Environmentally friendly gift shopping?
We recently had to source new gift wrap over at pressies4princesses.co.uk. Our trademark silver (with pink ribbon) was unobtainable. We get through hundreds of meters of this a month, along with yard after yard after yard of (nylon) pink ribbon. Anyway, we went for a lovely copper with black ribbon - very classy - but not terribly environmentally friendly, it struck me.
Don't get me wrong, I am not an eco-warrior. I don't grow my own clothes and cycle everywhere. But, like the overwhelming majority of parents these days (I guess), I do feel some responsibility for the world my 2-year old daughter will inherit. So, I try to do my bit at home and at work. And had been bothering me that all this paper we used isn't the easiest to recycle nor the most enviromentally sensitive to make - what with it being coated in this metalised finish.
So, with change a foot, I decided to do something about it. And, I am pleased to announce we now have two gift wrap options - the second a more (I hope) environmentally-friendly gift wrap: recycled kraft paper with natural rafia (grass?!) ribbon. Like I said, I am not a expert, but I figure this has to be better for the environment? Here's my reckoning:
1. The kraft paper takes less energy and chemicals to produce. There's no bleaching or nasty coatings. Plus, it's such a staple paper that its made in huge quantities with huge efficiency.
2. This paper is produced from recycled paper. And, because it doesn't need to be brilliant white the recovery / reuse process involves less energy and chemicals, right?
3. Kraft paper is easy to recycle or compost. It doesn't have any nasty coatings to complicate recycling or rotting.
4. Rafia is a natural product. It consumes green house gasses during growth and rots harmlessly away when done with. I don't think much is done with it, other than drying it out in the sun?
5. Regular organza (that's nylon really) ribbon, in constrast, is a totally man-made product and the result of an industrial process using chemicals, consuming energy and creating greenhouse gases, no doubt.
Despite their humble origins, I think the kraft and rafia gift wrapping solution looks the part and I, personally, would be quite content to receive a gift wrapped this way. It certainly wouldn't leave me feeling short-changed.
OK, so it's a small step. But, here are some of the other good eco-friendly things we do at pressies4princesses.co.uk:
1) We DO NOT buy packing peanuts or synthetic void fillers
2) We DO NOT use a pillow pack machine (produces air filled plastic pillows)
3) We DO NOT use bleached or printed cartons for mailing (we do occasionally use off-white cartons in gift-wrapping awkward-shaped objects)
4) We use bio-degradable Sellotape
5) We reuse as much packaging material received through in-bound logistics as is possible. So when you receive a pressies' parcel packed with peanuts, those peanuts are actually reused packaging that was originally received into pressies' from our suppliers -- same too for pillow packs, polystyrene and other unsavouries.
6) We reuse all possible in-bound boxes received from our suppliers. Basically, we sort the clean, undamaged boxes from the rest and then hold regular no reserve auctions on ebay. We've sold hundreds of boxes on for home removals or storage and give many more away.
7) All boxes that cannot be reused are sent for recycling.
8) Our office paper and despatch notes comprise 100% recycled paper.
9) We use tissue and kraft paper as our staple void filler and protective wrapping material.
10) We avoid unnecessary printing. We do not print a catalogue or conduct mass physical mailings to our database.
11) All our office paper - of which there is very little as we are largely paper-less - is shredded and composted (there's so little, I mix it in with my own compost heap).
Sadly, we do still have to supplement our packaging supplies with the odd roll of bubble wrap, but have yet to find a way around this.
I think that makes us pretty 'clean'. I hope so. But, what do the real environmental experts think? As I said, that we are not. So, I'd love to hear what those who really know how to measure this stuff think of our endeavours. Perhaps, you can offer extra ideas or advice? Feel free to drop us a comment with any improvements or to tell us where we've got it wrong!
Don't get me wrong, I am not an eco-warrior. I don't grow my own clothes and cycle everywhere. But, like the overwhelming majority of parents these days (I guess), I do feel some responsibility for the world my 2-year old daughter will inherit. So, I try to do my bit at home and at work. And had been bothering me that all this paper we used isn't the easiest to recycle nor the most enviromentally sensitive to make - what with it being coated in this metalised finish.
So, with change a foot, I decided to do something about it. And, I am pleased to announce we now have two gift wrap options - the second a more (I hope) environmentally-friendly gift wrap: recycled kraft paper with natural rafia (grass?!) ribbon. Like I said, I am not a expert, but I figure this has to be better for the environment? Here's my reckoning:
1. The kraft paper takes less energy and chemicals to produce. There's no bleaching or nasty coatings. Plus, it's such a staple paper that its made in huge quantities with huge efficiency.
2. This paper is produced from recycled paper. And, because it doesn't need to be brilliant white the recovery / reuse process involves less energy and chemicals, right?
3. Kraft paper is easy to recycle or compost. It doesn't have any nasty coatings to complicate recycling or rotting.
4. Rafia is a natural product. It consumes green house gasses during growth and rots harmlessly away when done with. I don't think much is done with it, other than drying it out in the sun?
5. Regular organza (that's nylon really) ribbon, in constrast, is a totally man-made product and the result of an industrial process using chemicals, consuming energy and creating greenhouse gases, no doubt.
Despite their humble origins, I think the kraft and rafia gift wrapping solution looks the part and I, personally, would be quite content to receive a gift wrapped this way. It certainly wouldn't leave me feeling short-changed.
OK, so it's a small step. But, here are some of the other good eco-friendly things we do at pressies4princesses.co.uk:
1) We DO NOT buy packing peanuts or synthetic void fillers
2) We DO NOT use a pillow pack machine (produces air filled plastic pillows)
3) We DO NOT use bleached or printed cartons for mailing (we do occasionally use off-white cartons in gift-wrapping awkward-shaped objects)
4) We use bio-degradable Sellotape
5) We reuse as much packaging material received through in-bound logistics as is possible. So when you receive a pressies' parcel packed with peanuts, those peanuts are actually reused packaging that was originally received into pressies' from our suppliers -- same too for pillow packs, polystyrene and other unsavouries.
6) We reuse all possible in-bound boxes received from our suppliers. Basically, we sort the clean, undamaged boxes from the rest and then hold regular no reserve auctions on ebay. We've sold hundreds of boxes on for home removals or storage and give many more away.
7) All boxes that cannot be reused are sent for recycling.
8) Our office paper and despatch notes comprise 100% recycled paper.
9) We use tissue and kraft paper as our staple void filler and protective wrapping material.
10) We avoid unnecessary printing. We do not print a catalogue or conduct mass physical mailings to our database.
11) All our office paper - of which there is very little as we are largely paper-less - is shredded and composted (there's so little, I mix it in with my own compost heap).
Sadly, we do still have to supplement our packaging supplies with the odd roll of bubble wrap, but have yet to find a way around this.
I think that makes us pretty 'clean'. I hope so. But, what do the real environmental experts think? As I said, that we are not. So, I'd love to hear what those who really know how to measure this stuff think of our endeavours. Perhaps, you can offer extra ideas or advice? Feel free to drop us a comment with any improvements or to tell us where we've got it wrong!
posted by Suggy at
18:46
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