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I said at the end of 2021 that I wanted to improve my business eco credentials so I thought I would give you a little update on how i’m getting on.

Why do I care? 

So something you may not know about me is that my degree is actually in Geography. I’m passionate about the environment and I try to reduce waste and recycle as much as I can in my everyday life, so why shouldn’t I be doing this for my business. 

Where I was this time last year. 

• All my prints were on recycled paper
• My Christmas cards had recycled envelopes and no plastic packaging.  
• I recycled old canvases (it gives better texture anyway!)
• My business cards are on recycled paper.
• I save and reuse parcel packaging to ship your orders.

Where I am now.

I haven’t gone back on anything I was doing in the last year, so have kept up all the list above, but I have really tried to improve and I can now add the following to the list. 

• My print backs are now recycled and I ask my framer to use off cuts wherever possible for my mount boards. 
• My christmas cards are now printed on recycled paper - so pleased I’ve been able to make this switch, i’ve been trying to work out the costs for a few years now and I’ve finally found a great company with great quality recycled papers. 
• All my paperwork is printed on brown recycled kraft paper which I had my branding designed around, so it all looks pretty too!
• My gift bags are all fully recycled. 

• I’ve stopped using white spirit to wash my brushes and instead i’ve invested in a water soluble cleaner for my oil paints. 
• My studio now has LED lights which are more efficient than the multiple low efficiency lamps I was using. 
• Instead of using tear off palettes and cling film covered cardboard,  I now make use of recycled jars and food containers which I keep until they fall apart. 

• Even after repeated calls to use resin on my work, i’m not because of the environmental impact of the plastic. 
• I’ve invested in an ecotank printer which eliminates the need for ink cartridges and hence reduces the waste associated with them.
• I ship my orders in batches and get the local postie to collect to save using a polluting car journey, as he’s dropping off our household post anyway. 

What I need help with. 

Obviously i’m not perfect so I would love to hear your tips and tricks for your businesses. I’ve also got a list of things I would really like to change as soon as it’s cost beneficial to do so, so if you know any good suppliers please send them over. 

• Print bags - clear, but I can’t cope with the noise of potato starch ones (autism brain) so a good alternative to those. 
• Bubble wrap alternatives.
• Masking tape / parcel tape alternatives as I go through loads of the stuff! 

From determined Eco Warrier Bob! xx