Mind the Wrap campaign

10/05/2026

Happy 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough. Not much I can add to what has already been said about his work and legacy — but I will always cherish this handwritten letter I received from him in 2019.

A big thank you to Sir David Attenborough for replying to my letter about the campaign. In his kind, handwritten letter, he explained that he cannot get involved personally in the campaign (understandable) but that he shares my concern about the waste created by gift wrapping. I'm very grateful that he took the time to reply. www.mindthewrap.org

20/12/2024

A big "thank you" to the Kalamazoo Conservation District for spreading the word on Mind the Wrap campaign! Until today, was a place I'd only heard about in films. And now my little campaign has reached . So wonderful!

Thank you again and welcome to all new people discovering and joining the to reduce from 🎁 wrapping. Let's enjoy the holidays🎄with as little waste as possible, and take pride in doing our bit to help our planet 🌍.

A little story about the picture below - it was sent to me by a friend l used to work with after she wrapped Christmas gifts using old French . Feel free to share pictures of gifts you've wrapped using recycled materials!

AHHHHHHH, IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!

Time to start wrapping gifts, but first... don't forget to 'Mind The Wrap' and get creative with wrapping your gifts with upcycled materials.

"From birthdays, to Christmas, to weddings and other special occasions, giving and receiving gifts is a wonderful tradition. Problem is, most gift wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it's mixed with materials such as plastic, glitter, dye, ink, laminate, foil, sticky tape etc. So tons of it ends up in landfills or incinerators every year, and yet a lot of it is unnecessary in the first place. For many, it's often an unconscious purchase - something we buy without thinking about if we really need it.

US consumers spent just over US$8 billion on gift wrap in 2018. It's also estimated that 4 million tons of waste in the US over the holidays is made up of wrapping paper and shopping bags - this amounts to around 30 million trees cut down (source).
In the UK, around 100 million rolls of gift wrapping paper are thrown away after Christmas.
Canadians throw away about 540,000 tons of gift wrapping and gift bags during the holiday season.
Australians are estimated to use over 150,000 kilometers of wrapping paper for Christmas alone - enough to wrap around the Earth’s equator almost four times." - www.mindthewrap.org

Want to learn more? Follow the Mind The Wrap website to learn more about the campaign.

kalamazooconservation.org

Photo Credit: Mind the Wrap campaign

29/12/2023

Christmas🎄presents 🎁 beautifully wrapped in old calendars. Thanks to all who reused and repurposed what they already had to wrap gifts. You helped to reduce waste!

19/12/2023

It might be the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also end up being the most wasteful, too. Wrapping paper is one of the most expensive single-use Christmas products, but there are ways you can forego this expense, saving you money and helping the planet, too. But it's not just about reusi...

15/12/2023

09/12/2023

We can’t take standard (i.e. white/colourful) wrapping paper – even recyclable stuff, because it looks just like the non-recyclable stuff and there’s no way to tell them apart as they move along the conveyors in our plant.

Until all wrapping paper is recyclable, not very much of it will be.

Brown paper, on the other hand, is fine. We can identify it easily. You can even print it or decorate it with felt tips or a small amount of paint. No need to remove tape.

02/09/2023

paper is currently the most searched for product at John Lewis & Partners. No need. How about newspapers, fabric, kids artwork, maps from summer holidays and so many other materials we already have? Let's save our coins and reduce by reusing what we already have for wrapping 🎁

John Lewis has opened its online Christmas shop for 2023.

12/03/2023

I didn't think of it this way until I saw the numbers but by reducing our , we are also cutting down the amount that ends up in the murky world of illegal waste .

Sources:
NatureFinance, Jan 2022, https://rb.gy/iqtlqu
CIWM, Jul 2021, https://rb.gy/r1khyo

18/02/2023

Straight 🌂 umbrellas are sold without covers so why isn't there an option to buy folding umbrellas without the covers? Most of us don't need or use these covers. A simple solution to reduce

29/01/2023

A big thank you to everyone who used or switched to more eco-friendly 🎁 wrap over Christmas. You helped reduce the amount of going to . Small actions collectively make a big impact.