Newspaper Wrapping?

Hello Kate!

I want to ask my shower and wedding guests not to purchase wrapping paper or greeting cards for the gifts they give us. I would rather they use scrap paper, newspaper or use old unused cards they have lying around the house. What is the best way to approach this?? I have a lot of older relatives who may be resistant to this nontraditional request even though it will save them money.

Thank you!

Amanda V.

Answer:

Dear Amanda,

Although it may seem insubstantial at first look, this is actually a significant way to reduce the environmental footprint of your wedding. The average wedding produces almost 600 pounds of garbage, and lot of that is made of boxes and non-recyclable wrapping paper from gifts.

Start by asking whoever is organizing your shower to get the word out to the invitees about your request. He or she can even make it a contest to see who can come up with the most creative eco-wrapping - which will be fun for your shower and will get guests to think outside the box (literally). There are many creative ways to wrap with recycled or reusable materials - and for a few great examples I suggest checking out/pointing them to Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags, and Gifts from Everyday Materials by Danny Sao (image from book above).

For your wedding, I suggest putting a small paragraph up on your registry page, explaining what you are asking guests to do, and why. Once people understand that is is important to you they will be more likely to break with convention. That said, there will always be a few guests (a.k.a. grandma) who will not feel comfortable "going green" no matter what you do. For these guests I suggest smiling, thanking them, and then reusing their boxes and wrapping paper at your next gifting opportunity.

Good luck and congratulations!

Kate