It’s the holiday season and a time to show appreciation for our friends and loved ones. While we shop for the perfect gift for them, we must also spare a thought for Mother Earth and be mindful of the amount of waste that comes with gift-giving. Just imagine all the discarded gift wrappers, tape, and packaging!
Millions of people around the world will be tearing into their gifts, with pent-up excitement after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, but being mindful of your paper waste is just as important as the selection of the gift itself.
While the gift is kept and often used many times over, the same does not apply to typically single-use wrapping and packaging. Instead, they make their way to your trash cans and over a million kilograms end up in landfills each year.
That doesn’t have to be the case this year. One way to cut down on wrapping paper and packaging waste is by opting for more sustainable packaging options, including using less packaging or choosing packaging that is made from recycled material or a material that can be recycled. APP Sinar Mas’ Corrugated Carton Box makes for a great alternate gift packaging option as the Top Bottom Box type can be used as a gift box and later reused for regular storage.
You can even make the gift more personal and special by opting to wrap the gift yourself from homemade wrappers, or better yet forgo a gift and instead present your loved ones and friends with a special greeting card along with a donation made in their name towards an organisation dedicated to fighting climate change.
Our Kard Stationery makes for a great greeting card for this as it is made from virgin pulp sourced from sustainable PEFC-certified forests. By giving the gift of charity, you would not even need to package it, and this works great as a last-minute gift as well. A meaningful and generous gesture in keeping with the festive season of giving.
While we show our appreciation for those we hold close to our hearts this holiday season, let us not forget to show appreciation for our precious planet and work together as consumers to protect our environment. Opt for more sustainable gift-giving choices this month to help reduce the amount of packaging waste generated and sent to landfills.
From all of us here at APP, we wish everyone a safe, joyous and sustainable holiday!