As an ALPLA survey indicates that 64% of Americans avoid over-packaged Christmas gifts, 87% reuse wrapping paper and gift bags, and 60% recycle opened packaging, DS Smith advises consumers to use recycled wrapping paper this year – and to scrunch unwrapped paper to gauge its recyclability.
Conducted by Pollfish, ALPLA’s 2024 Sustainable Holidays Survey consulted 600 adults in the United States to learn more about their festive habits.
When looking for gifts, 64% of respondents claim to avoid over-packaged products, while 61% consider sustainability more broadly in their spending decisions. 65% ultimately choose to give their loved ones an experience instead of a physical item, which many attribute to sustainability concerns.
If they choose to give a physical gift, 87% of respondents claim to reuse gift bags, ribbons, and wrapping paper, and 60% recycle used wrapping materials.
“Sustainability has become a cornerstone of how we celebrate and preserve our holiday traditions,” said Billy Rice, sustainability manager at ALPLA, North America. “Our survey shows that Americans are embracing habits that honour both the environment and the holiday spirit.
“We’re seeing a collective shift toward greener living, demonstrating that sustainable practices are not just achievable – they’re deeply fulfilling and can bring new meaning as Americans give our world the gift of a better future.”
These findings come as the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) reports that between 65% and 69% of paper available for recovery in the United States was recycled last year – meaning it was recycled almost 60% more than it was in 1990 and remains one of the most recycled materials in America.
On this note, DS Smith encourages consumers to use recyclable wrapping paper this Christmas. Its rule of thumb for gauging whether unwrapped paper can be recycled is to scrunch it up into a ball; if it stays scrunched, it is suitable for a home recycling bin.
It also highlights the value of recycling services run by organizations, which can either collect waste directly from a consumer’s home or direct them to a drop-off point; utilizing these is expected to simplify the post-Christmas cleanup while ensuring that valuable materials are not lost to landfill.
Like ALPLA, the company notes that Americans are recycling fibre-based wrapping supplies – including wrapping paper, present packages, and shipping boxes – ‘more than ever’. Yet other materials remain unsuitable for household recycling streams: tape, sticky labels, ribbons, and boxes decorated with glitter are among them.
For fibre-based materials, DS Smith highlights the expansion of its North American recycling programmes, especially regarding its flagship facility in Reading, Pennsylvania. Over 36,000 tons of used corrugated cardboard is recycled there, it claims.
Alongside various distribution centres, packaging facilities, retailers, and print shops, it works to recover paper for recycling – and claims to complete the cycle of production, use, collection, and recycling back into corrugated boxes within a 14-day cycle. In doing so, it apparently reduces the amount of fibre used in its boxes by 30%.
“DS Smith’s commitment to sustainability and a circular business model is helping take many of the paper and paper packaging products used during the holidays and throughout the year and to unlock value and recover these elements for continued use,” added Keith Tornes, DS Smith’s managing director, Paper & Recycling, North America. “We trust the findings from AF&PA point to continued consumer and industry shifts and validate our continued investment and efforts to recover and recycle more paper and paper packaging products.”
Efforts to achieve sustainability this Christmas have included the option to refill Nestlé’s Quality Street chocolate tins exclusively at John Lewis stores; Bacardi’s decision to sell fewer cardboard gift boxes among its alcohol brands; and UK Greetings’ paper tear strip for roll wrap products, set to replace shrink film from January 2025.
Yet with e-commerce channels becoming an increasingly popular way to shop for Christmas gifts, DS Smith previously predicted that Christmas 2022 could cost the industry €3.7 billion on product returns – a figure it attributes to damage from G-forces in transit.
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