Nancybird’s environmental impact…
We are constantly looking at the way we produce the nancybird range to see if there is a better, lower impact way of doing things.
So far we have implemented these changes:
- nancybird headquarters uses 100% wind power
- we endeavour to only use sea freight for delivery of our bulk stock- this is the most fuel efficient form of freight.
- we have flat packed all our bags- usually bags are delivered stuffed full of paper- we now have almost no paper wastage in our deliveries, and the reduced bulk also means less fuel used in shipping and delivery.
- we use recycled cardboard in our boxes for all our bulk deliveries and 100% recycled plastic bags (which our items are delivered in).
- we recycle and reuse all paper, boxes and postpacks at nancybird hq.
- we only use water based inks for all our hand printed fabrics- this is a less toxic form of printing, compared to solvent based inks and some pigments.
- we use natural fabrics – linen and cotton.
- we only use cow or sheep leathers, which are by products of the meat industry. Our hides are usually sourced from Australia and New Zealand, but due to seasonal changes, we cannot guarantee that they are always from here (All leathers are then tanned in Italy). We would like to use kangaroo in the future, as it is both a by product of the meat industry, and has a lower impact to the Australian environment than cattle or sheep farming. We have never used farmed snake or fur (and never intend to).
- we prefer to use analine or vegetable tanned leathers, both lower impact form of tanning.
- we produced a range highlighting Australia’s endangered native orchids, and donated 20% of profits to Bush Heritage Australia.
- each season we use indigenous flora and fauna in our printed motifs – we believe this adds to us appreciating and cherishing our local landscape.
- we use a 100% recycled cushion insert, made from PET water bottles, which is made into a soft poly fill.
The nature of our products and materials does mean that there will be some form of environmental impact, but we would like to try to reduce this as much as possible.
Our belief, despite all of our measures, is the major impact is in the way your item is used and taken care of – a bag that lasts 5 years is much better than one that only lasts out the year and needs to be replaced! So in cherishing your nancybird product and keeping it for a long time, this is helping reduce your environmental footprint.