Sustainability
Sustainability is very important to us. It's one of the main components we consider when choosing our brands. It's also one of the main reasons we only carry natural fibers.
Natural fibers are intrisically biodegradable. They come from the earth, and they can go back to the earth at the end of their life. And we believe this closed-loop life cycle of a garment is one reason - out of many - that making your own clothing by hand can be such a beautiful and rewarding thing.
As with many shops and businesses, avoiding plastics can be difficult. Oftentimes, brands package their products in plastic to keep them safe and secure during travel. We try to avoid plastic packaging when we can, but it inevitably becomes something we have to deal with in our shop. We want to continue to work with brands that see the benefit in ditching plastics alltogether, and look forward to a future where all packaging is biodegradable.
OUR PACKAGING
When researching our packaging options, we came across alot of terms - compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, recycled, post-consumer, plant-based - in the end, we decided it was best to have as much of our packaging be paper recyclable as possible, with as much of it being made up of recycled content as possible too.
Below you'll find a list of the packaging materials we use, and guidance for what to do with them when you're done opening your package.
The box
The box your order is packaged in is fully cardboard with no staples or plastic tape. It can be reused for your own shipments, passed on to a friend who might need it, or recycled in your normal paper recycling. And because it's entirely paper, it can also be composted! We're continuing to work hard to find boxes that are 100% post-consumer material as well.
the mailer
The mailer your order is packaged in is made of 100% recycled paper content. It can be resued or recycled in your normal paper recycling. And because it's entirely paper, it can also be composted!
the tape
The tape that seals your order is a non-reinforced, water-activated paper tape. We chose non-reinforced because the reinforcement is normally done with fiberglass filaments, which have to be separated out in the recycling process. As well, water-activated tape uses a natural adhesive that is chemical-free and 100% recyclable and biodegradable. Because of this, you don't have to take the tape off your package - simply toss it in your normal recycling or compost alongside your box or mailer!
the shipping label
This is where it gets tricky - normal adhesives are not actually recyclable. Even if a label is paper, the adhesive will have to be filtered out in the recycling process. We're working hard to find shipping labels that are 100% recyclable and biodegradable. The entire packagewillstill break down in your compost, but the adhesive won't. So for now, you can either remove your label from your box or mailer, or recycle the whole package in your normal paper recycling.
the plastic bag
If your yarn comes in a plastic bag, please note that it's a reused plastic bag. Many of our suppliers have to ship their yarns to us in plastic to protect it, so we've saved all those bags for our own packaging. You can either reuse the bag for your own needs, or recycle it in your normal plastic recycling.