PlanetJune Craft Blog

Latest news and updates from June

packaging: reduce, reuse, recycle

Since I began selling physical products (safety eyes and noses for amigurumi, stitch markers for crocheters, and Detail Stuffing Tools) in addition to virtual products (PDF patterns and ebooks) I’ve had a new challenge to contend with: packaging. Canada Post has the delightful rule that any packages over 2cm thick cost around 4x as much to ship, so I have to pack carefully to ensure that all my packages are within the 2cm height limit – which can be quite tricky!

I also want to do my part to protect the environment (you’ve probably already guessed this from the subject of most of my designs, but animals and the natural world are really important to me), so I try to follow the ‘environmental 3 Rs’ principle: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Reduce: I’m continually refining my packaging process to use the least material while still being secure and protecting the contents. I’ve gone from using one sheet of bubble wrap to pack 4 orders, to cutting it in such a way that I can safely package an average of 7 orders using a single sheet of bubble wrap – that’s a big reduction! This little stack will package 12 orders:

bubble wrap

Reuse: I do use plastic bubble wrap for packaging because there’s nothing like it for protecting my little goodies as they travel across the world to their destinations, but I don’t feel too bad about that because I advertise locally and collect clean, tape-free bubble wrap from people who’ve just moved house and have bags of it sitting around after unpacking all their ornaments and tableware. (Speaking of which, I’m running low – if anyone around the K-W area has a bunch of bubble wrap going spare, please contact me.) Clever, huh?

Recycle: I use recycled Post-It notes to make the thank you notes I send out with each order.

planetjune thank you notes

And this isn’t quite recycling, but it’s a step in the right direction. I went out to replenish my stock of envelopes today, and I made the decision to switch from smart-looking white envelopes to blah-looking kraft coloured envelopes.

envelopes

I’m hoping that nobody will mind the colour change – it’s just an envelope, after all; you only glance at it for a second before ripping it open and discarding it (into your recycling bin, right??), so how could anyone object?

FSC certified envelopes

But the added bonus here is that my new envelopes are FSC certified. Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification guarantees that the wood used to produce paper products is taken from responsibly managed forests.

orangutan says: please use sustainable paper sources

Many species of animals and plants (including my favourite, the orangutan) are at great risk from deforestation, so using FSC certified paper products is an easy way to do your part to help protect the environment – just look out for the FSC logo when you’re shopping.

My envelopes are FSC certified as “Mixed Sources”. The wood used to produce FSC certified products with a “Mixed Sources” label comes from FSC certified well-managed forests, controlled sources and/or recycled material.

This means that, while my envelopes may not be fully recycled, at least their production hasn’t deprived any endangered species of their natural habitat, so you can feel good about ordering your crochet supplies from me! 🙂

7 Comments »

  1. Bri said

    That’s great! Even if someone (someone crazy) objected to your envelope, all you would have to do is show them your monkey! How can anyone argue with an incredibly cute monkey?

  2. Julie Andrea said

    Way to Go! You know .. if everyone did little things like this, it would add up to a HUGE impact. My copier paper, envelopes, boxes – they don’t have to be pure white.

    Also, I have this really neat ‘paper stapler’ that doesn’t use metal staples, it cuts the paper and makes a little stitch, will work up to about 4 sheets. I hate metal staples, I am worried about the discarded ones getting in the paws of my puppy, cat or myself.

    Keep it up … thanks,
    Julie Andrea
    P.S. I keep bubble wrap too .. and canning jars from buying jams and pickles at the Farmer’s Markets. 🙂

    • June said

      I’ve seen those paper staplers – they look really good! I’d definitely get one, except that all I ever staple is bubble wrap, and I’m pretty sure a staple-less stapler wouldn’t work for that…

  3. Carina said

    Excellent! You know, I actually prefer brown envelopes.. white ones look so ‘official’ – and usually have boring bills in them! (-;

    Whenever I receive something in a padded envelope, I open it very carefully so I can reuse it. Strangely, the husband doesn’t quite agree with the pile of envelopes under the bed..! (-:

    • June said

      Hehe, I do the same thing with cardboard boxes – I flatten them all and store them until next time I need to mail a parcel. (Plus, boxes and padded envelopes are really expensive to buy new!)

  4. I think that is fabulous, June. It is nice to hear how you are doing your part.

    I recycle all the envelopes that I can, and I really should be looking for FSC products when I stock up on paper and envelopes again.

    • June said

      I know it’s not much, but I’ve got through 300 envelopes in the past few months, so it does add up over time. And tiny changes are much easier to maintain than grand gestures like “I’ll only ever buy recycled paper from now on” 🙂

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