Department of Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture
Earth-Friendly Gifts and Wrappings
By Mary Welch-Keesey, Purdue University Consumer Horticulture
Specialist, and Martha Bailey, volunteer, at
White River
Gardens
When selecting gifts and wrappings, consider those that can be
recycled.
When giving (homemade) cookies, cake, candy, etc., place the
cookies in a cookie jar that the recipient can keep. Or, use a
plastic refrigerator box or a basket that the recipient can use
later.
To decorate a bottle, jar, or canister, make a miniature
wreath of vines or use greenery to encircle the container.
Give a healthy potted plant with instructions for its care.
Give a toolbox with a small assortment of tools.
Give gift certificates for food, flowers, sports, or
entertainment.
Wrap a gift in handkerchiefs or bandannas that will become
part of the gift.
Put a gift in a Christmas stocking or tote bag that becomes
part of the gift.
Wrap a gift in the sports page of the newspaper for the
sportsperson, the cartoon pages for a child, or the stock
quotations for a business person.
Wrap a gift in plain brown paper and decorate it with
greenery, your own personal artwork or pages from the children's
coloring book.
Purchase wrapping paper made from recycled paper.
Paste old Christmas cards on old shopping bags and use them to
hold awkwardly shaped gifts.
Use old maps or posters, leftover wallpaper, pages from old
calendars, or old sheet music to wrap packages.
Reuse wrappings, tissues, and ribbons from gifts that were
received previously.
GIFTS TO AVOID because they are endangered:
Furs
Ivory
Exotic plants
Exotic birds, mammals or reptiles
Tropical hardwood boxes, bowls, or carvings
Last updated: 6 April, 2006
For questions on this article, please contact Mary Welch-Keesey (mwelch@indyzoo.com).
Questions about this site should be sent to homehort@purdue.edu
The URL for this page is http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/WRG_eco_gifts.html
