Just in time for the holidays, here are some tips to make this magical season more ethical and eco-friendly, from gift wrapping to gift donation. If you're buying Natura beauty gifts for loved one who's conscious of the environment, or someone who's trying to be, why not consider greener gift wrap alternatives?

Discover 5 eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas to try this year:

1. Reuse wrapping paper, gift bags or boxes.

There are quite a few ways to make this simple and thrifty idea into something meaningful. To complement the rustic look of the paper, let your creativity shine and decorate your reused gift wrap with some natural materials like dried plants & flowers.

Tip: To find out whether a paper can be recycled this season, remember to do the scrunch test – if you can scrunch it into a ball and if it stays scrunched then it can be recycled.

2 - Furoshiki gift wrapping 

Furoshiki is a Japanese wrapping cloth traditionally used to carry around belongings, but has now become a popular eco-friendly gift wrapping method in other cultures as well. Try vintage bandanas and gently-used scarves to wrap presents for your family and friends. It adds a more personal touch, and the person gets an extra scarf as a bonus gift.

3 - Transform glass jars into special gift packaging

This is another adorable gift wrapping idea where all you need is to look through your shelves to find a glass jar waiting to be reused! If you have some leftover pieces of cloth from Furoshiki wrapping, use them to cover the top of the jar and tie it up with twine. Add a personal touch by decorating the jar with some cinnamon sticks.

4 - Save your child’s artwork

This Holiday, surprise your family with gifts wrapped with your children's artwork. The kids will have fun participating in this moment, which is usually only for adults. It’s also a great way to reuse all that artwork you can’t bear to toss, and offer as a unique wrapping paper.

Tip: Remember to go tape-free to keep it eco-friendly.

5 - Use it, plant it: seed paper

Not only is seed paper an elegant way to wrap a gift, but it's also a gift in itself. It is essentially recycled paper that has been embedded with real seeds. Simply plant in your garden and enjoy the beautiful array of flowers that grow come spring.

Save these creative gift wrapping ideas for occasions all year round! But, if you still need to buy wrapping material, look for paper and bags that can be reused and recycled.

To live more sustainably, we should all be putting more thought into the gifting process, especially at this festive season. We would like to encourage you to recycle, reuse and donate unwanted holidays presents, so that someone else can enjoy them even if you don't. Let us share with you the best ways to do this:

Donate:

The best answer to these gifts is to donate them to a social project or charity shop, so somebody else can appreciate them. Donate new toys to children's hospitals. Send sports equipment to local sports clubs. Clothes can be donated to a homeless shelter. And, see if your local library or any schools in the nearby area would appreciate some books, educational or fictional.

Regifting:

Whatever the reason, unwanted gifts can't go to waste, in addition “regifting” presents are becoming more popular. How about organizing a mutual swap of unwanted Holidays gifts with your friends? Have fun and be safe, this meeting can also be virtual.

Recycle:

Many of us will have received presents we didn't want this Holidays. The question is, what to do with unwanted gifts? You can multiply the positive impact on the environment by recycling unwanted gifts, while helping to reduce waste, use of raw materials and energy usage.

Gifts are a lot of people's love language, but it’s more important than ever to gift with intention. All Natura products are 100% carbon neutral. We use recycled glass in all bottles of Natura’s fragrances. This way, we avoid the generation of waste and the emission of greenhouse effect gases. Further than this, we develop and commercialize product refills since 1983. Our ecological packaging combines aesthetics and functionality to generate the least environmental impact possible.

It is time to dream about what is respectful, sustainable, and essential for our lives and for the world. This Holiday Season, let's dream together and build a better world with ethical behavior, fair trade and diversity. Inspire the ones you love to make better choices, find Natura sustainable gifts for everyone on your list!