Sustainability

When it comes to sustainability, our role model is Patagonia, the iconic outdoor company. We are committed to minimizing harm, making responsible choices at every stage, and continuously improving our sustainability practices. 

The following information can also be found on our product pages.  

CARBON-NEUTRAL SHIPPING

  • We run our business on the Shopify e-commerce platform. Shopify recognises that commerce can only thrive in the long term if our planet thrives too. Even if we stop emitting CO2 today, the existing concentration in the atmosphere will continue to warm the planet. Therefore Shopify has chosen to focus on carbon removal.
  • In 2022, Shopify co-founded (with Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, and McKinsey Sustainability) the world’s first market for carbon removal, called Frontier.
  • By the end of 2023, Frontier had signed contracts worth $55 million across 40 companies to deliver almost 85,000 tons of durable carbon removal, either through Direct Air Capture or other methods. As examples:
  1. Climeworks: A Swiss company whose Direct Air Capture technology removes CO₂ from the air, after which it is permanently stored underground.
  2. Charm Industrial: Charm captures CO₂ using agricultural waste, converts it into a stable, carbon-rich liquid, and stores it deep underground.
  3. Grassroots Carbon: Helps ranchers modify land management practices to improve soil and ecological health, which captures and stores more carbon in soil.
  4. InPlanet: Uses enhanced weathering to permanently sequester carbon dioxide and regenerate tropical soils.
  5. 44.01: Eliminates CO2 by turning it into rock. Its technology accelerates the natural process of CO2 mineralization to remove captured CO2 permanently.
  • Shopify Planet is an app that allows merchants like us to shrink the carbon footprint of every order. Shopify Planet works by calculating the estimated shipping emissions from each order and then allowing us to fund carbon removal companies to offset those emissions. The app measures emissions monthly and algorithms calculate the cost of the credits we purchase. These credits ensure that all orders for the month are carbon neutral. 
  • As of December 2022, more than 8,000 Shopify merchants had used Planet to neutralize shipping emissions on over six million orders, removing more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon. 
  • By creating demand for carbon removal as buyers of credits, we can help carbon removal companies scale. Over time, this will decrease their costs and reduce the price of carbon removal credits, thereby growing the overall market.

T-SHIRTS

Our T-Shirts are responsibly produced by our partner, Belgium-based Stanley/Stella, a true sustainability pioneer. 

Production

  • GOTS Certified cotton: Cotton is grown without harmful chemicals, using 90% less water and 60% less energy compared to conventional cotton. Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification also ensures adherence to international labour standards, which is crucial as forced labour is common in some cotton-growing regions. 
  • OEKO-TEX® 100 Certified dyes. T-shirts are dyed using ‘reactive dyes,’ free from toxic and harmful chemicals, such as pesticides, heavy metals, and formaldehyde. Reactive dyes directly bond with the fibres, rather than simply coating them. Less dye is needed to penetrate the fabric, which means less rinsing, and less wastewater. Any residual wastewater is responsibly treated per OEKO-TEX® requirements.
  • 100% Vegan materials. Stanley/Stella does not conduct or commission animal test on ingredients, formulations, or finished products, and has pledged never to do so. 
  • Fair Wear® certified production: Shirts are made in a Fair Wear® certified factory in Bangladesh. This is important because labour rights are routinely ignored in the garment sector. Fair Wear® brings brands into compliance with its Code of Labour Practices (CoLP); eight labour standards derived from ILO Conventions and the UN Declaration on Human Rights.

Printing

  • Water-saving technology: Traditional T-shirt printing methods use massive amounts of water, whereas we print with advanced technology from Kornit Digital, a Bluesign® system partner, whose printers use 95% less water than conventional methods, by eliminating the dampening system used for keeping the non-image area free of ink. Instead of water, this method uses a layer of silicon that repeals the ink from the non-image area on the print. What's more, the colour range is wider, and image definition better.
  • OEKO-TEX® 100 Certified dyes: Traditional T-shirt printing methods emit toxic pollutants into our waterways, which we avoid by using water-based NeoPigment™ inks that meet strict OEKO-TEX® 100 standards. These are vibrant, colourfast inks with no harmful side effects. Water-based inks bond to the fabric itself, rather than sit on top of it. What's more, unlike conventional 'plastisol' dyes, they're not prone to cracking and peeling.

Packaging

  • We prioritize functionality over aesthetics. Your T-shirt is shipped from Europe in a post-consumer recycled (PCR) poly mailer, 70-100% of which is made from everyday items like used plastic bags and bottles. It's not flashy. It won't win a World Packaging Design Award any time soon. But it's lightweight, waterproof, and durable, all of which are needed to protect what's inside. And, it supports a circular economy, because this packaging is infinitely recyclable. 
  • We are actively exploring other packaging options. 

GREETING CARDS

Cardstock

  • Cardstock is made in the USA by Mohawk from 100% post-consumer waste (paper that has served its intended purpose and was collected through recycling programs). Here are some benefits:
    • Reduces the need for virgin wood fibres, thus conserving forests.
    • Cuts down energy and water use compared to producing paper from virgin raw materials.
    • Diverts paper from landfills, reducing waste and methane emissions from decomposing organic matter.
    • Uses less energy and generates fewer emissions than manufacturing paper from raw wood pulp.
    • Aligns with circular economy practices. 
  • The wood fibres from which the cardstock is made is certified by Preferred by Nature to meet FSC standards, which means it comes from FSC-certified recycled feedstocks. Here are some benefits:
    • Forests: Protects biodiversity, prevents deforestation, and ensures sustainable harvesting.
    • Communities: Promotes ethical labour practices and respects indigenous rights.
    • Climate: Encourages carbon storage in forests and mitigates climate change effects.
  • All this is possible without sacrificing quality. Advances in recycling technology allow 100% post-consumer waste paper to achieve comparable levels of brightness and strength as premium non-recycled papers.

Printing

  • As with our T-shirts, we use NeoPigment inks—formulated with water as the primary solvent—to minimise environmental impact and ensure user safety. Traditional inks contain petroleum-based solvents, which often contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and other harmful substances.
  • NeoPigment inks are non-hazardous, non-toxic, and biodegradable, making our greeting cards fully recyclable in municipal systems—though we suspect most people will treasure them as keepsakes instead!

JIGSAW PUZZLES

Pieces 

  • Jigsaw puzzles are made from pressed paperboard, which is highly recyclable and can be reprocessed into new paper products multiple times, reducing the demand for virgin materials. 

Printing

  • Puzzle scenes are hand-printed in the UK using advanced dye-sublimation print technology and coated with a durable varnish for long life.

Packaging

  • Puzzle pieces are packaged in an infinitely recyclable metal tin, delivered in a rigid cardboard box made from recycled materials. This tin is sourced from China by our UK production partner.