.’ It was primarily used to wrap essential goods found in Japanese temples. Later in the change of periods, during the Heian period, the cloth was called Komoro Utsumi, and it was used to wrap clothes.
If we look further into the origins of the Furoshiki, then the name Furoshiki was first used in the Muromachi period. It was used by the people who often went to the bathhouses - usually, high-ranking people. They would put belongings in a cloth decorated with their family crest. Those markings or emblems were used as an indication of who the Furoshiki belonged to.
Just like this, the Furoshiki became popular among all people in different societies in Japan. And the bathhouses became the place where people often go to wash, relax, or socialize. Over the years, it was adapted to be used as the wrapping for gifts, books, or other things.
This wrapping art is treasured now because using fabric instead of plastic is more sustainable. In 2006, the Japanese Minister of the Environment Yuriko Koike encouraged Furoshiki in everyday life, promoting environmental awareness. Today, Japanese schoolchildren still use this technique to carry their bento boxes, and all the world is using them as an environmentally-friendly way to wrap gifts.
Gift wrapping with linen: 3 methods inspired by Furoshiki
Gift wrapping is always a fun thing to do. We do understand that it can sometimes be challenging, but then after the fact is when you see your loved ones with smiles on their faces - it will take all the frustration.
We talked about sustainability and that it is essential. Well, being sustainable not only means that you need to recycle. Have you ever wondered how much paper waste comes from the wrappings that everyone makes in the holiday season? That is why Furoshiki is one of the ways to help you create more sustainable holidays.
As linen enthusiasts, we love to see linen recycled. That is why we prepared three methods of gift wrapping in linen that Furoshiki inspired:
#1 method
With this method, it works best with gifts that are larger, for example, books. Books are always a great gift to anyone. So, to make it more special, all you need to do is this. Place your linen fabric diagonally. If you happen to have a linen napkin, then you can use it, the most significant size that a linen napkin comes in is 22”x22” (55x55 cm), and the smallest size you can find is 16”x16” (40x40 cm).
When you place the fabric diagonally in the middle, put your gift. Grab two ends - one from the bottom and the other from the top. It would be best if you tied them together to make a knot. To add a little bit of jazz to the wrapping, you can put additional items in the middle of the first knot, like branches or decoration pieces. Lastly, tie the remaining ends into a knot. Make sure you straighten the ends after you make a knot. Trim the additional decoration elements if needed. And you are good to go!
#2 method
This method is perfect if you have small or big boxes, this way, you can create a neat look with the wrapping. You can also use linen napkins for this type of method. All you need to do is use a square linen fabric piece to make it more symmetrical.
This method starts just like the first one. Place your linen piece diagonally and put the gift box in the middle of the fabric. The difference of this method is in folding. First, you need to take the end piece - closest to you, fold it over the box, and tuck the edge under the box. When you do that, take the opposite end, fold it in half, and then fold over the top of the box.
With the remaining two ends, you need to pinch them against the gift box. Make sure that it is flush and neat against the side. Repeat on the other side and tie the ends together into a nice knot. Flatten the knot edges to give a neat look. You can add additional natural or sustainable decorations to take it to another level.
#3 method
The third method is most likely to be used when you are wrapping oval, round, non-standard shape gifts. These gifts can be candles, vessels, or other things. All gifts deserve some wrapping.
So, for this wrapping method, you can use a linen towel or other linen piece, such as a small linen towel. It starts the same as the other two methods: put the linen piece diagonally, and in the middle, put your jar of goods.
Before you start collecting the edges of the fabric, prepare a tread for tying the fabric. You can cut the desired length of it. Once you have that, you can pick up all the corners of the material and bring it to the center. Then take the thread that you prepared before and tie the fabric. Make sure that when you connect it that the end pieces are straight and neat. To make it more beautiful, you can add additional decoration elements. And you are good to go!
Other Ways To Be More Sustainable This Holiday Season
Christmas is a holiday everyone looking forward to every year. Like who does not want to spend time with their families, eating together, or opening presents together. These moments every person cherishes every time. To make it a more memorable holiday season for you and your loved ones, we suggest looking for alternative things to make it more environmentally friendly.
It’s no secret that you need to minimize the waste that you throw out. Of course, we don’t say that you can’t have the holidays without certain things, like lights, Christmas decorations, etc. You can have all of that; it’s just that you need to look for more ways to make it more sustainable.
We are linen enthusiasts, and you know linen is made out of natural material and is sustainable. So, we want to help you have sustainable holidays. Other than linen, you can find quite a collection of tips on being more sustainable during the holiday season. Here are our four tips:
- Choose gifts made from natural or recycled sources.
There is a huge misconception that all gifts should be store-bought. Well, no. If you think this way, you can spend way more in the store buying a gift that will be used only once, and the joy is gone. If you take your time and give a personalized and unique, or in other words, handmade gift, we can guarantee that the person will love it. Of course, children may prefer store-bought gifts and play with them, but most adults prefer thoughtful gifts over something store-bought.
But the thing is, how do you think of a gift that can be sustainable. Well, using natural or recycled sources can help. If you don’t have time, then look for locally made gifts in marketplaces. Most of the locally made gifts are more environmentally friendly because they don’t require much transportations and production expenses.
As for the gifts from recycled sources, you can look for small businesses that make their pieces from recycling. It is a beautiful and promising way to minimize the waste that people throw away every year.
- ‘Battery Free’ gifts.
It’s kind of hard to find some battery-free gifts, but there is a lot of them. Why is this important? According to the EPA, about 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season, and discarded batteries are dangerous to the environment. So, try to look for a gift that has less impact on the environment.
- Decorate Christmas trees with natural materials.
Having ornaments on the Christmas tree is a must, but here is the thing - plastic. Plastic isn’t sustainable. To make it more sustainable, instead of plastic ornaments, you can use natural material ornaments.
For example, linen ornaments are the perfect way to make your Christmas tree stand out and have a character. For more linen Christmas tree decorations, check this collection.
- Use energy-efficient lights & a timer.
Well, light in the holiday season is a must! But how to make it more efficient. You can reduce the size of the outdoor lighting displays; fewer lights are also stunning. Or you can use mini-lights that save energy; you can always use the lights that can charge in the daylight with solar batteries.
As for the indoor lights and Christmas tree lights - we suggest you use LED lights. LED lights use 95% less energy than regular holiday lights. A great way to make sure that in the daytime, your lights turn off or turn off when you go to sleep is to use a timer that will help you save energy.
Summary
We covered just the basics of being sustainable this holiday season. But we must use these tips every holiday season, not only this one. To make sure you stay sustainable, try to make minor changes in your everyday life.
We are trying to show our love for natural materials and their benefits to our environment. We encourage you to be more sustainable; click here if you want more information about our linen sustainability.
FAQ
- How to wrap gifts with fabric?
To wrap gifts more sustainably, you can use old fabric, such as linen napkins, towels, or even linen scraps. Wrap the gifts using a Japanese gifts wrapping method, Furoshiki; the beautiful thing is that you can add additional decorations to the wrapped gift.
- What is Furoshiki?
Furoshiki is a square piece of cloth or fabric used for wrapping gifts, transporting items, fashion, and even home decor. You can cover anything in this beautiful art of wrapping.