Eco Promise

 One of the most important aspects I wanted to ensure in my business, was a level of eco-conscious awareness.

Designing and selling your own ranges comes with many challenges but I knew that there were three eco-conscious things which would lead my decision making:

  1. To eliminate single use plastic from my packaging and products. This includes not using bubble wrap, not using plastic cello bags (not even biodegradable plastic, because it is still just plastic) on my prints and not opting for lamination (which is a plastic coating) on my greetings cards, sticker sheets or bookmarks.

  2. To reduce the miles my products travel whilst being created, and

  3. Create products which support wildlife or environmental projects.

It has taken two years of sampling and testing to get to a point where I am achieving these three goals. It is still not perfect but I am always striving! 

 

PAPER NOT PLASTIC

Currently, I've managed to get all of my paper products (and their paper packaging) to be plastic free! Yay!

Thus far, my paper products are recyclable, bio-degradable and compostable. I use tissue paper and rigid cardboard backers to wrap my large prints and translucent glassine paper envelopes for my small prints, bookmarks and sticker sheets.

Glassine Envelopes - image copyright bedwynstamps

  

CUTTING DOWN THE MILES

I have also worked hard to find a reliable printing service for my Fine Art Prints with a eco-conscious ethos.

In the end - it is me!!

I purchased a professional large format printer, and each print is printed in-house by me and quality checked before being lovingly packaged and dispatched.

This simple step has reduced the CO2 impact of each print, and the miles each print travels before it reaches you.

As I only print what is needed and ordered by the customer, I have less paper waste.

I also purchase the my fine art printing papers from a UK company and order it in bulk. So again, less travel for smaller quantities.

 

FAIRSHARE T-SHIRTS

I have specifically selected my t-shirt printing company for their eco-conscious credentials.

Each t-shirt is created under a Fairshare scheme, is printed with eco-friendly inks, is 100% vegan, and is made from organic cotton.

The UK based print company only use ink that’s OEKO-TEX certified, which means they contain no chemicals which negatively impact or harm the environment.

The T-Shirts are also printed using Direct To Garment (DTG) printing, using a process similar to inkjet printing. Once printed, it is heat cured to seal the image to the garment. This process bonds the ink to the fibres of the T-Shirt, so it is very soft and does not feel rubbery.

TSHIRT PACKAGING

All orders are shipped using eco friendly 100% plastic-free packaging.­

Your T-Shirt will wrapped in tissue paper before being packaged in an eco friendly brown paper mailing bag.­ The bags are FSC certified meaning that they are manufactured from sustainable sources. They are also 100% recyclable and biodeg­ra­dable.

FAIRSHARE TSHIRTS

Just a small increase in the price of the FAIR SHARE garment makes it possible to pay the poorest workers in the factory a wage increase of 50%. From the beginning of 2016, all the workers at the factory making these products in India receive an additional premium towards the living wage. The price premium is passed along the value chain, from the factory through to the retailer without being marked up, ensuring that the small additional cost at the point of sale is returned to the workers in its entirety. It should cover the basic needs of the workers and their families.

 

GREETINGS CARDS

In the beginning of 2022, I launched a new range of greetings cards which support the work of the Woodland Trust; the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity.

The new cards are printed near Helston, in Cornwall, UK by Sixprint. They are a professional fine art printing company specialising in services for artists, illustrators and photographers. They are supporters of The Woodland Trust project.

They only use only carbon captured papers for the production of all their greetings cards, so every card you buy from me helps to fund the fantastic efforts of the woodland trust in protecting and creating our beautiful native woodlands.

Furthermore, the paper I have chosen for my cards is FSC Certified, pH neutral, Long life certified, Chlorine and heavy metal free.