Wrapping Valentine's Day presents is easy and waste-free with upcycling.

Roses are red, violets are blue, I love #upcycling, how ‘bout you?

Valentine’s Day arrives right on time. After a cold, dreary January, friends and lovers everywhere are ready to celebrate and what’s a better reason to celebrate than love!?

But mixed up in all the candy hearts and chocolates is always a big pile of waste. Gift wrapping, cards, envelopes, not to mention the sweets you can’t stomach, all end up in the trash.

This season of love forgo the disposable paper and make your wrapping a gift in of itself. Aim for a #zerowaste V-day and that warm fuzzy feeling you’re experiencing will be from more than the champagne.

Planning on making your own chocolates and gifting them to friends? Or whipping up heavenly bath salts from scratch? No matter your gift-giving plan, ECOlunchbox has a reusable, stainless steel container for you.

Nestle stationary into our Three-in-One Giant stainless steel bento (notecards and pen upstairs, envelopes downstairs) or tuck cookies (see above) into a fabulous ECOlunchbox Oval.

Make the lunchbox gift unique with a special bow and sweet embellishments found around the house. Bows can be anything from cloth napkins to pretty cloth to the totally unexpected! 

Try out some of these unexpected bow materials:

• Colorful lemon, lime or orange plastic netted sacks (pictured above) 
• Natural twine or raffia (pictured above) 
• Shiny mylar from pre-packaged snack sacks (pictured above) 
• Leather cord
• Old napkins, dishcloths or strips of scrap fabric (pictured above) 
• Metal wire
• Old men’s ties

Embellishments included on the outside of the stainless bento or whatever you're giving can even serve as additional gifts, a special something for that special someone.

• Yard clippings or bouquet extras (pictured above) 
• Vintage jewelry
• Corks (pictured above)
• Palo Santo sticks
• Card can be made from recycled packaging (pictured above) 
• Wooden clothespin

Gift wrapping made out of handmade textiles sounds like a pricey luxury. Not so with ECOlunchbox’s Furoshiki ECOlunchwrap. This stylish lunch textile originated in Japan and can easily tie around large or small gifts such as a candle or our Tri Bentos. Choose from a variety of colors and patterns.

Prefer to upcycle? Pilfer your kraft box for extra scrap fabric, cut up an old men’s button down, or swap in a vintage scarf or dish towel for wasteless wrapping extravaganza. 

If you prefer to go the more traditional route of wrapping paper, your own households plenty of #zerowaste options. If you still get a newspaper or magazines delivered, there’s no end to the possibilities there.

We all have paper bags or excess mailers lying around, which can easily transform into awesome wrapping paper. Get arty with a permanent marker, rubber stamps or some paint to create patterns or add sweet nothings on the outside. And don’t forget that bow!

Make this Valentine’s Day memorably waste-free with our help. After all, #zerowaste and #plasticfree gifting are for lovers.