We pack ecologically
Packing organically
Basically, from the beginning, when our goods started to be sold in larger quantities and we saw the large consumption of packaging materials, we addressed the question of how we could do it differently, more environmentally friendly. However, the decision to go green was not enough on its own and there was still a long way to go.
I would like to start by answering the questions we often get:
1) Why are most of our goods individually packaged in bags?
2) Can't goods be delivered without packaging?
In order to be able to respond flexibly to orders, we have a large stock of stock. We have a large warehouse of about 350m2, which is just the goods (we have fabrics one floor up, they wouldn't fit). We keep every item from our e-shop (every colour and size) in stock, usually in a few dozen pieces.
The goods are shelved item by item to avoid mixing colours and sizes, and to allow for fast shipping, which is one of the main pillars of our work. Goods stocked in such a quantity and really large post of items (we have almost 5 thousand of them) can normally be in stock for several months, exceptionally even longer, before they reach you. Only good packaging will ensure that these goods are not damaged, dusty, wrinkled by clean handling, etc. At the same time, goods secured in this way can be stored in racks so that they can be easily counted during inventory, easily stacked and unstacked, rechecked before shipment, etc.
We would like to mention at this point that even buying goods in a brick-and-mortar store, where they are taken off the rack and put into a plastic, or at best paper bag, does not mean that the goods did not arrive at the store packed. That is simply not possible.
We try not to pack what is not necessary such as baby diapers and small items such as neckwear, hats, scarves, gloves, hair elastics, etc. that we are able to hold and handle in stock from larger sealed packages and therefore do not pack them individually.
Unfortunately, the solution is not even that you personally want to deliver the goods without packaging. In that case, the practice would be that we would remove the goods from the packaging for you before dispatch, however the packaging cannot then be reused. Due to the huge number of items, it is not possible to store the packaging with the label anywhere already in use, so that we can quickly and clearly get to it and know about it when we pack the goods. It is simply not possible in such a volume. To make this possible would increase our space requirements and staff costs, which would have to be reflected in the price of the goods. And our goods would be less competitive, and fewer customers would choose them, who are otherwise happy to support Czech production if the price is acceptable. Not to mention the fact that the bags with the adhesive strip, once opened, never stick as well as when they are brand new, and there is no way to keep the adhesive strip from sticking to something else, because the covering foil is already torn off.
So the covers are necessary, and what to do about it?
Because packaging is simply necessary in our operation, we considered what to use that would be environmentally friendly. Because we need to keep goods in packaging where at least some of it is transparent (for colour control), we considered between paper packaging with a see-through window and compostable packaging like we use at home for snacks, as bags for the mixed waste bin, etc. The paper bags were the last resort for us, because they are not as resistant to tearing or even moisture, the transparent window is made of plastic anyway, and it was almost impossible to find a bag of the right size and a bag with an adhesive strip. So our path was towards compostable packaging, but lo and behold!
Compostable packaging - yes or no?
Compostable packaging is perfect. We use them ourselves at home- snack bags, bin liners, dog poop bags. For things we know will end up in a landfill, it's the best alternative. BUT! Unfortunately, as we started to "dabble" in this issue, our path away from compostable packaging for goods started to drift. The biggest hit for us was information from the packaging disposal companies. We figured we were kind of picturing this ecology thing as a bit of a Hurricane War.
1) Compostable packaging should not be dumped in bio-waste bins. While they can be composted, it takes much longer than regular biomass and slows down the entire bio-waste disposal process
- Compostable packaging is not to be disposed of with regular plastic (in yellow bins). They are indistinguishable from regular plastic when sorted and since incinerators are not equipped to dispose of mixed plastics (regular and eco), these eco plastics in turn make it difficult to dispose of regular plastics.
- Compostable packaging therefore belongs in landfill, i.e. in regular, mixed waste. While they will decompose in a landfill with no negative environmental impact, which is the main thing, under normal conditions they take many years to decompose in this way and simply exist in nature. So, for example, as a threat to animals they are, regardless of the fact that they are environmentally disposable.
Our main question subsequently was whether everyone, or at least the majority of those who purchase our goods, will be informed, or will read on the bag, the indication that it is not a conventional plastic and as such must be disposed of with mixed waste and not with plastic. We have not been able to get an informed answer. There is a section of conscious customers who dispose of the bag with plastic thinking they are doing the right thing, then a section who do not sort their waste and the bag would then end up (and essentially) correctly in landfill. Then a proportion of those who get the information and knowingly dispose of the bag in the mixed waste bin. Who will be more? Will we help or hurt by making it harder to dispose of common plastics?"
We have also learned that the worst packaging is made from a combination of conventional and environmentally degradable plastic, which actually follows logically if you think about it, because then there is no proper way to recycle. It's better in the sense that if the packaging ends up in landfills, at least some of it will be environmentally degraded over time, but there is still some of it that could be handled much more environmentally by recycling or disposing of the conventional plastic.
Another view that we also encountered, which surprised us a lot and made us think, is that a lot of plastic is not recycled, although it could be, because there is no demand for it because it costs more to produce than new plastic.
However, it makes sense to us to use recycled plastic to increase the current demand for recycled plastic, we are willing to pay for the finished product made from it. We have found a Czech company, a packaging manufacturer, who use waste from their normal plastic production to produce recycled plastic. Its undeniable advantage is that this recycled plastic can be further recycled, i.e. handled and sorted like regular plastic. This does not create any new material for which there is then no use. We also have the advantage of manufacturing in the Czech Republic, so by buying these plastics we support the Czech economy and reduce our carbon footprint.
Packaging made from recycled plastic for further recycling is therefore the way we have chosen and it makes sense for us.
Our transparent bags and the grey plastic envelopes we send parcels in are therefore made from recycled plastic and can be treated like regular plastic, so they can be sorted. Larger parcels are packed in cardboard boxes.