This screenshot of a post on Instagram shows examples of environmentally friendly packaging of gifts. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — With Lunar New Year around the corner, more people are turning to environmentally friendly ways of gift wrapping to help reduce waste amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lunar New Year, which falls on Friday this year, is a time to exchange gifts with family and friends, a tradition that has increasingly been carried out with the help of delivery workers, especially because of social distancing.
And as the pandemic-induced disposal of plastics and packaging grows, some people are looking for ways to make their gifts less environmentally damaging.
“I wrapped shampoo bars in handkerchiefs and gave them as gifts to those around me,” said 34-year-old Son Se-ra, referring to bars of hardened shampoo.
“When I gave them, I delivered them myself in order to reduce waste from using delivery services. In the past, people would think I was being fussy, but now more of them can relate.”
Kim Hee-jin, 45, said she has started tying ribbons around gifts or wrapping them in uncoated paper to avoid using gift bags. For food gifts, she plans to use reusable containers.
“During the last holiday, people were happy to get my gifts in minimal packaging. They told me they had had a hard time getting rid of waste from previous gifts,” she said.
This photo, provided by Samcraft, shows shampoo bars wrapped in cloth.
Social media posts have reflected the trend.
On one site, more than 10,000 posts came up under the hashtag “eco-friendly wrapping,” with photos showing gifts wrapped in paper or cloth or tied together with ribbons made from scarves or old clothes.
Environmental experts welcomed the change, suggesting it may be time to address the root of the problem.
“There’s a strong perception that holiday gifts have to be wrapped beautifully,” Hong Soo-yeol, an environmental researcher, said.
“In the past, when people were poor, they expressed their appreciation by giving the best of what they had on the holidays, but now that we live in a materially rich society, it’s questionable whether it’s necessary to give gifts of items that are not needed and wrapped excessively,” he added.
Heo Seung-eun, an environmental activist with Green Korea, said the government and businesses should actively seek regulations and laws against excessive packaging.
(Yonhap)
