With my passion for traveling, I've seen some mindblowingly gorgeous places, but my favorites always involve nature. The incredible and sensitive ecosystems of the planet are rapidly changing due to human interference, so we ALL must do our part to help preserve its unbelievable beauty.
We've all heard the term "reduce, reuse, recycle" repeatedly, but they're the first steps we all need to take to reduce our ecological footprint. While there are many issues (that I won't get into here) with the recycling systems worldwide, if we all reduce our consumption and find new uses for things otherwise destined for a landfill, we can start making some change for the better.
Of course, these steps alone aren't enough and I would encourage everyone to "vote with their wallets" and support businesses and programs that promote sustainability. There are countless other ways to reduce your footprint (e.g., consuming more plant-based protein, walking or biking over driving, and purchasing carbon offsets); however, the purpose of this post is not meant to explore all of these, but to provide insight into how I do my best to be environmentally-conscious from design to packaging!
DESIGN
I always do my best to find secondhand supplies for all of my art, especially jewelry and wire trees. Buying thrifted supplies removes the need for me to order newly manufactured ones, which is obviously better for the environment.
The unpolished mountainscapes are made by puzzling together slabs of genuine stone collected from scrap buckets at my local gem shop, giving them a new purpose. I also do my best to brainstorm ways to repurpose things before they get thrown away, resulting in pieces like my upcycled planters made from Gatorade containers (if you're interested, check out my tutorial).
PACKAGING
While I would love to have branded packing materials, such as paper bags at markets and shipping boxes for online orders, I'm proud of the fact that I use nearly 100% upcycled supplies.
At markets, I wrap all my products in repurposed paper and use upcycled bags whenever possible (otherwise only brown paper bags). I also offer upcycled gift wrapping upon request for a small fee, while supplies last.
For online orders, minus packing tape and the shipping label, EVERYTHING used to safely mail my products has been saved and repurposed, including all boxes, bubble-wrap, etc.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out or leave a comment!
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