Recyclable Christmas wrapping to reduce December waste

Christmas waste is serious business. CARE Australia found the nation used more than 150,000 kilometres of wrapping paper in 2017.

One million tonnes of Australia's annual plastic consumption is single-use plastic, contributing to 76 million tonnes of waste produced yearly by Australians.

Emma Conyngham, of Waste free Celebrations, makes reusable Christmas crackers and wrapping paper.

"We went from ordering 100 metres of ribbon to 45 kilometres, the scales are astronomic," she told ACM.

The company make gift bags in vibrant Christmas patterns in sets of three, six and ten including Santa sack, book bag and wine bottle sizes.

Their reusable Christmas crackers are designed to crack with as much satisfaction as the disposable kind, can be filled with presents up to 30 centimetres long and are machine washable.

Shipping an eight-pack of Christmas crackers to Australia costs around $30 so 'sew your own' options are also available to avid sewers keen to keep freighting costs at a minimum.

Ms Conyngham has also worked in Afghan humanitarian aid and was eager to also help refugees in her community, organising sewing machines in their homes to support a work-from-home lifestyle.

For many of her employees the income is a lifeline for families unable to work in Kabul.

"They're earning money here to support their family living under the Taliban," she said.

Ms Conyngham hopes that as her business expands she will be able to establish similar models in Australia and Canada.

"We would like to keep the products locally made and there's no reason the model can't be replicated," she said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Ms Conyngham began sewing Christmas bags in September 2020 after COVID-19 lockdowns left her family out of work in Wanaka on New Zealand's south island.

Deciding to work with the cards in her hands, Ms Conyngham launched the site in earnest.

Interest in her products was so overwhelming the company hired 12 Afghan refugees as sewers within two weeks of the site going live.

"I bought all the Christmas fabric in New Zealand," she said.

Ms Conyngham says she still loves to sew and Australians can look forward to recyclable Christmas products in native flora and fauna designs next year.