The Furoshiki, Infinitely Reusable Zero-Waste Gift Wrap
I’m pretty tired of wrapping paper. There. I said it. Wrapping paper is over. You heard it here first, people! It’s fiddly, time-consuming, expensive, and (most importantly) incredibly wasteful. I don’t know about y’all, but the aftermath of our holiday gift exchanges both at home and at work was an oft sobering experience. Seeing so much paper, ribbon, tape, and time just simply torn asunder and discarded always struck me as quite a melancholy moment. The holiday was over, and all of the remnants were crammed in a garbage can and dumped. There’s some poetry in there somewhere, but instead of digging around for it, I’ll instead present an awesome solution!
The Furoshiki, the Ultimate Reusable Gift Wrap
Furoshiki have been used for hundreds of years for a great many uses. The Word “Furo” translates to “bath”, and “shiki” means “to spread out”. Originally, they were used to wrap up sacred and important items at temples or shrines, then later were adopted for carrying personal items to and from the public bathhouse. More recently, Furoshiki became very popular as a simple handbag, grocery bag, and especially, as a reusable gift wrapping! Sadly, the Furoshiki was replaced with plastic bags and disposable paper wrappings over the years - a pretty familiar story, unfortunately.
Now that we as consumers have a much better idea of what actually happens to this kind of plastic and waste, there has been a strong push towards eco-friendly and reusable packaging. Furoshiki have been making a huge and welcome comeback over the last decade or so; not only are they practical and reusable, but they're also pretty heckin’ gorgeous. They add a great deal of flair and authenticity to any gift. Here’s how they work:
How to Wrap a Gift with a Furoshiki:
- Lay your Furoshiki out flat like a diamond, pattern-side down.
- Fold the furoshiki in half over the package. Make it nice and tight, and try to line up the corners.
- Wrap it up like a burrito! Again, make it nice and snug.
- Flip the whole thing upside down and bring each end towards one another.
- Tie those corners up! Depending on how long each end is, you can do a reef knot, a bow, or whatever looks best.
- Tie it up nice and flare those little corners out, so they look super cute.
Presto! What an adorable little package. Pat yourself on the back!
We’re really proud to provide Furoshiki wrapping this holiday season and beyond. I’m always looking for ways to keep our garbage cans empty here at the shop, and this will help you folks out there do the same. For $29, you can have your gift wrapped in your choice of Furoshiki right here in the shop, and then it’s the recipient’s to keep and reuse as they wish! They can wrap future gifts, carry their groceries, bottle of wine... The possibilities are endless! They’re 100cm x 100cm in size so that they can fit some pretty large packages. This simple piece of fabric can replace countless meters of disposable gift wrap over the years, so they’ll pay for themselves quite quickly. This year, let’s say “no” to waste - grab a few Furoshiki and pass them on to your friends and family; they’ll thank you for it in the end!
