5 Ways to Be Greener with Your Birthday Gift-Giving

by Liz Seyi Digital marketing manager

At any given time, you probably aren’t further than a few weeks away from the birthday of someone you know. Indeed, buying birthday presents is a pretty routine practice for many of us – so much so that we might easily overlook how certain ways of doing it harm the planet.

The good news is that, by simply being careful with how you source and hand out presents for loved ones’ birthdays, you can be as kind to the environment as you are to your gift recipients.

Buy from businesses committed to sustainability

Not all businesses are dedicated to publicising their green efforts, but those that do particularly warrant your attention. If you aren’t sure where to start looking for such firms, you could try Eco Businesses, an online directory of environmentally-conscious companies.

Opt for handmade items

Those items don’t strictly need to have been handmade by yourself, as you could find that many of them are available from small businesses. Presents like these are often quirkier and more thoughtful than the more mass-produced pieces commonplace on the shelves of major shops and supermarkets.

Where possible, shop local

Those handmade gifts just mentioned can often be found in particular abundance at market stalls, including some at markets potentially within walking distance of your house. This situation would allow you to pick up a few items without relying on a gas-guzzling vehicle.

Look for items likely to have long-term appeal

Too many objects customarily gifted on birthdays are rather frivolous by nature; think joke items and hurriedly-made plastic toys. These can too easily end up being thrown into the bin, and eventually onto a landfill, after providing just a few minutes of amusement.

This is why, as a matter of priority, you should consider gift ideas that are likely to be more meaningful to the birthday boy or girl and remain intact for a while to come.

Choose eco-friendly packaging material, too

Unfortunately, a lot of gift packaging material can’t be recycled, which is why you should search for recyclable options or at least reuse those that aren’t.

For cushioning the presents inside their wrapping, you could invest in natural shredded kraft paper available from our stock here at Shredded-Paper.co.uk. We offer 100% recycled and 100% recyclable shredded kraft paper for gifts.

Furthermore, you only need to click on the above link to order a sample of these finely-shredded strips of kraft paper that are a much higher-quality (and better-looking!) option for the packaging of gifts than tissue paper.

We take pride in everything we do to protect the planet here at Shredded-Paper.co.uk – even extending to the recyclable cardboard boxes we ship orders of more than 200g in! So we urge you to reuse these, too, as well as the recyclable shipping bags that we use for smaller orders.

The next time you need to buy shredded kraft paper for gifts, choose the environmentally responsible option on offer in our online store!