It’s World Environment Day!
As a nature-loving illustrator and small business owner, I really care about the environment (as you may have noticed), so I do as much as possible to be eco-friendly in my business.
Let’s take an eco tour of my office! Here’s what I’m doing to help:
Conscious packaging
- Reducing single-use plastic: I use compostable sleeves for wholesale stockists and paper-based belly bands for your greeting card orders (they’ll be well-protected in a paper wrap or bag on their way to you!).
- Reusing packaging: I save all boxes and void fillers from every online order my family and I place.
- Homemade void fillers: I use eco-friendly ways to make sure your products don’t bang about or get damaged, including scrunched-up brown paper, bubble wrap from previous online orders (never bought brand new), or chopped-up cardboard boxes.
Eco-friendly paper products
- FSC-certified stock: All my paper products are printed onto FSC-certified stock, made using paper harvested legally from responsibly managed forests.
- Recycled paper: My fleck kraft envelopes are the greenest available – they’re made from 100% post-consumer waste (paper straight from your home recycling bin!). Each one is slightly unique in colour and texture.
- Fully recyclable: Even if my cards aren’t hung up or repurposed, they’re fully recyclable (same goes for the envelopes).
Reducing waste with seconds sales
Occasionally products are delivered to me with minor imperfections (like printing marks or bent corners), so I hold a seconds sale once or twice a year. You can find perfectly imperfect products that are heavily discounted and, ultimately, not wasted! (If any products are truly unsellable, they’re recycled appropriately.)
High-quality and long-lasting gifts
I’m all about reducing waste and creating high-quality, long-lasting gifts for you (and your favourite people) to treasure. That’s why:
- All cards, postcards, and prints are printed on thicker-than-usual cardstock, so they’re less likely to get damaged in transit.
- I use eco-friendly lightfast printing inks so your prints will last a long time.
- Every wooden decoration is UV-printed (instead of digitally) so they’re extra durable, scratchproof and water-resistant.
Find out more about my sustainability practices.
What do you do to help the environment? Have any other eco-friendly ideas? My business certainly isn’t perfectly sustainable, so I’m always open to ideas to help the natural world. I’d love to hear from you if you think there’s anything new I should try!