Work—
Christmas All Wrapped Up
“By using reclaimed paper and beautiful fabric offcuts destined for landfill, our presents will look great while Christmas is a little more joyful and bearable for the planet. And why shouldn’t mother nature get a gift too? It is the season of goodwill, after all.” – Clifford Moss
Overdoing it at Chrstmas time is almost a proverb. We generate 30% more waste, while landfill and recycling bulge by more than 15% in December alone. Most of the wrapping paper we use at Christmas is made overseas and we get through millions of rolls. To produce a single roll requires 600Wh of energy and 330L of water. That’s the same as using your vacuum for an hour, then taking a long shower with a family of 4. You’d emit as much CO2 by popping to the shops in your average sized car (about 1.5kms). So much energy and resource to wrap a few gifts.
The Wrappaporium, launched as part of National Recycling Week, encouraged people to reconsider how they wrap Christmas presents. A series of minimal-waste Christmas gift-wrapping stations popped-up at events across Melbourne during the pre-Xmas rush. Paper salvaged from commercial printers and fabric off-cuts from wholesalers, destined for landfill, offered a colourful and eco-friendly gift-wrapping solution. For a gold coin donation, gifts were wrapped in support of small Australian social enterprises.
