It should come as no great shock that wrapping a present— an activity that should otherwise bring unbridled joy to all parties involved— typically has a terrible carbon footprint and can be extremely, gratuitously wasteful. Sure there are alternatives, including some really fun and innovative options like using old newspaper and twine or even, but being sustainable shouldn’t have to mean wrapping all of your gifts in old newspaper and twine if who you really are inside is moss leopard print and curly ribbons (like me).
Launched in 2019 and based in Canterbury, England, Kinshipped offers a line of luxurious, graphic gift wrapping accessories that are all compostable, made from recycled materials, and printed with vegetable inks. From uncoated wrapping paper to greeting cards that come in a cellulose sleeve, Kinshipped is plastic free, so you can give a decadent, over-the-top gift full of personality and with none of the waste.
One of the main perceptions we wish to challenge is that sustainability means giving things up. To lower your carbon footprint we’re usually told to limit our activities (driving, consumption) without being necessarily told that there could be other options that allow us to enjoy what we enjoy, just with some extra forethought.
When it comes to high-waste products, especially something as nonessential as wrapping a gift (2.3 million pounds of solely gift wrapping waste ending up in landfills annually), giving that up seems like the obvious choice. These figures are bleak, and surely the important part of the gift is the gift and not the frillies that go with it.
Well, like Kinshipped, more and more alternatives are being created by people who are contentious of sustainable and ethical practices and are innovating alternatives to traditionally waste-heavy products.
What's the point of cake if you're not going to eat it, too?
Instead of giving up fun, graphic, wrapping paper, it just needed to be made differently, and designed to incorporate the item’s life before, during, and after it’s been used. Sustainability, it’s starting to seem, starts with and is rooted in intelligent design.
