What if, this year, you wrapped your holiday gifts in paper that turns into flowers? That's the original idea of a French company that's selling seed-embedded paper and packaging.
From newsprint to the art of furoshiki, there are now plenty of alternatives to shiny single-use gift wrap -- which may be pretty, but which is a disaster for the environment. Some companies go even further in their approach, like Papier Fleurs, founded by Franck Bansart, which offers a seed-embedded, zero-waste gift wrap and packaging.
Imagine the scene: you unwrap a gift, and the person who gives it to you warns: "Don't throw away the paper!" Because the packaging holds a secret: it is embedded with the seeds of wild flowers or aromatic herbs (daisy, snapdragon, poppy, basil, chives, parsley, etc.) have been added.
To grow them, simply soak the seed paper in water overnight and then plant it in the ground, two centimeters deep, and water regularly. The first shoots should emerge after a few weeks, promises Papier Fleurs. "Once the card is given, the gift unwrapped or the decoration taken down, the paper continues to live, without generating waste, brightening up gardens and interiors," explains the brand, which offers a whole range of seed paper items (greeting cards, gift tags, decorations to be planted, etc.).
While the trend of growing plants from paper isn't new, it continues to be the subject of surprising innovations. In June 2020, the English botanist Merlin Sheldrake made the news by growing mushrooms inside a book he had written. The goal of this experiment? To eat his own words -- literally, since the scientist published a video of himself sampling mushrooms grown in the pages of his book.
The idea of planting seeds to upcycle waste is even found in the textile world. For example, the Dutch graphic designer Marianne de Groot-Pons has developed a seed-embedded and 100% biodegradable face mask. Once worn, this mask, named "Marie Bee Bloom," can be planted in a garden or in a pot to create a flowerbed.
