ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING AND MATERIALS
Updated: Jul 12, 2018
What I'm doing to take steps towards running a more natural + eco-friendly business and life.
I have talked on Instagram in the past about my effort to be thoughtful about my sourcing, which includes making ethical and earth conscious decisions when I'm purchasing supplies. I know that there are so many ways that I can do better personally and in my business to make more eco-friendly choices, but I have been consciously working to make my materials and packaging more green and to know where I'm sourcing my materials from. Here are a few things that I'm doing to take steps in that direction!
All of my jewelry comes in a hand stamped 100% cotton drawstring bag that helps protect your silver from tarnishing. I use recycled kraft paper gift boxes and mailers that are 100% recycled from 90% post consumer content, and shipping labels from 100% post consumer content. I finish my packages with a natural hemp bow, and have business cards on order made from recycled 100% cotton t-shirts.
Also, I recently made the switch from sterling silver to argentium silver, which I use for my pendants and bracelet accents. I will write more about the differences between sterling and argentium soon and link to it. In short, argentium silver is awesome because it's tarnish resistant, has an even higher silver content than sterling (.935 instead of .925), and is made here in the US from recycled silver.
My next step is trying to find substitutions for the leather necklaces that I offer for pendants and the silk cords that I use for malas. I would love to have everything be vegan friendly, but I also want to keep my materials as natural as possible and many vegan options for cords contain plastics and other synthetic fibers that I want to avoid. So for now I continue to offer leather necklaces as a less expensive alternative to silver, and 100% natural silk cord for malas.
I share all of this to be transparent with my business practices, show you what you're getting when you purchase from me, let you know that I'm always trying to make the next right choice when it comes to environmentally friendly practices, and also to say that I KNOW that I could be doing better and I'm trying to find ways to make that happen.
On a similar note:
For me, the shift towards natural/eco-friendly alternatives to conventional supplies and products in my personal life didn't happen overnight. Like I remember when I first started making changes to my body care and household products when I was working for a natural food store and learning more about the physical and environmental impact that certain materials and ingredients can have on our bodies and our Earth. It was a slow process to switch to mostly natural and organic foods, and to find natural body care products and cleaning supplies that worked for me. It's still a process! (If someone can find me a natural toothpaste that actually leaves my mouth feeling clean you'll be my new best friend. Seriously, let me know!) But I feel that every little change that I make with natural products in my house and natural materials in my business is a step in the direction that I want to go. It's not perfect. I'm not perfect. But it's something that I think about, and something that's important to me. And I think that talking about it and sharing about the ways that we can all make little changes in our lives can add up to some pretty big changes.
So I'd love to hear from you! How do you feel about eco-friendly materials and products? Is it something that you think about when you're purchasing something, or is it something that you'd like to start thinking about more? No judgment either way, but I would love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Until next time.
All my best,
Bella
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