5 Tips to Becoming More Sustainable As A Small Business
In honor of Earth Day being last week, we decided it would be a great time to discuss some things you could do as a small business owner to reduce your carbon footprint and make the world a little bit better to live in.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Sustainability is based on a simple principle. Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.”
Avoid Single Use Products
As a small business owner, you’re faced with many choice on a day-to-day basis. Let’s say you’re a farmer and you’re going to sell your produce at your local Farmers Market over the summer. You know your customers will likely be buying in bulk so they’ll need something to carry their goods in. You could get plastic bags because they are cheaper and more convenient, or you could choose recycled paper bags. They decompose and won’t clog up our landfills and harm our oceans and wildlife.
You could even sell reusable shopping bags or cotton totes and it would be a win all around. They take up little space and can be reused every time you take a trip to the store.
If you just love the concept of plastic bags and find that’s the best option, they do make reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable versions but they will be more expensive.
We offer several different styles of reusable bags in our shop because it’s not only a way to transport your new goodies home, but they can be used every single day and that eliminates so many plastic bags each year.
Ditch the Chemicals
Whether you’re a home-based business or you have several brick and mortar locations, you’ll likely need supplies to keep your space cleaned, sanitized, and tidy. Chances are, the products you’re used to purchasing have a massive list of unpronounceable chemicals and toxins that you’re breathing in during each use and you don’t even know it. When you think of cleaners, you think of them as making your space better to be in, but in reality it’s actually quite harmful. Not only do these products contain a ton of chemicals, but they are also made with non-renewable resources like petroleum and are not biodegradable.
It’s a great time to ditch those indoor air pollutants and stick to greener, more natural cleaners. When you’re shopping for products to use, try to look for a label that says something along the lines of “made with recycled materials” or “made from post-consumer waste.” Don’t forget the “not tested on animals” Of course not all things will have this label, but if you see it, changes are it’s a good option.
You can even make your own cleaners with inexpensive and safer ingredients like vinegar and lemons. Below are some examples of household products that would be a great in creating an alternative to your chemical-ridden cleaners.
Vinegar is a natural degreaser, deodorizer, and disinfectant with antiseptic and anti-fungal properties.
Baking soda is a natural abrasive, deodorizer, and disinfectant.
Citric acid is an effective disinfectant and is good at killing mold. It’s antibacterial and anti-fungal.
Be sure to research safety before mixing any ingredients together and get your recipes from a reputable source.
Shop at Thrift Stores
By shopping at thrift stores, you are keeping these items from ending up in landfills and contributing to greenhouse gases, reducing carbon pollution from wasting materials, supporting your local economy and community, preventing water waste from creating new products, spending less, and so much more!
As a small business, we find ourselves needing a lot of storage bins and shelving units to display our products. We always check at our local thrift stores for items such as baskets, frames, and other miscellaneous things.
Before you throw out those old books or furniture items, ask yourself if someone else could make good use of the item? If you answered yes, you should donate it to your local thrift store.
You never know what amazing things you’re going to find and do we need to mention the amount of money you’ll save in doing so?
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Yes, this is a simple one but it is important. The best way to keep waste out of the landfill is to never send it there in the first place. Try not to buy things that are disposable but reusable so you not only won’t have to keep buying the product, but you’re also making a difference to the environment. For example, by ditching the single-use plastic K-cups for reusable ones, you could stop 365 of them from getting sent to the landfill if you drink 1 per day each year.
If you do have plastic or other recyclable materials, we urge you to actually recycle them instead of tossing them in your garage can. It’s such an easy step that could make a world of difference when we all do it together.
Before you toss everything into a recycling bin, first check to see if you could reuse any of it. All of those paper scraps you have from years of old files? Shred them up and make seed paper. Less waste and you’re helping the pollinators of the world. Things like cardboard boxes, we always try to reuse. Did you know you could use your old cardboard to start a compost bin? That’s another excellent way to help the planet!
A great example of reusable products we like to use are organza bags. We use them to ship our jewelry in because they not only keep the product safer during transit, but they are also reusable and can be used in many different ways. You can:
1. Fill with soap scraps & wash your hands
2. Fill with herbs/potpourri & store in closet/drawers
3. Store jewelry inside to protect against damage
4. Fill with oatmeal/herbs and add to your bath
5. Protect plants in your garden from bugs
6. Store hair accessories inside to carry on-the-go
7. Store the rocks you collected on your hike
8. Organize beads or other craft supplies
9. Fill with individually wrapped candies/snacks
10. Use for party favors/gift bags
Switch to Sustainable Packaging
If you are a small business that ships tangible products, there are quite a few alternatives you could consider switching to that could help make a huge difference.
Arguably one of the most important changes for e-commerce businesses to make is to switch to compostable mailers. They are made usually from plant-based materials and should break down within 180 days. Compostable mailers are more expensive, but they will decompose instead of collecting in a landfill. If you ship 1 package a month, that is around 30 mailers. In just one year, that is around 365 mailers collecting. You’re just one business. Could you imagine how many fewer mailers would sit in the landfill if we all switched to using compostable ones? Insane.
If you can’t find or afford compostable mailers, recycled ones are great as well. They’re made from recycled plastics and by using recycled materials, you’re reducing the amount of waste in landfills and preventing pollution from the collection of these materials.
Corrugated packaging (AKA our “cardboard” box) is so common that you probably wouldn’t believe this next part… It is made from sustainably-managed forests and for each tree that is harvested for packages, 3 more are planted in its place. Therefore corrugated packaging is renewable, can be reused, recycled, and composted!
When we order things online, we almost always reuse the box to ship our online orders. If you get an order from us in a Target box, now you know why. We’re not being “cheap,” we’re being environmentally conscious. You should try to do the same thing and if you feel weird about it, just include a little note about why you’re doing that!
Kraft paper has become increasingly more popular and we’re so glad to see it. It’s made from all types of wood pulp so nothing is wasted and that makes it biodegradable! Kraft paper is lightweight and more durable than traditional paper because it skips the extensive bleaching process. It comes in many different materials such as paper rolls and envelopes so it’s very versatile.
We’ll be the first to admit we do not live the most sustainable lifestyle and we have tons of room for improvement. What’s important is that we are learning and sharing the information we have gathered. Small steps lead to big changes so take the leap today and do better for yourself and the planet. Choose reusable, compostable, biodegradable.
We hope this blog has inspired you to make some changes in your small business or your lifestyle if you find them fit. If you plan on adopting any of these methods, let us know in the comments! We would love to discuss it with you!
Also as a special thank you for reading this blog, take 10% off your next order with promo code: “BLOG10”!