We’re parents of three exceptional children and want to leave things better than we found. For us, that means working hard to reduce our waste at home and making choices in our business that help minimizes waste and lessen our environmental impact. We don’t have a revolutionary new plan to accomplish that, just a commitment to the three Rs and an L.
1. Reduce
When choosing products for the shop, we consider several things, but at the top of the list is how those products are made, what kind of packaging they come in, and what they will require to carry them in our store. If a product comes in a plastic container or is attached to a piece of cardboard, we ask if that can be excluded from the following order. The point is to keep trying.
When you buy in our shop, we always ask that you choose a digital receipt, save a bag, or allow us to recycle any plastic that may have come with your item.
2. Reuse
If something comes into the shop, we try to find a new purpose for it before we properly dispose of that item. That means reusing shipping materials from product deliveries for the orders our customers place online. So don’t be shocked if that box your purchase arrives in has another brand’s name on it.
3. Recycle
We work hard to recycle everything that can’t be reused. Some things, like cardboard, are easy to recycle. Other items, not so much. That’s why we’ve partnered with the awesome folks at Ridwell to properly recycle all of the plastic film and bubble wrap that comes into the shop. They even help us recycle our batteries, lightbulbs, threads, styrofoam, and cork!
4. Local
Our commitment to sustainability starts at the local level. The closer to home we can find the products we carry, the less shipping is involved in getting those products into the shop. Plus, we get the added benefit of forming meaningful relationships with those brands and makers. When we all work together, we can build a robust local ecosystem of products and services on which our community can rely.