10 Best Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper of 2022

Using our sustainability expertise, GH Lab pros vetted the above products for having sustainable attributes to help decrease your environmental footprint this holiday season. While no product can be sustainable in every single way, these are some of the criteria we looked for when making these picks:

✔️Recyclable: Using recyclable materials ensures that any leftover waste doesn’t end up in a landfill. Make sure all of the wrapping paper actually ends up in the proper recycling bin at end of day.

✔️Recycled content: In addition to being recyclable, options that use recycled content are ideal, especially if it features a high percentage of recycled content!

✔️Reusable: Make the gift wrapping actually part of the gift by opting for reusable items like a chic bag, a cooler or fabric.

Not only is traditional wrapping paper not usually recyclable, but it’s often coated with plastics and covered with glitter (a.k.a. microplastics) that ends up in our water supply. While the holiday season is joyous, it’s also more wasteful with estimations that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, more than 1 million tons of additional waste is generated each week nationwide. Opting for eco-friendly wrapping paper is one small choice to help reduce your environmental footprint while still enjoying gift giving.

Remember that although these options are better than traditional wrapping paper, the most sustainable wrapping paper choice will be something you already have. Reuse old magazines or newspapers with twine (instead of tape) or repurpose old tote bags you are no longer using to create the least amount of waste. After enjoying the most recent issue of Good Housekeeping, many GH pros will use the pages to wrap presents!

At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we’ve built a unique expertise on the topic of sustainability that shows up in how our experts test and recommend products. From launching the Green Good Housekeeping Seal in 2009 and GH’s Sustainable Innovation Awards in 2019, helping readers make more sustainable choices is a top priority for us.

Emma Seymour has a Bachelor of Science in Fiber Science and Apparel Design from Cornell University and has been testing clothing and footwear for more than three years at the GH Institute. Emma has written multiple features on sustainability issues, including stories about fast fashion, sustainable denim and greenwashing.