Christmas is fast approaching, the time of year when we celebrate family traditions and offer loved one’s gifts. But with the rise of consumerism are we really stopping to consider what impact our gift giving has? To us at Love to b, sustainability isn’t just a buzz word - it runs through the core of our brand and we are always seeking to improve our footprint. So how are we seeking to prioritise sustainability this year? In this blog we’ll be exploring exactly that.
1. Compostable and Earth Friendly!
Have you ever read a label on some product or other and it says ‘biodegradable’. It’s quite misleading - technically everything biodegrades, but some things take longer than others. Some materials bio-degrade very quickly (within days or weeks) whilst some may take 500 years or more. This is why it’s important to look out for phrases such as ‘home compostable’ because that generally means it’s genuinely going to decompose quickly. We’re happy to say that 99% of our packaging is either compostable or 100% recyclable.
Our packing peanuts for online orders, for instance, are made from vegetable starch and can easily be dissolved when washed down the sink, or can be home composted - no trace of harmful plastic! Small yet significant choices like this run through the fabric of who we are at ‘Love to b’ - meaning gift giving can be totally guilt free.
2. Plastic Free Gift Giving
When you choose to gift wrap with us, you’re choosing natural,British, handmade gifts that are wrapped in sustainable paper and eco-film - not plastic!
When gift wrapping online gifts, we use FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper, recycled and recyclable. This paper is made from trees grown and harvested from sustainable forests, and whilst it normally refers to first use paper, it is also possible for recycled paper to be certified by the FSC.
In-store, we wrap bamboo hamper baskets in clear NatureFlex™ Eco Wrap, as an alternative to plastic (polyprop) cellophane. Rather than using petrochemicals, this film is a packaging material made from readily biodegradable cellulose derived from wood pulp. The pulp is sourced exclusively from responsibly managed plantations and the film meets global standards for home and industrial composting. We are always seeking to cut out the use of plastic, where possible, as plastic usage is a massive environmental concern to us. We don’t take it lightly. By avoiding plastic where we can, we are ultimately lowering our carbon emissions and playing a small part in conserving our earth’s natural resources for future generations.
3. Locally Sourced Ingredients is Our Goal!
We understand the importance of sourcing ingredients and other items used by our company as close to home as possible. Whilst this is not always easy, and not always possible, it is part of our procurement journey to source locally where we can. Ultimately, we are in pursuit of cutting down on our carbon footprint and sourcing locally ensures that our products are not only made with the freshest high-quality ingredients available, but that it hasn’t cost the earth to do so.
4. Natural Skin Safe Products
Our commitment to honest business not only extends to sustainability but also to the products and their ingredients. Every step we take in business is to ensure the skincare you are getting is as natural and skin safe as possible, whilst also being kind to the planet. Many big brands use cheap filler ingredients - not us. We seek to use the very best ingredients that are available to us. All we want is to provide products that genuinely help nourish your skin and be the best it can be.
5. Keeping it Local
When you choose to shop British or and locally, you’re supporting and directly impacting local families within that community. All the good folk we employ are locals to our Ringwood community. With the rise of Amazon and other fast shopping options we think it’s important to support local brands that keep our local economies thriving.
6. Honesty is key
We cannot put our hands on our hearts and say that we are a 100% plastic free business. There are some things that are stubbornly made from plastic and for which, as yet, we have not found a good alternative. For instance, our wash and lotion bottles have plastic lotion pumps for dispensing and it is just not possible (yet) to find a sustainable alternative. However, we don’t and won’t use plastic bottles or tubes - our products can be found in glass or metal containers. Our commitment to you is that we will continue to look for good substitutes and think of ways that we can reduce our (and our customer’s) footprint.
Neither can we say that all our ingredients are sourced locally. Shea, cocoa and olive plants just don’t grow well here in the UK, so it is impossible to buy commercial quantities of their beautiful oils and butters without going through an importer. We do, however, make sure that the ingredients we use are from sustainable sources, are environmentally sustainable and are not produced in an exploitative manner. Many years ago, we stopped using palm oil because of the damage its production was (and still is) doing to the rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia, the only home to the endangered orangutan. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/orangutan
We will encourage everyone to give gifts that have meaningful impact beyond just the holiday season, and to keep sustainability at the heart of their purchases. We are thankful to those of you that choose to shop with us not only at Christmas but all year round and keep coming back year after year. We appreciate each and everyone of you. We are still learning, but one thing stays the same; we have a passion for nature, as nature has the answer to so much, not only for our skin but for the future of our planet.
If you’ve got this far, thank you, we hope this message may help in some way.
With love Bea x