The Red, White, and Green

Photo via Flickr: Roblisameehan

Note: This post was originally published on 6.23.09.

Even if you try to make your wedding as environmentally friendly as possible — serving organic (or vegetarian) cuisine, using flowers that are local and in season — there really is no such thing as a “green” wedding. The carbon emissions alone from people flying from all over the country to attend your event pretty much negate even the greenest of wedding plans. (Yes, you could take on the expense of carbon offsets for your guests or ask that your guests do so in lieu of gifts, but the debate rages on as to whether offsets actually translate into reduced emissions.) But that doesn’t mean you should give up, either. I came across one really great eco wedding tip the other day that is so totally obvious I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.

There, on the gift registry page of my cousin’s wedding website, was the following note:

Thank you for thinking of buying us presents.  We love them!  If you do decide to send us gifts, please don’t gift wrap them — we would like to be at least a little bit green.

How brilliant! When I was married four years ago, I remember thinking that all that paper and ribbon was such a waste. And it wasn’t as though I wasn’t environmentally conscious back then; I remember hauling off all of the collapsed shipping boxes and styrofoam peanuts from our gifts to the local UPS store that accepted them for recycling. Why do presents that are shipped need to be wrapped, anyway? They already arrive in a box.

Your guests will be thrilled that they don’t have to pay extra for gift wrap (nearly every online store will let shoppers include a gift card in the box regardless), you’ll save trees, and you’ll be able get your greedy little hands on those presents that much faster!

(Don’t forget to recycle those peanuts and cardboard boxes, too. Click here for the Peanut Hotline, to find drop-off sites in your area.)

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Even if you’re bringing a present in person (or for any other occasion), there are plenty of ways to wrap a gift that don’t involve virgin paper. Click here for 10 creative green gift-wrapping ideas.

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