Product Impact

I have been very focused over the past few years on finding the absolute best packaging in terms of eco-friendliness. While I am always learning and discovering new options, I finally feel this is something I have nailed down. In 2021, I now move my focus to the environmental impact of the products themselves.

I have started this year off by creating a system to analyze current products and products that I consider for the future. I unfortunately don’t have access to all the information about how all the raw materials for my products are produced. So, with that being said I came up with 5 criteria for eco-friendliness in my shop that I think does a pretty good job of starting to analyze this. 

For a possible score of 100% we have:

Is it made of recycled materials? 20%

Is it a natural material? 20%

Is it renewable? 20%

Is it durable? 20%

Can it be repurposed/recycled at the end of its life? 20%

 It’s not perfect, but is better than ignoring the issues altogether :)

Here are how my current products score…

While I continue to sell the stock of my enamel pins and vinyl stickers, I would love to find alternative options for these or transition to new exciting products with a higher eco-score. 

Something I think many of us don’t think about is that plastic is a fossil fuel, and a non-renewable resource, that requires destroying ecosystems to create. Many fabrics we use today are made of plastic: Acetate, polyester, nylon, lycra,  and spandex. These fabrics leech micro-plastics into water systems every time they are washed. While I don’t think we have yet found perfect alternatives for all of plastic’s uses, I am working towards eliminating any virgin plastics from my shop. The first step I took towards this was the elimination of fleece blankets and sweatshirts in 2021. I hope in the future to offer alternatives that incorporate renewable or recycled materials.