Wrappers' Delight

There’s no doubt about it, gift-giving (and receiving) is awesome.

Tearing open a well thought out gift from a friend fills us with warm and fuzzy feelings, but when all that wrapping paper is thrown away? Not so much. But gift-giving doesn’t have to create waste; just by using knot-wraps and paper that’s recyclable and, ideally, reusable, could help reduce what gets sent to landfills.

Knot-wraps and reusable paper are great alternatives to the classic wrapping paper and tape. Just one knot-wrap is estimated to be “about 22 times better for the environment than a box with paper, ribbon and shredded paper,” according to Lush ethical buyer, Maria Feast. Not only that, but developing long-standing partnerships with organizations like Peace and Cotton, re-wrap and Khadi Papers help support communities in places like India, where employees earn a fair wage for the skilled work that they do.

Peace and Cotton

Located in Canada, Peace and Cotton is a hub for creating ethical and environmentally friendly garments in North America. Its founder, Jeremy Panda, is passionate about creating everything they make as locally as possible—and if milling materials themselves isn’t possible, Peace and Cotton sources what they need from suppliers across Canada, the United States and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement. This agreement has created one of the largest free trade zones in the world, creating high-paying, export-related jobs and strong economic growth for these economies.

re-wrap

Re-wrap, a self-funded social enterprise, was set up by Janjri Trivedi in 2002 after a large earthquake left many local craftspeople in the Kutch region of India destitute. Inspired by the hand embroidery skills of the community, she encouraged disadvantaged women to combine their traditional skills with modern design and create Knot-Wraps, bags and accessories. Today, the resulting fabrics are created from ethically sourced, organic cotton fabrics using traditional and environmentally safe dyeing and printing processes.

re-wrap also equips economically disadvantaged women with sewing skills, enabling them to survive with dignity and self-respect, allowing them to earn money to feed their families and send their children to school. Learn more about how they’re handcrafting independence, and check out our Fighting Animal Testing Bag, made by re-wrap.

Khadi papers

Khadi papers are made from recycled cotton rags making them completely free of wood, which means that no trees have been cut down to create them. The paper produced is made from cotton rags which come from off-cuts of cloth—usually t-shirts and sometimes the remnants of Lush knot-wraps and bags that are made at re-wrap. The mill employs a mix of men and women who are paid fairly and equally for their work.

The rags are pulped and dyed before the paper is made, sheet by sheet, in a wooden mold. These sheets are then drained and pressed onto a woollen felt to remove excess water, and then dried. They’re then cold-pressed between zinc sheets to give a smooth finish and sometimes embossed with unique designs for our gifts wrapped with love, including the stellar Cosmic Gift.