Today I am gonna talk about something a little bit different...I wanna talk about RUBBISH. Gross, right?
Well, what I really wanna talk about is reducing waste. It’s something really important to me, and so it’s probably really important to you too.
Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by the amount of waste humans create every day? My 2yo Freddy is OBSESSED with rubbish. He literally screams ‘RUDDISH TRUCK’ whenever we see one. But, every Thursday morning when we race to the window to watch our street’s bins being emptied, I’m reminded about how much sh*t we throw away.
As a family, we’re working to reduce waste, but I know we’ve got work to do. Our landfill bin is down to about 1/5 full each week, now that we know about recycling soft plastics, and we have a FOGO bin.
However, I still use disposable nappies and sometimes buy those plastic squeez-y food pouches - sometimes I am so freaking tired I literally can’t cook. So, I’m definitely not pretending to know what the heck I’m doing. My point: we are TRYING OUR BEST.
But, as a biz owner, I’ve got a responsibility to be accountable for the waste I produce.
I used cello bags on my cards & prints for years and frankly I feel sick to think about it. A few years ago I started including RedCycle instructions so customers could recycle the soft plastics, but this isn’t enough - I’ve no idea if anyone really does it?!
So last year I decided to sell my cards ‘nude’ - no cello, although I still have a heap of old stock still in bags that I’m working my way through. People don’t mind a naked card! I also print my cards on 100% recycled paper.
Prints are a little more difficult, and I’m yet to find a biodegradable cello bag I’m happy with - ANY TIPS WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL, PLZ SUGGEST A BRAND YOU LOVE! In the meantime, I’m simply not creating new prints.
With postage, I almost entirely re-use packaging that has come to me already: boxes, bubble-wrap bags, you name it and I keep it. My packaging isn’t beautiful, but I think y’all would rather a healthy planet than a beautifully wrapped box, am I right?
I have three drawers full of flattened cardboard boxes, used padded mailer bags, second-hand bubble wrap and used gift bags!
Having said all this, on the mailing front I have FINALLY invested in some noissue biodegradable mailers, eco tissue paper and stickers - hooray! So look out for some CUTE eco-friendly packaging on your next order
I’d love to know what you think, what are your small wins with reducing waste? Any tips or suggestions? Other biz owners have any advice too?
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