Zero waste....What an inspiring movment. One that, at times, seems miles away from where I currently am. But whilst I may not be able to identify as zero waste, we ARE strongly on the path of waste reduction. We are activly making more environmentally/ethically aware choices, and long term changes of our families daily habbits. Which already has, and will continue to reduce our waste footprint.
Which is awesome. Small changes matter.
There are loads of DIY tutorials online about making your own beeswax cloth to replace glad wrap. There are loads of tutorials about making your own fruit and veggie bags too. I fully intended to make them. I'm more then capable of making them.
But I wasn't doing it.
My time in this season is precious. With family, work, study and the renovations on the little old cottage continuing in full swing, my craft game is weak. Like, non-existant weak. Eventually I decided the financial cost of out sourcing these things was less then the environmental impact of not doing it. So I jumped on line and poked about to find a company that could provide me with the things I wanted at a fair price. A company that was ethical, and supported other small business.
I came accross an Australian business by the name of spiralgarden. I have been SO impressed by their customer service I just had to share them here. This is not a sponsered post, I simply want to show this business some support and appreciation for their desire to go above and beyond.
A little while ago I put in an order for some things. Beeswax wraps, mesh bags, large and small fair trade woven baskets and a fair trade "Jenga" style building set for Angus's 6 birthday. There was a small technical glitch, as sometimes happens and which was no ones fault. When I emailed to enquire the it was too late for the Jenga set to arrive for Angus's birthday. They were also a little short on supplies of the large baskets after the big christmas rush. I completly understood, and as we are also a small, family run business. I understand all to well how frustrating supply issues can be!
But what most impressed me was their desire to fix it above and beyond what was necessary. They kindly offered me a beautiful larger, more expensive basket for the price of the one I enquired about and promised to post me a set of beeswax wraps on them when they arrived. Which was completly unnecessary. They also increased my post to express to ensure the birthday present arrived ASAP. When my goods arrived I was very impressed with the quality, they are just beautiful. I LOVE my large basket and comes in handy all the time for packing drinks, snacks and bits and bobs for when we are out and about. This kind of customer service is rare these days. I will certainly be going back in the future, and highly recommend others checking them out too. They have a wonderful range of Zero waste producs and information, courses, books, eco-friendly/ethically made childrens toys. There is a beautiful simplicity in the range of products they stock, and their products are an absoloute pleasure to use.
Cloth napkins is another thing I have mentioned before. This bundle is all op-shopped. I love them, we dont iron them of fuss with them and it takes no extra effort but saves on wipes/napkins or other things people often have on hand.
My waste reduction journey is not contained to one glass jar of rubbish for the year. Though that movement greatly impresses me. But these are a few simple changes we have made which significantly reduce the amount of disposable goods that are needed in our day to day lives. Add recycling and making conscious choices to purchase things with the least packaging.....Well these things all begin to add up to a meaningful shift.
What simple changes have you made that help reduce your waste footprint?
Much love,
Emma
xx
Which is awesome. Small changes matter.
There are loads of DIY tutorials online about making your own beeswax cloth to replace glad wrap. There are loads of tutorials about making your own fruit and veggie bags too. I fully intended to make them. I'm more then capable of making them.
But I wasn't doing it.
My time in this season is precious. With family, work, study and the renovations on the little old cottage continuing in full swing, my craft game is weak. Like, non-existant weak. Eventually I decided the financial cost of out sourcing these things was less then the environmental impact of not doing it. So I jumped on line and poked about to find a company that could provide me with the things I wanted at a fair price. A company that was ethical, and supported other small business.
I came accross an Australian business by the name of spiralgarden. I have been SO impressed by their customer service I just had to share them here. This is not a sponsered post, I simply want to show this business some support and appreciation for their desire to go above and beyond.
A little while ago I put in an order for some things. Beeswax wraps, mesh bags, large and small fair trade woven baskets and a fair trade "Jenga" style building set for Angus's 6 birthday. There was a small technical glitch, as sometimes happens and which was no ones fault. When I emailed to enquire the it was too late for the Jenga set to arrive for Angus's birthday. They were also a little short on supplies of the large baskets after the big christmas rush. I completly understood, and as we are also a small, family run business. I understand all to well how frustrating supply issues can be!
But what most impressed me was their desire to fix it above and beyond what was necessary. They kindly offered me a beautiful larger, more expensive basket for the price of the one I enquired about and promised to post me a set of beeswax wraps on them when they arrived. Which was completly unnecessary. They also increased my post to express to ensure the birthday present arrived ASAP. When my goods arrived I was very impressed with the quality, they are just beautiful. I LOVE my large basket and comes in handy all the time for packing drinks, snacks and bits and bobs for when we are out and about. This kind of customer service is rare these days. I will certainly be going back in the future, and highly recommend others checking them out too. They have a wonderful range of Zero waste producs and information, courses, books, eco-friendly/ethically made childrens toys. There is a beautiful simplicity in the range of products they stock, and their products are an absoloute pleasure to use.
This was my order, just so beautiful. The boys have already mis-placed a wooden block, but at least it is a hit right?! Im sure it will turn up soon enough! ;)
Another simple way we reduce waste is to use cotton tote bags as shopping bags, here are just a few of my stash. When these are worn out, they will be composted.
When cooking alot from scratch, food storage is another simple area where waste can be reduced. I love these pyrex containers with their plastic lids. Dishwasher safe, able to go from the fridge to the oven for re-heating and sturdy, They stack well in the fridge and come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They are also affordable and easy to source. I have a couple of sets of these and the rest are currently in the fridge. They are in constant use here.
Cloth napkins is another thing I have mentioned before. This bundle is all op-shopped. I love them, we dont iron them of fuss with them and it takes no extra effort but saves on wipes/napkins or other things people often have on hand.
My waste reduction journey is not contained to one glass jar of rubbish for the year. Though that movement greatly impresses me. But these are a few simple changes we have made which significantly reduce the amount of disposable goods that are needed in our day to day lives. Add recycling and making conscious choices to purchase things with the least packaging.....Well these things all begin to add up to a meaningful shift.
What simple changes have you made that help reduce your waste footprint?
Much love,
Emma
xx
