No one was harmed in the making of these products!
All our products are as ethical as possible... it is our main priority to ensure anything we produce has as little negative effect on the environment as we can possibly manage. Yes, our prices are a little higher than high street chain card stores, this is because we put a lot of effort into sourcing our products ethically which unfortuantely costs a little more...
WE RECYCLE!
All of our cards are printed in the UK on 100% recycled pulp card. Totally Chlorine Free, Forest sustainable and printed in vegetable ink. The envelopes are made from recycled, unbleached paper. We compost the biodegradable cellophane seals that come off the biodegradable cello bags we pack the cards in. Our invoices are printed on 100% recycled FSC paper that is de-inked without bleaching and free from optical brightening agents. All our paper waste is recycled... and we recycle all our baked bean cans.
WE ARE FAIRTRADE!
All cards are hand-packed by healthy happy packers, we feed them and pay them well and they smile and pack cards.
We don't give the big corporate shops a discount for volume because that wouldn't be fun for all the little card selling people. We prefer to work together with smaller shops and help them succeed to help us succeed.
WE BIODEGRADE!
All the cellophane bags we put our cards in are made from cornstarch, 100% biodegradable and compostable. If you put them straight onto a compost heap they will completely decompose. All our mailing bags may not look very eco but are infact 100% biodegradable.
WE ARE ECO-FRIENDLY!
We hand deliver our cards to the local shops we stock by cycling there. We hate waste and plastic bags. We use eco friendly cleaning products in our little "factory", recycle everything we can, we have a compost bin and little solar lights, we grow food and herbs and we love leftovers! All the cards are printed in vegetable ink, forest sustainable and totally chlorine free.
SOURCING:
Cards: Printed in Southend on Sea, Essex
Cello wrapping: Made in Nottingham
Envelopes: Made in Shipley, West Yorkshire
Red envelopes: Made in Bingley, West Yorkshire
Paper for invoices: Made in Germany
Mailing bags: Made in Lincoln Books: Printed in Basildon, Essex
Books and Postcard Books: Printed in Basildon, Essex
Keyrings: Printed in Blackpool, UK made
Oyster card holders: Printed in London
Mousemats: Made and printed by Remarkable in Worcester
Posters: Printed in Manchester
Coasters: Made in Worcestershire
Placemats: Made in Worcestershire (drywipe markers from Europe)
Tea towels, Aprons, Shopping Bags and Laundry Bags: Fair trade Cotton from North India, Printed in South India
Tee shirts: Made in Oxford and Printed in Newcastle by our friend Sam.
Stickers: Printed in Basildon, Essex
WE ARE CUSTOMER FRIENDLY!
We are not robots. We treat our customers like normal people and try our very best to make them happy. We sell our cards at the same price to ALL our retailers.- NO exceptions!
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his NOT understanding it." -Upton Sinclair
IT'S EASY BEING GREEN!!
We have been thinking about the environment, as you do, things like "where does the contents of the wheelie bin go when it leaves the bin?", we are concerned with the amount of crap there is on the planet. We're not hippies, were not trying to be cool, we don't walk around wearing halos, we're just sensible people who care about the environment, every day.
Here's some things that everyone can do to follow in our tiny weeny carbon footprints and save money and energy:
Recycle- Anything and everything you can, cans, glass, plastic, cardboard, furniture, clothes, food waste- if you have the space, get a compost bin (you can put them straight onto the concrete and just start filling them up, if you don't have a garden to use it on when it's done, your local garden centre/ allotments will probably collect it and make great use of it)
Heating/ Lighting- JUST PUT A JUMPER ON!!! Its common sense. Don't just put the heating on, think! wear more clothes, get a hot water bottle, dance, jump, snuggle up together! And, make sure your roof is properly insulated with that fluffy stuff/ sheep fleece to keep your heating in and your house toasty. Change all your light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs. Block up draughty areas!
Food and Drink- Shop at your local market/ grocery, it's cheap, tastes better and helps support local business, produce is often locally grown and unpackaged! Your bananas wont taste any different if they don't come in a plastic wrapper, but they will if they are fairtrade/ organic. Grow your own, brew your own, it's fun! Not having a garden is no excuse, you can grow carrots in milk cartons and potatoes in bin bags, get down to your local community allotment. Only boil as much water as you need in the kettle, if you want one cup of tea, don't fill the kettle up full, it will save you time, water, electric, and money. Fry up leftovers! Never ever buy non- free range chickens/ eggs! Here is why....http://www.chickenout.tv/. Sign up to their campaign and help Hugh in his bid for chicken freedom!
Fashion- Give your old clothes to charity and buy your new clothes from charity/ vintage shops, or make them. You will look a lot more original and you will be helping a charity rather than a huge money- sucking corporate brand, and probably saving money for yourself too.
Personal Care- Try to get out of the mind set that you always have to wash everyday, your skin will benefit from retaining it's natural oils. Shower rather than bathing to save litres of water. There are amazing natural products available such as Burt's Bees, Neal's Yard, Lavera and many others, search for your nearest Ethical Supermarket or buy them online, your skin with thank you for it, you don't need to cover yourselves in chemicals! Plus most of them are tested on animals unless they say they aren't. Girls, try a Mooncup, and try not wearing make up for a day. Parents, try reusuable or biodegradable nappies. About 40,000 tons of them are dumped in landfill in Northern Ireland alone every year. (100 tons every day.)
Cleaning- Wash your clothes at 30 degrees, yes it DOES work just as well as a hotter wash. Buy eco- friendly cleaning products, they work just as well and wont harm your family or the planet and are better for your skin.
Entertainment- Don't get brainwashed into thinking you need a bigger TV, you dont need it, if you think about it enough, you probably don't even want it. Turn the TV off when you arent watching it, right off, even the red power light!
Travel- Take public transport, no, its not as nice as being in the comfort of your own car but wouldn't you rather be concentrating on the scenery or enjoying a nap rather than being stuck in traffic or concentrating on the road, cheap train tickets are available online. Bicycles are cheap, free to run, fun, often quicker than the bus, greener and healthier! Look into getting a more energy efficient model of car, check your tyres are blown- up fully, rev less, or just walk! Did you know it's possible to run your vehicle on used cooking oil?- cheaper, greener and a bit kooky.
Buy Second hand- Before you go out and buy something new, think of a place where you might be able to get it second hand, it will no doubt be cheaper and it will save on resources, energy, waste and transport if you don't buy a new one for the sake of it. You can find a huge amount of stuff on Ebay, Amazon, Gum Tree, Freecycle and in charity shops. Be inventive!
Plant a tree- This is a really nice thing to do that you can look back on for your entire life and that will help the environment. Make an event of it for a birthday/ anniversary/ memory or something. A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. You can also neutralise the air and chemicals given off by technology in your work space by growing plants such as lavendar, ferns and spider plants.
Don't think for one second that you cant make a difference. Go and do it today and everyday!
Visit:
www.climatecrisis.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmh_H0Nyg4g
http://www.ecotopia.co.uk
Your local Ethical Supermarket.
Send a child a Christmas present in a decorated shoe box: http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/
Watch:
An Inconvinient Truth by Al Gore- if this film doesnt shock you then you need a good cold slap round the face with a wet fish.
and... www.thestoryofstuff.com
Buy:
The Self Sufficient-ish Bible by Andy and Dave Hamilton
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfsufficient-ish-Bible-Andy-Hamilton/dp/034095101X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250447941&sr=8-1
This book is AMAZING, it is literally an eco living bible.
Other Amazing things you can do to change people's lives:
Volunteer: If you have some free time- give it to someone else! Adopt a Grand parent, help out in a care home, or simply help an old lady across the street.
Give blood: Each time you give blood, you save 3 lives- reason enough to get over the needle phobia?
Smile.