The holidays should be a time with family and friends… sharing stories, traditions and laughter.  Wouldn’t it be nice just to have a couple of extra hours to be with those you care about?   I found those couple extra hours this year by using our eco-friendly Ecorations Fabric Gift Wraps and Gift Bags.   If nothing else, it saved time.   I didn’t have to buy wrapping paper (as I used to each year).   I didn’t have to hunt down the tape and scissors.   I didn’t have to cut, fold, tape, every…single…gift.   I picked a bag that worked, put the gift in and DONE!

Ecorations Christmas "Mixed Bag" Wrapping Kit saves 40% off of retail prices. Select Christmas or "Everyday" fabrics.

Now the one “good” problem I did have was that we sold out of nearly all of our Christmas bags this year.   I ended up using what I had around the house in other fun fabrics, and nobody even gave it a second thought.   The gifts were all colorful and beautifully wrapped.

Now, that is just one reason why we started the business, making wrapping easy.   The other reason was to help reduce the use of paper gift wrap.  This year, my family of seven celebrating Christmas could put all of the paper wrap in one paper grocery bag – that’s it!   Years past, we use to fill several large garbage bags full of paper.   If every family could adopt this new “green” tradition, our world-wide contribution to the landfills would diminish significantly.   I also can’t say enough about the ease of cleaning up.   We simply collected the bags, put them in a bin, and they are ready to go for the next occasion.

Thank you to all of our customers that brought Ecorations Fabric Gift Bags and Wraps into their homes this holiday season.   We know they will be a part of your family holiday tradition for years.   But don’t forget, we do offer gift bags and gift wraps for everyday gift giving as well!

Kathy de Jong, President and co-founder, Ecorations

I’ll leave you with the words of one of our customers, Jodi from Westfield, NJ.

Jodi's Christmas with Ecorations Christmas Gift Bags in Reversible "Candy Cane" Fabric Collection

“The bags worked out perfectly, and I was in bed at a reasonable hour instead of spending half the night wrapping.  I thought the bags looked great under the tree and my two daughters (4 yrs and 2 yrs) were so excited to see the gift bags on Christmas morning.  They understood right away that Santa used the candy cane stripe for my older daughter and the reverse print for my younger daughter.  It was a really nice tradition to start.  The quality of the bags are perfect.  I know they will last for years to come.”

“I absolutely LOVED wrapping with Ecorations for Christmas this year!  The wrapping I was able to do with Ecorations was much easier, more fun, and more satisfying than the wrapping I did with paper and ribbon!  I only wish I had enough Ecorations to do it all – so I’m buying a whole lot more bags! 

Here’s a picture of some of my Ecorations-wrapped gifts! –Miranda, NC

Customer's tree

I’m so excited to hear the wonderful stories about new family traditions getting started this year with Ecorations!  We’re getting some great feedback too!  Here is a small sample of the ideas and comments that are coming in…

Jodi from New Jersey says: “I wanted to order 2 of these collections in this same fabric…I don’t use gift tags and wanted the fabric to be the same for all gifts for the same child — one side for my older daughter and one side for my younger daughter.”  ”It is (Candy Cane) my favorite of the collections. Thanks.”

What a great idea!  A perfect example of starting new traditions with fabric gift wrap.  Each child will come to recognize their gifts wrapped in beautiful Candy Cane fabric.  And what a way to decorate too! I can’t wait to see pictures of Jodi’s tree.

 Heather from California wrote: “I wanted to tell you that I stumbled across your website when searching for a Santa Sack for my son.  His older sister has one already and now it’s his turn.  I noticed the name you had embroidered on your bag is “Brooke” and that is my sister’s name.  I thought that was pretty cool so I definitely wanted to check out your bag.  After clicking on more details, I let out a huge gasp and called for my husband!!  My daughter’s name is Samantha and my son’s name is Jonathan, both names are your examples for the different embroidery options.  Your bag was obviously meant for my family and even though it’s a little more than we could afford, I ordered one the next day…I just love the products you have and combined with your amazing customer service, I hope many of the people I know will make purchases with your company.  I know I will definitely be back!”

What a great story!  I’m so glad that we will be a part of this great family’s Holiday celebrations for years to come!

Miranda from North Carolina commented: “So far all my gifts are wrapped in Ecorations – and it’s so easy I’m all for continuing the trend!”

As busy moms ourselves, Kathy and I are so glad we’re helping other moms out there by making holiday gift wrapping so much easier.

Marj McClendon wrote: “I am so happy with this site.  I did not know it existed until the giveaways on Nurse Mommy and Mkokopelli.  You can be sure I will save to get some bags for next season. This site is easy to navigate, and I am really loving the patterns that your have to choose from, The Links is my favorite. Green is the way to Go.”

Eco-Great Giveaway

Get a head start on holiday wrapping with Ecorations’ fabulous Christmas Giveaway.   A gorgeous set of 5 fabric gift bags & wraps that retail at over $75.00.  There are many ways you can win – the more you do the better your chances!

With Ecorations gift wraps & bags, you’re sure to experience the easiest, most sensible way to wrap for the holidays! Our 2009 collection is full of gorgeous fabrics that will give every gift a WOW! Start a new tradition this season!

First, we are now adding our new Christmas 2009 fabric gift wraps and bags collection to our website.  We have three new holiday fabric combinations as part of this line.  In total, there will be four fantastic holiday motifs to choose from for under your tree.   For Christmas with the family, we highly recommend our mixed bag collections.   These “value” priced multi-piece collections will ensure you have just the right wrap or bag on hand.  Why buy wasteful wrapping paper year after year?  Ecorations bags will meet your family’s needs for years to come.

Ecorations Santa Sack

Second, we are introducing two new products in our Christmas/Holiday collection:  A Christmas gift tote and a 100% organic Santa Sack!   We’ve had many requests for organic fabric gift bags, and we can now proudly offer one.   The Santa sack has plenty of room for a child’s name to be embroidered on it.   What a delightful way for Santa to bring his gifts.   These bags are sure to become family heirlooms.

Finally, we are pleased to be able to offer you our great fabric gift bags and gift wraps at new, lower prices.  Many of our product prices have been reduced by up to 20%.    By working with our manufacturer and suppliers to reduce our costs, we are able to pass that savings on to you.

Please visit our website at www.ecorations.com and see all of the new products and offers.   Need help finding the right gift bag for your gift?   Contact us at customerservice@ecorations.com, and we’ll be happy to help.

Now take the green movement; yes, of course it is great for the environment for everyone to reuse and recycle as much as possible, but today, another key motivator is the economics.  Reusing and even recycling can save money.  The number of green products and greening tips that we find today is amazing, but if you really think about many of them, they are just newer versions or twist on things our parents or grandparents grew up with.  So we’re really going back to basics – I find it quite interesting and think there may be wealth of new products, innovations, and traditions that we can incorporate into our lives today, by simply looking back at the way things were…

What are some those “basics” you think we could adapt today that make economic as well as environmental sense?

I’ll get us started…the obvious one is fabric gift wrap – using fabric to wrap gifts and then reusing the fabric for something else or to regift.  There’s my plug for Ecorations.  Another thing that I’m now doing is using less disposable paper towels and instead using cloth kitchen towels.  Growing up, we hardly ever used paper and I know my mother never did.  My daughter is now requesting her special towel to dry her hands.

Debora

If you’ve decided to purchase from the school lunch program, determine what healthy fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy products, preferably organic, are offered on a daily basis. Organics are best because of their low environmental impact and lack of dangerous pesticides. If you struggle to find healthy alternatives at school, perhaps packing your child’s lunch is a better option. Here are some eco-friendly products for a “no-waste” lunch.  They make great gifts.

RePeat Bamboo Utensils

RePeat Bamboo Utensils – www.to-gowear.com Eliminate the need for plastic non-biodegradable utensils. The holder is made of recycled plastic. $11.95

SnackTaxi Sandwich and Snack Bags – www.snacktaxi.com Reusable, machine washable, durable and compact. $6.95-8.95.

Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel 12 oz Water Bottle with Sports Cap – www.niokagreenstore.com Machine washable, wide mouth fits ice cubes. $14.95.

Litter Free Lunch Napkins – www.greenfeet.com Pack of 5 gives you enough for the week. Each napkin has a sewn in label to write your name. Machine wash. $19.95.

You just can’t go wrong with our beautiful, creative gift wrapping.  Show people how much you care with Ecorations’ reusable bags.

Good Luck Everyone!

Debora

Now for the good news.  It didn’t take just one person with one action to get to where we are.  It took a lot of little things from a lot of people to make such an impact.  The impact can be a positive one instead of a negative one if we set our minds to doing a little bit each day and encouraging others to do the same.  This way it’s not a daunting task on anyone.

The article makes a suggestion to  help reverse some of the damage to our beaches – make sure that garbage goes into a contained bin so it won’t find it’s way from the sand to the water - now how easy is that?  There are so many little (and easy) things we can all do.    

Going back to Kathy’s shades of green, I’m probably a light green person myself.  I may aspire to be more green, but for now, I’m OK with light green.  I try to do at least one or two little things everyday that can make a difference, like recycling and using less paper towels and napkins.  That’s why I love what we’re trying to do with our reusable fabric gift bags.  It is a creative gift wrapping idea that can have a huge impact if it catches on and more people give up paper wrap, bags & bows. 

I’m sure you have seen list after list of the top 10 things you can do to be more “green”.  We’d love to hear it from you – what kinds of things are you doing to be kinder and gentler to mother earth?  

Debora

Market researchers want to segment us in to “shades of green”.   Without getting into all the details, it goes from the hard-core advocates (bright green) to people who are downright uninterested in the environment and will challenge every initiative to improve the state of our planet (brown).   So, most of us fall somewhere along the spectrum.  The question is, are you “green” enough?

I find it hard to believe that there are people out there in the brown category, but they must exist.   This may not be a scientific fact, but for my generation, I see the environmental & global awareness movement starting about the time of the 1970’s television public service announcement featuring the American Indian with a tear streaming down his face as he looked over the littered landscape. The crying indian commercial If you are throwing trash out the car window at this point, by my definition, you fit in the brown category.  However, I can’t tell you the last time I saw anything, other than a cigarette (that is a whole other topic) thrown out a car window.   To me that says that as a society, with public awareness and a small behavior modification, we can change for the better.

So the vast majority of us fall somewhere in between brown and bright green.   I think we all agree we could do more to reduce, reuse and recycle.  You don’t have to be a fan of Al Gore or believe that climate change is a result of human causes to appreciate the need to make better environmental choices as a society.   So how do you, as a drop of water in the ocean that is humankind,  take steps along the “green” path?

1. Environmental & Global Awareness – Are you conscious and informed about the small steps you can take to green your life and improve the state of the planet? If not learn more.
2. Pick one behavior to change and do it.   Something as easy as using reusable grocery bags instead of paper or plastic in the store.
3. Repeat steps #1 & #2.

So, are you green enough?   If you do steps #1-#3 – the answer, in my book, is yes.

Kathy de Jong