The Eco-Friendly Steps We Take in Our Business

Did you know that for the first two years we only sold upcycled scrunchies? Upcycling is the process of using unwanted products and turning them into a new product. That's right, we shopped for fabric at our local thrift stores to make our scrunchies! During the pandemic, we started pivoting by offering new products such as apparel and started shopping for fabrics at our local fabric stores. We now offer a mix of scrunchies made from new and thrifted fabrics. Look for "Upcycled" in the title if you're interested in our environmental friendly scrunchies. 

Being eco-friendly has been important to us from the start. We've tried to include these practices in our business where we can from thrifting fabric, buying our scrunchie supplies locally and purchasing recyclable business cards and packaging. 

As you know, we thrift most of our fabric and purchase our supplies in North Bay, Ontario. We also thrift products to use at markets such as tablecloths, scrunchie stands (a wooden paper towel roll makes a great holder btw) and baskets. There's nothing a little elbow grease and paint can't fix!

Do you ever think about the packaging when opening an order? Pay attention to your next online order to see how much of it is actually recyclable! We use paper bags, boxes, crinkle paper and mailers that can be recycled and we even have compostable mailers. We include minimal packaging in each order as we try to keep waste at a minimum. We even write in pencil on your bag or box for local deliveries so you can erase your name and reuse the bag. Even though our packaging is simple, it is well thought out for the environment. 

However, there are always some challenges that small businesses face such as:
1) Eco-friendly packaging tends to be more expensive than buying plastic mailers and bags 

2) Buying only thrifted fabric for our scrunchies proved to be a challenge when creating custom and wholesale orders especially during a pandemic

Have you ever thought about our recyclable packaging before? What daily steps do you take to reduce waste?