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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Lily Smith

The best eco-friendly wrapping paper – and its alternatives

An overhead view of wrapped Christmas presents on a backdrop which have been decorated with ribbon, string, eucalyptus leaves and holly leaves. An unrecognisable man is wrapping one present while surrounded by the other presents and they are ready to be given for Christmas.
Eco gift wrap is often as beautiful as it is sustainable. Photograph: SolStock/Getty Images

Whether you’re clumsily covering a gift in any old paper or wrapping it neatly and finishing with a bow, the wrap is sure to be discarded within seconds – and then what happens to it?

You may have heard of the “scrunch test”, which says that if you crumple the paper into a ball and it stays that shape, you can recycle it, but if it expands again, you can’t. And, hopefully, most of us know that if the gift wrap has any foil, glitter or remains of sticky tape, it’s automatically destined for landfill.

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