Our Commitment To Being Better
As a homewares store we have a responsibility to ensure our environmental footprint is as small as possible. We only have one planet, with a finite amount of natural resources which means we have a duty to ensure that we operate in a sustainable and eco-conscious manner. We know that there will always be more that we can do, but we have been working tirelessly since our founding to build a homeware brand that is forward thinking and set up with the right ethos to have a positive impact on the planet and its people. Below we’ve shared some of the initiatives that we have in place at the moment, to help us in our journey of building a better business thats environmentally conscious.
Responsible Sourcing
Our Makers
In a bid to reduce our environmental impact, we have turned to sourcing products from independent British makers. From ceramicists to woodworkers, we’ve built relationships with talented makers across the country that produce high quality and unique homewares.
We’re working hard to expand the number of British made products in our collection. As it stands British makers are responsible for just over a quarter of all our products, but we’re sure there will be plenty more added in the near future.
Where we’re unable to source products from Britain, we ensure that we’re working with ethical suppliers who pay a fair living wage to their workers and maintain a high standard of welfare in their workplace.
Material Choices
Ethical & Sustainable Materials
Where possible, we attempt to source ethically made and sustainable homeware products; ranging from sustainable textiles, wooden kitchenware products, to our recycled glass vases.
We also look to source products that are reclaimed, extending the life of items that may otherwise end up being thrown away. All of our reclaimed products are completely individual and unique, each with their own story to tell. We hope that our customers use these products and bring a second life to them within their homes.
Energy Consumption
Powered By Renewables
Our business premises are powered by 100% renewable energy, provided by Octopus Energy. For every unit of electricity that we use, our energy provider ensures a unit is produced and put on the UK power grid by a renewable source including solar, wind and hydro. Every unit of renewable electricity that Octopus Energy purchase is accredited by Ofgem, meaning that they can verify the amount of renewable energy being supplied is 100%. It's a small thing, but it's important to us.
Progress In Packaging
Recyclable & Reusable Packaging
As an online retailer, every order we dispatch to a customer has to be packed in a suitable manner to ensure its contents arrive safely. Using acrylic packaging tapes and large amount of single use plastic packing materials would be the easy option, but this just doesn't sit with our ethos of reducing our environmental impact.
We only use paper packaging tapes, unbleached FSC certified cardboard boxes and recycled brown paper bubble wrap. Our deliveries are plastic free, fully recyclable, or even better, reusable. We use just the right amount of packaging to make sure everything is secure in the parcel, while not being wasteful.
Digital Consciousness
Carbon Neutral Website
An important element of ensuring we're operating a sustainable business is how we manage our website. Websites require hosting in data centres that consume vast amounts of electricity and in many cases, are powered from non-renewable energy sources. However, our website is hosted on the Google Cloud platform which is carbon-neutral. Google matches 100% of the energy consumed with renewable energy and the data centres that they operate consume on average 50% less energy than a typical data centre (data from Google Cloud Sustainability). We also utilise Cloudflare as our CDN which is powered by 100% green energy. Our website is certified as green hosted by The Green Web Foundation.
We've Still Got Work To Do
Our Future Enviromental Plans
We've implemented a range of initiatives to ensure we are on course to be a consciousness and responsible business; however, we openly admit that we've still got work to do! The next project for us is to identify how we can reduce the impact our delivery partners have on the environment, be it through offsetting carbon created by delivery vehicles, or sourcing new delivery partners who align to our ethos. We are always exploring new ways of doing things to help us on our mission of being a business for good.
Caring deeply for the impact our business has on the planet, working tirelessly to find independent British makers, reducing our material impact and constantly deepening our curiosity for the origins of each material are just a few of the ways in which we’re continuously trying to do better. To be a forward-thinking homeware brand, we have to adopt forward-thinking attitudes.
Our Environmental Marks
Across our products you'll find our environmental marks displayed to guide you, at a glance, to the environmental criteria that the product fits within. From showcasing that the product is made from eco-friendly materials to being produced from recycled materials, our environmental marks can be seen across relevant products on our store.
Eco-Friendly
Our eco-friendly mark is certification that the product was produced from environmentally friendly materials. Where possible, we try to source sustainable or less wasteful products from our makers.
Recycled Materials
When a product is produced from recycled materials, you'll see this mark on the product page. This can include recycled papers, card and glass amongst other second life materials.
Made In Britain
Our Made in Britain mark shows that the product was produced in England, Scotland, Northern Island or Wales. Products that are locally made in our mighty isle have less transportation emissions that products sourced from overseas.
Vegan Certified
Our Vegan mark indicates that the product has been produced in alignment with Vegan principles, including not containing any animal ingredients or animal-derived ingredients.
