Wrapping material

Abstract

Wrapping material for wrapping an object or a gift comprising a first material of metal foil or other malleable foil 2 having a thickness in the range of 10-35 microns for ease of deformation by hand,

Description

The present invention relates to a wrapping material for wrapping a gift. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Gifts have been given by one person to another for millennia. Traditionally, a gift is wrapped in wrapping paper or provided in a gift bag for example, to hide what the gift is from the intended recipient. Wrapping gifts in this way is meant to build anticipation until the recipient opens the gift, for example at Christmas or on their birthday. Wrapping paper is often decorated with various patterns, images and / or colours, sometimes corresponding to a festive theme or birthday theme. However, conventional wrapping paper is often made of a composite including paper and plastic, which is currently difficult or impractical to recycle. This means that most wrapping paper is thrown away as refuse and ends up in landfill. The quantities of wrapping paper being binned each year are enormous, with over 1000 tonnes thrown away annually in the USA alone. To wrap a gift in wrapping paper, a person usually estimates the size of wrapping paper needed and cuts it from a roll. The object to be gifted is then placed on the undecorated side (i.e. inside surface) of the wrapping paper. Typically, the wrapping paper is initially folded around the object to form a loop. This loop can be secured by a piece of sticky tape, which holds the looped paper taut in position about the middle of the object. The person can then fold up the wrapping paper at one end and secure it with sticky tape, and then do the same at the other end, which secures the wrapping paper around the gift with the decorated side of the wrapping paper facing outwards. When the object to be gifted is in a cuboidal box, it is relatively easy to wrap well. That is, relatively easy to wrap the paper tightly around the object on all sides, with well-defined creases in the wrapping paper and a minimum of sticky tape pieces to (i) initially hold the looped part and (ii) secure the folded ends of the wrapping paper to the looped part with additional pieces of sticky tape. This can become a timeconsuming activity if wrapping many presents, for example in the run-up to Christmas. In addition, whilst an adult may be familiar with how to wrap a present, children (particularly young children) may need to wrap presents for others or wish to assist in wrapping presents, which can take additional time. Where an object is not boxed, or has a rounded or irregular or otherwise non-cuboidal shape, it can be much harder to wrap well, i.e. with close-fitting wrapping on all sides, compared to a cuboidal boxed object. To mitigate this, such an object may be placed in an unrelated box which is often oversized, and the space around the object filled with packing or cushioning material. The box can then be held shut using sticky tape, and the now-boxed object can be wrapped more quickly and easily. However, this requires buying or otherwise acquiring extra material, which may end up being thrown away after the present has been opened. It also uses extra sticky tape. When unwrapping a gift, it is often the case that the wrapping paper is ripped into pieces, e.g. at speed by a child, or because the sticky tape securing it about the object makes it too difficult and / or undesirably time-consuming to unwrap the gift more carefully. Consequently, most wrapping paper is used once and then disposed of because it has been damaged after the first use, and so the wrapping paper is often thrown away as refuse instead of re-used. Even if the wrapping paper is recyclable in principle, it can be difficult or time-consuming to separate the wrapping paper from the sticky tape stuck to it. It is an object of the present invention to reduce or substantially obviate the aforementioned problems. STATEMENT OF INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided wrapping material for wrapping an object or gift without using sticky tape or additional fastening means to secure the wrapping material, the wrapping material comprising: a first material which is or comprises foil (whether made of metal or another hand-malleable material) which has a thickness in the range substantially 10 to 35 microns for ease of deformation by hand; and a second material as decoration or to provide a decorative layer (optionally an ink or paint layer) on a first side of the first material for providing outward-facing decoration; the wrapping material being deformable from an unwrapped configuration into a wrapped configuration for substantially conforming to the shape of at least part of the gift, in use the wrapping material substantially maintaining its wrapped configuration without sticky tape or additional fastening means. The material is thin enough that it can be easily deformed by hand around an object (or part of the object) to encase that object or part, but thick enough so that it does not easily tear when being used to wrap the object. Excess material after the initial wrap has been performed can also easily be further wrapped, folded down or compressed in place about the object. The plastic deformability of the wrapping material is particularly advantageous because sticky tape does not need to be used to secure the wrapping material in place, i.e. no additional fastening means or securing means is needed to wrap the object. The wrapping material itself is capable of maintaining the shape it has been pressed, folded, moulded or otherwise manipulated into about the object. This in turn is beneficial for the environment because sticky plastic tape does not need to be disposed of after unwrapping a gift. It also avoids the difficulties associated with properly separating sticky tape (and its adhesive residue) from wrapping paper during recycling. Using a metal foil-based wrapping material is further advantageous because it can be easier to recycle than wrapping paper (such as wrapping paper which includes glitter). Of course, the wrapping material may not need to be recycled immediately after one use, but may instead be flattened and stored for re-use, for example. This is another advantage of the present invention (assuming unwrapping of the wrapped gift is undertaken sufficiently carefully to avoid or minimise tearing of the wrapping material). The term foil is intended to mean a thin and somewhat flexible sheet. The foil is preferably metal foil, but it will be appreciated that any suitably malleable material (whether metal, metal alloy or another material such as a composite) may be used. The wrapping material may be provided in the form of a non-resilient body. The non-resilient body may be deformable by hand (i.e. loading or applying force) into the wrapped configuration. The non-resilient body may maintain the wrapped configuration by means of (optionally solely by means of) said deformation after unloading. The term non-resilient is intended to mean that the wrapping material is not resilient in terms of its material properties. Put another way, after loading (application of a force) to deform it out of shape, it does not “spring back” into its previous shape or something like its previous shape. Rather, loading to deform the material causes plastic deformation (or metal deformation) which is then substantially retained in the material after unloading (removal of the force), and so it substantially holds or retains the shape it has been deformed into. The thickness of the wrapping material (or the metal foil thereof) may be selected based on how easily the material can be worked by hand. That is, how easily it can be folded or otherwise manipulated by hand for wrapping a gift, without the need for a tool and without the need for any securing or fastening means. The terms micrometres (pm) and microns are used interchangeably in this specification. The thickness of the wrapping material (or metal foil thereof) is at least about 10 pm. The thickness of the wrapping material (or metal foil thereof) is up to about 35 pm. The thickness of ink or paint (or other decoration) on the metal foil may increase the thickness beyond the thicknesses stated here. The minimum thickness of the wrapping material (or metal foil thereof) may be independently selected from the following list: 10 pm, 11 pm, 12 pm, 13 pm, 14 pm, 15 pm, 16 pm, 17 pm, 18 pm, 19 pm, 20 pm, 21 pm, 22 pm, 23 pm, 24 pm, 25 pm, 26 pm, 27 pm, 28 pm, 29 pm, 30 pm, 31 pm, 32 pm, 33 pm, 34 pm, 35 pm. Below 10 microns, it may be that the material (or foil) becomes too difficult to work by hand without tearing. The maximum thickness of the wrapping material (or metal foil thereof) may be independently selected from the following list: 10 pm, 11 pm, 12 pm, 13 pm, 14 pm, 15 pm, 16 pm, 17 pm, 18 pm, 19 pm, 20 pm, 21 pm, 22 pm, 23 pm, 24 pm, 25 pm, 26 pm, 27 pm, 28 pm, 29 pm, 30 pm, 31 pm, 32 pm, 33 pm, 34 pm, 35 pm. Above 35 microns, it may be that the material (or foil) becomes too difficult to work easily by hand. In preferred embodiments, the wrapping material or metal foil may have a thickness in the range substantially 15 to 30 microns. More preferably, the wrapping material or metal foil may have a thickness in the range substantially 16 to 25 microns. Yet more preferably, the wrapping material may have a thickness in the range substantially 18 to 22 microns. Still more preferably, the wrapping material or metal foil may have a thickness of substantially 20 microns. Any of these thickness ranges or thicknesses may be preferred for the thickness of the wrapping material. These thicknesses and ranges are believed to be of a suitable thickness to enable the wrapping material to be easily deformed into the correct shape for wrapping around an object (whether the object is a regular polygon, e.g. cuboidal, or an irregular shape), but thick enough so as not to tear (or not tear easily) during wrapping. However, it will be appreciated that that the thickness of the wrapping material or its metal foil can be varied to optimise any one or more of the following: ease of use (for wrapping and / or unwrapping), durability, resistance to tearing, cost of manufacture and and / or shipping, recyclability. The metal foil may be aluminium foil or may comprise at least 90 wt.% aluminium. This is preferred because it is relatively strong and durable and low-cost as a material, and suitable for blocking light and moisture. Aluminium is also readily recyclable via conventional routes. It will be appreciated that the ink or paint may be present in an amount which is tolerated (as an impurity) by conventional recycling means, or that the ink or paint may be removed (e.g. abraded or dissolved off) before or during the recycling process. Other metals or metal alloys may of course be used, subject to being suitably non-toxic and preferably low-cost. The decoration layer (which may preferably be ink or paint, or comprise ink or paint) may have a thickness which is less than the thickness of the foil. That is, the metal foil may be the substrate or primary material of the wrapping material, and the decoration or ink or paint may be a secondary material adorning the foil. The ink or paint layer may be applied to or bonded to or printed onto the foil by a machine, for example. The foil is intended to be an internal, object-facing side of the wrapping material (which can engage and / or conform to the object), whilst the adornment (whether ink or paint or something else) is intended to be an external, decorated side of the wrapping material. The terms internal and external are used with respect to the object / gift (to be) wrapped in the wrapping material. The decorative layer (e.g. ink or paint) is preferably flexible enough to remain intact (or not fracture / break) when the foil is deformed or bent during wrapping. That is, once wrapped about an object, the layer may be (or remain as) a substantially continuous decorative layer on the foil. The foil may have substantially uniform thickness. The decorative layer may have substantially uniform thickness. The wrapping material may have substantially uniform thickness. This can make it easier to use for wrapping and can have enhanced visual appeal, compared to having non-uniform thickness(es). The foil may be hidden from view through any one or more areas which are covered by the decorative layer, e.g. the ink or paint. That is, it may be thick enough to disguise or hide the metal foil from sight. This is preferred to enhance the visual appeal or aesthetics of the wrapping material, particularly when wrapped on an object intended to be a gift. The ink or paint (or other decoration) may have a maximum thickness that does not overly impede use of the wrapping material. The wrapping material may be substantially smooth or have a substantially smooth finish (for example, the ink or paint may have a smooth finish). It may therefore not be necessary to remove creases from the wrapping material prior to use. The wrapping material may be opaque. This obscures the gift from view to ensure the recipient of the gift cannot identify the present until it is opened. The decorative layer may be bonded to the metal foil. The decoration (such as ink or paint) may also be provided in a layer on a second side of the first material (or the other side of the metal foil to the first decorative layer). This means that the wrapping material (or wrapping foil) can be used with either side as the internal object-facing side, whilst still providing an external decorated side for a wrapped gift. It also means that if the ink or paint on one side begins to wear or becomes damaged, e.g. through repeat use of the wrapping material, then the material can be used the other way around to hide the worn or damaged areas on the internal, object-facing side. A total area covered by the decoration may be at least about 10%, or at least about 25%, or at least about 50%, of a total area of a first side of the metal foil. If decoration is provided on the second side as well, a total area covered by the layer on that other side may be at least about 10%, or at least about 25%, or at least about 50%, of a total area of the second side of the metal foil. The total area covered by the decoration may be substantially coextensive with the total area of the metal foil. That is, up to about 100% of the first side of the metal foil (and optionally up to about 100% of the second side of the metal foil) may be covered by the ink or paint. The decorative layer may have any colour or combination of colours and / or have a repeating pattern and / or have indicia and / or illustrations. The purpose of the decorative layer is to substitute the appearance of the foil for a different appearance which covers a non-negligible portion of the foil, with the decorative layer securely applied to or secured in place on the foil. The amount of decoration or ink or paint used to coat the foil, and the colour(s) and pattern or other distribution of the decoration or ink or paint, can be determined according to the desired design of the decoration. Some areas of the foil may be left free of decoration or ink or paint, if it is desired that the appearance of the foil itself be utilised as part of the decorative effect. However, there should be at least some additional decoration on the foil. Also, if the foil in the wrapping material is not entirely opaque, then preferably decoration or ink or paint is provided in sufficient thickness to block the wrapped object or gift from view. The wrapping material may have mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width that are each independently selected to be at least 10 or 20 or 30 cm. The length and width may be sufficient for the wrapping material to fold around and fully enclose a gift which is x cm in length, y cm in width and z cm in height, where each of x, y and z is an integer value independently selected to be at least 10 cm, or 20 cm, or 30 cm, or up to 100 cm. This is a useful size for wrapping gifts of conventional size for fitting underneath a Christmas tree, for example. The wrapping material may not comprise any independently selected one, some or all of the following group: paper; plastic; metallised film; metallised PET. Whilst paper and plastic can be recycled, the mixed materials in some wrapping papers make this difficult or impractical at present, so it is best to avoid them. Plastic with a polymer substrate and relatively thin metal coating (i.e. metallised film) is also difficult or impractical to recycle at present. The wrapping material may be considered to be wrapping foil, rather than wrapping paper. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided wrapping foil for wrapping a gift without using sticky tape or additional fastening means to secure the wrapping material. The wrapping foil may include any feature or independently selected combination of features of any aspect of the invention. The wrapping foil may include a first material comprising foil (whether made of metal or another hand-malleable material). The foil may have a thickness of at least 10 microns. The foil may have a thickness of up to about 35 microns. The thickness may be selected for ease of deformation by hand and / or for mitigating the risk of tearing the foil during wrapping. The foil may include a second material as decoration. The second material may be provided on or adhered to the first material. The second material may comprise ink or paint, or another decorative layer or decorative material, which is any of disposed, adhered, bonded or otherwise secured to the first material (or the foil thereof). The wrapping material may be deformable from an unwrapped configuration into a wrapped configuration for substantially conforming to the shape of at least part of the gift- In use, the wrapping material may substantially maintain its wrapped configuration about the gift without the use of any sticky tape or additional fastening means (that is, means of fastening or securing it which is separate to the wrapping material itself, since some measure of ‘fastening’ may be considered to be present by virtue of the material itself holding the shape it is deformed into during wrapping). In any aspect of the invention, a sheet of the wrapping material may be substantially flat and / or wrinkle-free. The sheet may have mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width that are each independently selected to be between 0.1 m and 5 m. This is a useful size range to ship and stock in retail, and also to manipulate by hand when wrapping an object. A person can also use a suitably-sized sheet to wrap a gift without first needing to cut the wrapping material to size. The sheet(s) may be square or rectangular in perimeter. The sheet(s) may be sized according to conventional paper sizes, such as A6, A5, A4, A3, A2 and A1 sized sheets for example. This may more easily permit existing machinery to be used or adapted for cutting the sheets of wrapping material to size. In any aspect of the invention, a container may be provided which includes one or more sheets of the wrapping material. The sheets may be stacked within the container, for example. There may be 5, 10, 15 or 20 sheets, or more. In any aspect of the invention, a roll of the wrapping material may be provided. The wrapping material in the roll may have mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width, the width being at least 0.5 metres and the length being at least 3 metres, when unrolled. The roll may be at least 0.5 metres wide (e.g. when the roll is measured end to end in a rolled-up state), or at least 0.7 metres wide, or at least 1 metre wide. In an unrolled state, the roll may be at least 3 metres long, or at least 5 metres long, or at least 10 metres long, or at least 15 or 20 metres long, or at least about 50 metres long. For individual rolls which may be provided as consumer items, the wrapping material may have a length to width ratio of less than about 100:1, or less than about 50:1, or less than about 20:1, or less than about 10:1. In any aspect of the invention, a container including the roll of wrapping material may be provided. The container may have a serrated edge or cutting edge for use in easily detaching or cutting off a piece of the roll of wrapping material. This avoids the need to use scissors to manually cut a piece of the wrapping material, and can give a relatively straight cut. According to a third aspect of the invention, use of wrapping material (or of a sheet, roll or container thereof) according to any aspect of the invention is provided for the purpose of wrapping a gift. For example, this may be done in a shop (whether as a courtesy or as a chargeable service), or may be provided as an option when purchasing an item online (again whether offered as a ‘free’ service option prior to item delivery or whether as a paid extra). To use the wrapping material, it will be appreciated that one simply takes the wrapping material (or piece thereof) and wraps, folds, presses or otherwise applies force to confirm it around the object (or part thereof). It is not necessary to add additional material to secure it in place, nor is it necessary to remove anything from the wrapping material prior to using it to wrap the object. The wrapping material is held in place about an object by means of the lasting deformation of its foil layer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1A and 1B show partial cross-sectional schematics depicting first and second general structures for wrapping material according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a piece of wrapping material and a first object to be wrapped; Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the piece of the wrapping material of Figure 2 wrapped around the first object; Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a piece of wrapping material being wrapped around a second object; and Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the piece of wrapping material of Figure 4, wrapped around the second object. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring firstly to Figure 1A, a general schematic of the cross-section of wrapping material according to the invention is shown. The wrapping material is intended for use in gift-wrapping. The wrapping material has a first material which is foil 2, usually a metal foil such as aluminium foil which is opaque and can hide an object from view. The wrapping material also has a second material which is decoration 4 on the foil. In some embodiments, this can be ink or paint which has been applied to or bonded to the foil 2, but it will be appreciated that other decoration can be used as well or instead. In preferred embodiments, the thickness of the wrapping material should be between about 10-35 microns. In some embodiments, the thickness of the foil is in that range. Various preferred embodiments can utilise thicknesses of 15-30 microns, 16-25 microns, or 18-22 microns, or about 20 microns, to optimise ease of folding the material by hand whilst still having a relatively robust material that does not tear too easily. The thickness should be uniform. The decoration may cover the whole side of the foil, or just some of it (e.g. at least 10% or 25% or 50% or more of the area). Figure 1B depicts a general cross-section of wrapping material which is similar to that depicted in Figure 1 A. The main difference is that a layer of decoration 6 (typically ink or paint) is also present on the second side of the foil 2. As above, the decoration 6 may cover the whole side of the foil, or just some of it. The relative thickness of the foil 2 and the ink / paint or other decoration 4, 6 is not to scale, although it is intended that the decoration is usually thinner than the foil. It will be appreciated that at the level of enlargement shown for a microns-thick material makes it impractical to show the actual boundaries of the material (in terms of length and width), so the left and right ends of the material as viewed in Figure 1A are not hard boundaries. Referring now to Figure 2, a sheet of wrapping material according to the present invention is indicated generally at 10. A box-shaped item or object to be wrapped is indicated generally at 20. The wrapping material 10 can be seen to be substantially flat (prior to use). The wrapping material 10 has an upper surface 14 which is substantially smooth. The upper surface 14 of the wrapping material 10 comprises decoration. The wrapping material also has a lower surface (not visible) which is the surface that will engage the object 20 when it is wrapped. The lower surface may be unadorned or undecorated, or may have decoration that is the same as the external decoration, or may have different decoration. The wrapping material 10 has a metal foil layer. The metal foil is made of greater than 90% aluminium in this embodiment. Decoration, such as ink or paint, is disposed directly onto the metal foil layer. In this embodiment, the decoration is coloured stripes, which are alternating black and yellow. In other embodiments, it will be appreciated that other colours and / or patterns can be used. For example, the decoration may be in the form of one or more colours and / or one or more patterns and / or one or more images. The wrapping material in this embodiment is around 20 micrometres thick. In other embodiments, the wrapping material may have a thickness selected to be between 16 and 25 micrometres (inclusive) or selected to be between 18 and 22 micrometres (inclusive). Referring also to Figure 3, the wrapping material 10 is shown wrapped around the object 20. The wrapping material 10 comprises deformed sections 10a, 10b at opposing ends of the object, where the material 10 has been folded and / or crumpled to secure it around the object 20. It should be noted that the only material around the object 20 is the material 10. No sticky tape is present, nor is any required. The wrapping material 10 is deformed around and shaped to the gift 20 and retains that shape, without any need for additional means of securing the material in place around the object 20. Referring to Figure 4, a second embodiment of wrapping material is indicated generally at 110. In this embodiment, the material 110 is in the process of being wrapped around a cylindrical object or gift (not visible). That is, an object to be wrapped is being rolled in the wrapping material 110 as a first wrapping step. The wrapping material 110 comprises a layer of metal foil. The wrapping material 110 has an upper surface 114 and a lower surface 116. The lower surface 116 is the exposed surface of the metal foil without any decoration or patterning or embellishment. The upper surface 114 has surface decoration. In this embodiment, the surface decoration is a repeating pattern of hearts on a neutral colour background. The decoration can be provided by ink or paint that is printed directly onto the metal foil, for example, or by another material that is adhered to or bonded to the metal foil. The thickness of the wrapping material 110 (or its foil) is about 20 micrometres, although other thicknesses are contemplated for this embodiment as recited above. Referring to Figure 5, the wrapping material 110 is shown wrapped around the cylindrical object. The wrapping material 110 comprises a folded or crumpled section 120 where it has been deformed to fit the shape of the object being wrapped. A similar folded or crumpled section is provided at the other end of the object. Once wrapped, the inner surface 116 is largely or entirely obscured from view. In other words, the object can be entirely enveloped in the wrapping material 110. More generally, to use the wrapping material of any embodiment, an object is placed in a section of wrapping material. The section of wrapping material should ideally be large enough to fully envelop the object once wrapped. The user may cut the wrapping material to size, for example from a larger roll of wrapping material, or alternatively the 5 user may obtain a suitably sized sheet The wrapping material is manipulated to surround the object and remain in place by virtue of deforming the material to the object it encloses. Any excess wrapping material can be deformed around the object too, which may assist in securing the material in place. No sticky tape or other securing means are therefore required. 10 Any suitable decoration material may be used on the metal foil, whether ink or paint is bonded to the foil or another decorative material and / or series of decorations is adhered / applied to the foil. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, for example in the case of large and / or irregularly sized objects to be wrapped, it may be necessary to use multiple pieces of 15 wrapping material and to fold / crumple / press them individually about parts of the object to fully wrap it. The embodiments described above are provided by way of example only, and various changes and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Wrapping material for wrapping an object or gift without using sticky tape or additional fastening means to secure the wrapping material, the wrapping material comprising:a first material comprising metal foil or other malleable foil, the foil having a thickness in the range 10 to 35 microns for ease of deformation by hand; anda second material as a decorative layer on a first side of the first material for providing outward-facing decoration;the wrapping material being deformable from an unwrapped configuration into a wrapped configuration for substantially conforming to the shape of at least part of the gift, in use the wrapping material substantially maintaining its wrapped configuration without sticky tape or additional fastening means.

2. Wrapping material as claimed in claim 1, in which the decorative layer is or comprises ink or paint, optionally in which the ink or paint is provided in a layer which is bonded to the metal foil.

3. Wrapping material as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in the form of a non-resilient body which is deformable by hand into the wrapped configuration and which maintains the wrapped configuration by means of said deformation after unloading.

4. Wrapping material as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the wrapping material or metal foil has a thickness of substantially 15 to 30 microns.

5. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the wrapping material or metal foil has a thickness of substantially 18 to 22 microns.

6. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the wrapping material or metal foil has a thickness of substantially 20 microns.

7. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the metal foil is aluminium foil.

8. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the second material has a thickness which is less than the thickness of the metal foil.

9. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the metal foil has a substantially uniform thickness and / or the decorative second material has a substantially uniform thickness.

10. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the metal foil is hidden from view through any one or more areas which are covered by the decorative second material.

11. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which decorative second material is also provided on a second side of the first material.

12. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which a total area covered by the decorative second material is at least 25% or at least 50% of a total area of the metal foil.

13. Wrapping material as claimed in claim 12, in which the total area covered by the decorative second material is substantially coextensive with the total area of the metal foil.

14. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, having mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width that are each independently selected to be at least 10 cm.

15. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, having mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width that are each independently selected to be at least 20 cm.

16. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, provided as a piece which has dimensions of length and width which are sufficient for the wrapping material to fold around and fully enclose a gift which is 10 cm in length, 10 cm in width and 10 cm in height.

17. Wrapping material as claimed in any preceding claim, which does not comprise any independently selected one, some or all of the following group: paper; plastic; metallised film; metallised PET.

18. A sheet of wrapping material claimed in any of claims 1 to 17 which is substantially flat and / or wrinkle-free.

19. A sheet as claimed in claim 18, in which the sheet has mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width that are each independently selected to be between 0.1 m and 5 m.

20. A container including one or more of sheets of wrapping material as claimed in 5 claim 18 or claim 19.

21. A roll of wrapping material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 17.

22. A roll as claimed in claim 21, in which the wrapping material has mutually orthogonal dimensions of length and width, the width being at least 0.5 metres and the length being at least 3 metres.10 23. A container including a roll of wrapping material as claimed in claim 21 or claim22.

24. A container as claimed in claim 23, comprising a serrated edge or cutting edge for detaching a piece of the roll of wrapping material.

25. Use of wrapping material according to any of claims 1 to 17, or of a sheet, roll 15 or container thereof according to any of claims 18 to 24 respectively, to wrap agift.

Images