Over the years, gifting has become faster, louder, and more disposable. It's all about beauty and convenience: you wrap the gift, it is unwrapped, the paper is disposed of.
Let's think about what gifting is meant to represent. You often think about what you want to get your loved ones for several days or even weeks. What could they use? What do they need? What would bring them joy? After all, giving someone a gift means you care about them and want to delight them with a special something. That also means that gifting is about slowing down and about putting careful thought and consideration into things. Are these values compatible with fast and disposable wrapping?
We are at a moment of reassessment socially, environmentally, and emotionally. What values do we want to convey when we give someone a thoughtful gift and how could we incorporate these values into the packaging of our gifts? At FabRap, we believe the future of gifting is not about more, but about better.
When Gifting Became Disposable
One of the reasons why our founder Hema wanted to start FabRap was to make sustainable wrapping accessible to many. She had seen people wrap in plastics and paper excessively and remembered her childhood days, where she wrapped her family's gifts in beautiful, colourful, and vibrant fabrics that brought her immense joy. At the time, she didn't know she was being sustainable, but an important thought was planted.
In our fast world, single-use wrapping and packaging has become the norm. There is a disconnect between the meaningful intent of a thoughtful gift and its wasteful presentation. We believe that beautiful things, such as wrapping, should not be designed to be thrown away. It has become so normalised that most of us don't pay a second thought to how much paper we throw away. This is not a personal issue, but a system issue that needs to change at its core.
What People Are Looking For When They Give
When we give someone a present, we want to show them how much we care and appreciate them. Gifts are also about attention and understanding one another, it's about listening to what other people want or need. Thoughtfulness matters more than trends. This has always been true for gifts. We want them to make an impression on the recipient, to feel personal, and ever-lasting.
Meaning is created from how we give, not only what we give. When giving someone a thoughtful present, you are showing them how much consideration went into it and perhaps you will also show them how well you know them. The presentation of the gift is therefore an important part of the tradition of gifting, as it makes the first impression on people.
Less Waste as a Starting Point
When talking about sustainability, is is often framed as a sacrifice. A common misconception is that you have to give certain things up or compromise to be more sustainable. We are here to reframe sustainability for you: it should align with your values, not restrict your life or make it more complicated.
Try to use less waste as a starting point. Moving away from disposability means enhancing the experience. Being more intentional in your choices can add meaning to the smallest, most daily aspects of your life. However, less waste does not have to mean more effort or less joy!
Reuse and Intention
Reusability and intention are core values at the heart of future gifting. Our philosophy is that reusable wrapping is not only a symbol of thoughtful gifting, but a symbol of care, respect, and sustainability in general. Allow the wrap to become part of the gift and part of the experience. The aspect of reusability is the most important: just like the act of giving should be ever-lasting, packaging should be designed to be kept, passed on, or reused.
Reuse creates continuity and shared stories. By passing gift wrapping on for years, they will carry along with them the love and care amongst friends and family. Starting your less waste journey with a mindful tradition such as fabric wrapping will inspire you to carry that same intention into other aspects of your life, finding completely new ways to live sustainably.
A Future Built One Gift at a Time
Here's what the future of gifting looks like to us. We slow down and put just as much thought into the presentation of the gift as we do into the gift itself. Let's allow gifting to feel calmer and more intentional. Don't make rushed, last-minute, or panic-driven purchases, but pay more attention to what the recipient of your gift might actually want or need.
We hope that you will join us in 2026 in enjoying every aspect of the gifting experience. Choosing the gift, wrapping it, and lastly giving with purpose. We want to encourage you to build your gifting traditions around care, not consumption and that you will gift things that carry memory and meaning over time, not just a few weeks or a season.
The future of gifting is not decided by trends, it is shaped by us and everyday choices. Each thoughtful gift contributes to a cultural shift, in which we reduce waste to create more space for meaning and care. We invite you to join us in giving intentionally, and we hope to inspire you to make sustainable fabric wrapping a core part of that beautiful tradition.