What a year, ey!
2020 has been a year of challenge and gratitude for many. It’s pushed us to surrender, to embrace (from a distance) to work harder and to be our best selves all the while teaching the children in our lives and ourselves to be kind and stand up for others including the world and environment we live in. It’s been powerful, painful, moving and frightening… it’s been all the feels!Less digital more analogue
Now it’s the time of year we usually come together, enjoy food and share laughs and love unfortunately many will not be able to have the opportunity to do this. With the year being heavily digital, that is an easy way to send presents and the wrapping is taken out of our hands. There is a joy that the internet can’t give. That’s why we put together these little tips and tricks for wrapping your presents. If it’s not the kids presents, it can be a fun activity to do with the kids in your family. After all, it’s the journey that matters not the destination.
Sustainable Holiday Magic; it’s a must!
We’ve had to put in a lot of work this year, so hopefully our little guide can reduce the need to think while keeping things sustainable. Who says magic of the season can’t also be thoughtful and environmentally conscious!
Meet Oulis’ fun & 2020 sustainable Holiday wrapping guide.
5 practical tips for YOUR sustainable Holidays.
WRAPPING PAPER & THE SCRUNCH TEST
At the essence of this product, lies the desire to conceal a present for a loved one. Why then does it have to be wrapping paper with glitter and metallic finishes? Because it’s pretty? Plus it cannot be recycled. So - how to know if the paper we choose can be recycled? Simple. Do the scrunch test. If the paper upon scrunching it, turns into a ball, it’s recyclable! If not, it is not. And if you want to take a step further, be sure to find out if your municipality accepts gift wrapping paper, because just because it is recyclable, doesn’t mean it is accepted everywhere. This is your opportunity to be a Holiday changemaker. Also, remember there are so many ways to embellish presents. Think natural items, such as little olive branches, dried flowers for instance.
PAPER ALTERNATIVES
Wrapping paper has a brief life span but the good news is, that it can be reused many many times. Estimates state that U.S. households produce 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper each year, and 2.3 million pounds end up in the trash. The only condition is that we take care to unwrap it without tearing, not always easy especially if you have toddlers around! Haha! This is your time to shine, get creative, have fun with the wrapping. You could use your kid’s drawings, beautiful pages from old travel magazines, newspapers. Got any old gift bags you can reuse?
Summary:
Old wrapping paper
Your kid's drawings
Old travel mags
Newspapers
Old gift bags
WRAPPING ALTERNATIVES
Oulis tins make a great little package, you can even paint with acrylic or decorate them with gems! Just clean them out, as explained in our previous blog post here. Plus: Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and has a low carbon footprint.Most of the aluminium in use today has been around since it was first mined in the 1800s. Release your inner crafter!
So many options!
Fabric - tea towels, handkerchiefs, scarves, large napkins, and more! The best part about them, they’ll live a second life as a bonus gift which can still be used after! A nice idea for sustainable packaging with fabric, is Japanese fabric wrapping, also called Furoshiki. I mean, if Marie Kondo’s doing it, shouldn’t we too?
Jars, old boxes, pouches, tote bags - Have a look around your place, you might be surprised by what you find that can make beautiful packaging! Jars, old decorative boxes, pouches, tote bags will conceal presents for your loved ones and still create that much-desired feeling of anticipation and excitement we all long for! What containers can you create that feeling with which might be right under your nose? Remember: one person’s trash is another's treasure!
Summary:
Pre-loved cleaned out Oulis tin
Fabric (Get your Marie Kondo out!)
Old jars
Old boxes
Pouches
Tote bags
SKIP WRAPPING
Who said we couldn’t add a layer of even greater anticipation and newness to the Holidays? Well, we did. Why not, skip wrapping and hide presents all over the house instead. Holiday scavenger hunt, who would have thought about that one?
SHOP SMALL, LOCAL AND CONSCIOUS BRANDS
Oulis' core focus since day one has been sustainability so most decisions are based on what is best for our customers and the environment. This level of consciousness is far more common in small businesses nowadays, so your money contributes to a bigger picture when you shop small.
When you shop local you minimise the shipping and need for extra protective packaging. We work with carbon neutral delivery services where possible, our packaging is recycled and our wrapping solutions include sustainable beauty packaging.
Our bundles and gift ideas could be your sustainable and ethical beauty product gifting alternative, allowing you to gift with the earth and our next generations in mind
A few environmental facts about our product range:
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Our 1-1- Makeup consultation has no packaging at all. It’s a digital product!
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Oulis Ointment, our all-purpose balm, has low CO2 packaging.
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Oulis aromatherapy eye pillow is made from repurposed linen for instance. Linen with a second life!
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Our new Bohali Nights candle’s vessel contains 30% recycled glass.
Be a Holiday Changemaker too
I hope our gift giving guide is useful for you. I truly hope it will encourage you to become a Holiday changemaker too, because, heck! 2020 has been a number so lets make it count! Let’s work together to reduce waste this gift giving season and opt for sustainable packaging for beauty products instead.