TALENT

Conscious Rewrapping

Being Neighbourly x Naqiyah Talib, Founder of ReGiftWrap

Author/ Being Neighbourly
15 January 2025

Available online, at the HKTDC Design Gallery and at the Paper Market in Singapore, ReGiftWrap may nevertheless, be the best-kept secret in terms of sustainable stuff.

“I knew that when I started a business, it had to be something that was sustainable and eco-friendly,” says founder of ReGiftWrap, Naqiyah Talib. “I wasn’t going to do something that created something disposable, that was going to be thrown away and become waste. I wanted something that would work in the other direction: take something that was waste and make it usable again.”

Talib says that this was when thoughts of ReGiftWrap arose. The company launched in November 2023, but she had been working on the concept for six months prior.

According to her, the idea sprung out of the countless birthday parties she and her family of two young boys were attending. She says that paper gift wrapping always felt like a waste to her, despite the joy it gives the kids doing the unwrapping.

“I always tried saving the paper, carefully peeling the tape, but I, too, would sometimes buy wrapping paper when out and about.” Unfortunately, she says, there weren’t any cute, sustainable gift wrapping-options for kids. “I thought: this is just one of those challenges of the modern world that you have to accept, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all so unnecessary. Every time I laid eyes on gift wrap, I knew it was going to be used just once and then end up in a landfill. There’s no guarantee that gift wrap is recycled.”

Having travelled to Japan, Talib says that she had tried learning the art of Furoshiki and watched countless videos, but, “it’s not easy to wrap a gift nicely all the time. It’s hard to wrap odd-shaped gifts with tightness and finesse, and it’s highly possible you’ll need to watch countless videos to learn to wrap with, say, a bow.”

Talib says that among ReGiftWrap’s charms is that the gift wrap has ropes, a gift tag and a tag pouch, making it easy to wrap odd-shaped gifts – a ball, skateboard or anything else. In addition, with ropes, the wrapped gift remains secure and the ropes can easily be tied into a bow. She adds that there is no need to find tape or scissors, which is time consuming and not sustainable.

“ReGiftWrap is made with Recycled Plastic bottles (RPET) material. The concept and material make it fully sustainable. The ropes, colours are eco-friendly and the paper for packaging is FSC-certified too. The patterns and prints make it very attractive, resembling traditional gift-wrapping paper, but it’s reusable. Our motto has always been UNWRAP & REWRAP.”

Talib says that seeing her products in stores is a milestone, and that when she randomly sees ReGiftWrap at a party, it gives an inner feeling of joy. However, according to her, the trajectory of ReGiftWrap has not always been smooth. “Making people aware of how to wrap sustainably has been a challenge. There needs to be a mindset change. Also, there is always a price comparison with paper, even though it’s disposable. She adds that as she has scaled up, she’s needed things like barcoding, SKUs [Stock Keeping Unit] and logistics and shipping terms like FOB [Free on Board], which were alien to her.

The product line is growing. “I started with kids, but then the range expanded to Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day; and that’s when I realised, I needed some classic prints for adults and designs that can be used throughout the year… It’s a continuous work in progress as we add new designs for various themes and occasions.”

What is the best work advice you have received?

“The journey from concept to product has not always been easy, says Naqiyah Talib, founder of ReGiftWrap.

Some of the helpful words I’ve received have been: “There will be good and bad days but you have to keep trying”; “You may not be profitable at the start, but work towards it”; “There is always light at the end of the tunnel.”

All of this advice has been from my husband who has been my biggest supporter, especially when I’ve needed to travel for work at the weekends or attend markets and bazaars.”