One, two, three, four, five, six, seven presents wrapped underneath the Christmas tree.
Rip! Crumple, crumple.
Crinkle, crinkle, tear!
All the paper your family uses during the holidays likely doesn’t make its way to the recycling bin, and that elderly, not-so-chic sweater that your aunt gifted you probably won’t get worn, ending up in the trash can.
Around 57% of clothing that’s thrown away ends up in a landfill taking up to 200 years to decompose, according to Mark Hall, a publisher on the informative waste website titled BusinessWaste.
There’s an evident knowledge gap in the United States regarding the increase in waste surrounding the holiday season, with a 14.7% recycling rate in 2018 and only a 32.0% increase in 2025, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Well, since there’s a clear negligence in gaining knowledge about how the products used during this season affect the environment, the only remedy to unawareness is awareness.
Let’s dive into some solutions for minimizing waste during the holiday season.
Wrapping Gifts
Finding the perfect gift bag, roll of wrapping paper or ribbon can feel like a sport, but most of us forget that wrapping itself doesn’t have to be single-use. Preparing for the holidays with a little bit of intention can save both money and materials.
Instead of tearing through the shiny paper covering the Essentials hoodie your sibling’s been begging for, consider reusing what you already have.
Artifact Uprising, a gift-guide company, even offers a list of creative ideas that are good for your wallet and the planet.
Some of the smartest alternatives include wrapping presents in newspaper, using kraft paper and twine or repurposing last year’s gift bags.
According to WasteMission, if every American family wrapped just three presents in reused materials, we’d save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
Not bad for something that ends up in the trash within minutes.
Or, take it a step further and sew your own reusable gift wrap. Some families make fabric gift bags that come back out every December for holiday traditions that also happen to reduce waste.
Thrift, or Gift?
Buying clothes for loved ones is a holiday go-to, but it comes with one big question: What happens if they don’t love it back?
Whether the gift fits their style or not, there needs to be a plan for what happens next.
Thrift stores such as Goodwill, Village Discount and countless local shops are often the first stop for unwanted items.
But donating isn’t the only option.
More and more families are choosing to recycle textiles, host clothing swaps or pass items to community drives where they will actually be worn.
While you’re thinking of where the item will end up, another relevant thing to consider is buying organic!
Cotton Loops gives a list of benefits to buying organic, one significant benefit being that organic clothing reduces environmental pollution such as improving soil health, conserving water and much more.
Less is More
There’s been a lot of talk about buying, buying, buying. Yet we don’t talk about how important it is to be aware of overconsumption.
The company Lululemon explains that only 9% of its items are successfully recycled, but the estimated amount of revenue for 2024 was $10.6 billion .
This means that only $9.5 million worth of the brand is getting properly salvaged, leaving roughly $9.6 billion of Lululemon sales in landfills.
Therefore, while shopping this holiday season, consumers should buy quality over quantity. Look to buy items that won’t be replaced within the year. Instead, spend-up to buy the item your bestie might hold on to forever.
Every gift we buy leaves a trace somewhere:on shelves, in closets and eventually, in landfills that will outlive us. This season, we get to choose what kind of mark we leave behind. Maybe the most meaningful gift is the one that doesn’t become tomorrow’s waste.
