An Ethical Packaging Guide
A guide to helping individuals and businesses send items more ethically without spending hours googling each item.
(Please note that we have not been paid to write this guide, we just wanted to share our resources and provide you with a genuine review. We don't make any commission with any affiliate links you may use on this page )
As an ethical brand, we aim to be as eco-conscious as possible in every way we can. To us, it doesn't make sense to receive something without the consideration of how eco-conscious the whole process is (believe me we receive eco-friendly items with plastic and it makes us feel sad).
We've put together our ethical packaging finds that we've discovered over the years to try and make it easier for everyone to be more environmentally sound in their packaging and gift wrapping ways. We hope you find them just as useful.
Recycled unbleached tissue paper
Recycled C4 Envelopes
Recycled Brown Paper
Recycled Brown card
Recycled Brown C5 Envelopes
Eco tapes
From Tesa Tape
Eco Stamp
from The English Stamp Company
Where can you buy these items from?
Our eco-friendly logo stamp: This is one of the first items we bought when setting up The Sewing Retreat from The English Stamp Company. After a lot of research, I (Sarah the founder) found this eco-friendly company that could produce my own stamp in a matter of days and they are based in Dorset. As you can see we use our stamp to quickly brand our packaging which is a very easy and cost-effective way of branding your items, tags, packaging, etc.
Eco-friendly tapes: These tapes are made by a company called Tesa, these are easy to buy from Amazon or you can buy similar tapes from my favorite eco-friendly stationery shop at www.eco-craft.co.uk (P.S they haven't asked me to write this I just love everything about them and they run their company in an ethical way too).
Unbleached, recycled tissue paper: Also from Eco craft but they only do a small size so we also buy a larger size from eBay as well.
Recycled card: Also from Eco Craft
Roll of brown paper: Luckily Eco Craft now stock rolls of this paper as previously I was buying it from eBay but I always like to buy from fully ethical companies when I can. Also, their roll doesn't have a plastic center like most other ones out there do. As well as wrapping large parcels, it's perfect for wrapping presents too as it's not to thin that it breaks, and not too thick that you can't fold it.
Recycled envelopes: We use 4 types - C6 for samples, C5 for trimmings and threads, C4 for small fabric orders, and C4 gusset envelopes for slightly larger fabric orders, all of which we buy on eBay. We make sure they are all made using recycled paper. We also avoid any with windows due to the plastic element.
Some other great websites that we've found along the way for ethical packaging are:
The Tiny Box Company - Great if you need ethical gift boxes
Biopac - Perfect if you are looking for eco-friendly bespoke packaging
I wish I could say that you could easily buy everything in one place and it's easy to find every item but what I can say is it is getting a lot easier with the help of companies like eco craft and the demand for eco-friendly packaging. If you're also interested in ethical gift wrapping ideas, then we've got the perfect guide for you over here.
If you know of any other ethical packaging resources that may be helpful to others then we'd love to hear from you to make this page as helpful as possible for everyone. Our email is hello@thesewingretreat.co.uk
COME ON OUR WORLD TEXTILE TOUR
MORE ONHOW TO LIVE MORE ETHICALLY
