Tag Archives: eco-friendly

News, North of England, Packaging

Jobs saved as eco-friendly packaging manufacturer is sold in pre-pack deal

A company which manufactures eco-friendly packaging for takeaway food items as well as wooden cutlery, paper straws and cups has been bought out of administration, saving the jobs of its 14 staff.

Steven Wiseglass, a director at Manchester-based Inquesta Corporate Recovery & Insolvency, was appointed administrator of Eco Packaging Products Ltd on Thursday, February 15.

Following his appointment, Mr Wiseglass completed the pre-pack sale of the business to EP2 Packaging Ltd.

Eco Packaging Products was founded in February 2020 and operated from a 25,000sq ft facility in Little Hulton, Salford. The premises are accredited with grade A status by the British Retail Consortium. EP2 Packaging is operating from the same premises.

The company supplies wholesalers with a range of corrugated cardboard and solid board takeaway food boxes which are free of plastic, responsibly sourced and biodegradable. They are used for snacks and meals as well as cakes and baked goods, pizzas, burgers and chips.

Its wooden cutlery is produced from ethically sourced birchwood and all items are recyclable, biodegradable and compostable, as are its paper straws and cups.

Mr Wiseglass said: “Eco Packaging Products showed great potential and spent a lot of money on research and development, but unfortunately business did not go quite the way its owners wanted.

“We are pleased that the business has been sold and that the jobs of its employees have been safeguarded, and hope it flourishes under its new ownership.”

News

Planet-conscious PR agency partners with recycled cashmere company

A Yorkshire-based, purpose-driven PR agency has been appointed to handle the PR for the second-hand cashmere brand, Nearly New Cashmere Co.

LIT Communication is supporting Nearly New Cashmere Co with a tailor-made digital PR strategy and media relations to help grow the digital presence of its eCommerce store. They’ll also be raising awareness on a local and regional level for the fashion company’s physical retail store in Masham, Yorkshire Dales and their busy schedule of pop-up events.

Established in 2018 and based in West Yorkshire, LIT Communication is a conscious copywriting and PR agency specialising in ethical communications, public relations management and strategy. The agency is a remote-first, 4-day working week business that supports clients from all over the globe to drive organic business growth and brand awareness.

Nearly New Cashmere Co was founded in 2015 by Alison Orr after she decided to pursue her passion for second-hand buying and selling. Now, the sustainable fashion retailer has a growing team and continuously finds innovative new ways to restore and recycle discarded 100% cashmere that would otherwise face a future in landfill – transforming them into high-quality, unique cashmere pieces. The company is on a mission to be the go-to destination for luxurious, sustainable cashmere clothing and accessories at affordable prices. 

Sophie Marsden, Director of LIT Communication, explains: “We’ve recently started to focus on working with climate-conscious and sustainable companies and are delighted that Alison and the team at Nearly New Cashmere Co have chosen us to manage their PR. 

“While we don’t exclusively work with eco-friendly businesses, we are being much more selective about the types of clients that we work with. The opportunity to work with people like Alison and her team, whose values closely align with ours, is fantastic. We can’t wait to communicate the brand’s story and raise awareness of the positive impact that second-hand fashion can have on the planet.

“Our values must align with that of our clients, and we would rather grow slowly without compromising on that. I’m not afraid of turning down briefs from companies that aren’t a good fit for us.”

Nearly New Cashmere Founder and Co-Director Ali Orr commented: “PR is a significant investment for our small business marketing budget. So, we needed to choose a team that could help us multiply our output and maximise every penny spent on marketing. It was clear from their pitch that this would be the case with LIT Communication. Like us, LIT Communication is a small but ambitious team, so it was an easy value-led decision.”

“We have ambitious plans to grow the business. We have a strong returning customer base but plan to make big strides at increasing the top of our funnel in the next 1-2 cashmere seasons. With the cost of paid ads increasing, we plan to achieve this with an email and SMS-based loyalty programme and PR.”

The new client win follows a successful first nine months of the year for LIT Communication after securing new PR contracts with Systemise Fulfilment, Bobble Digital, and That Works Agency.

Christmas, Climate, News

Liesbeth Deddens: Ideas for deep green gifts you can share this Christmas

Liesbeth Deddens shares thoughtful gifts that can also help the planet

Climate change sceptics excluded, we recognise that our environment is in very serious trouble indeed.

If you have loved ones who are deeply committed to the environment and combating climate change here are some idea for inspiring gifts you can give them this Christmas. Some of these suggestions may also be perfect for rewarding staff or treating special clients.

Rainwater

Of all the things we consider as environmentally damaging, water waste is perhaps not one that springs to mind very quickly. But, in fact, the average household uses 150 litres of water a day and very little of that is used for drinking or cooking. Harvesting rainwater is not only environmentally responsible, it also promotes self-sufficiency and saves money!

Rainwater harvesting can be as simple as having a water butt in your garden to collect rainwater for plants/lawns. It can go further with filtering systems, so rainwater can be used for toilets and baths. If you want to spoil your favourite “greeny” with anything from a decorative water butt to a complete harvesting system, you can get plenty of inspiration from Celtic Sustainables.

Experiences

Your environmentalist might relish glamping, mountain biking, or zip lining for example. Companies such as BuyAGift and Red Letter Days arrange experiences like this.

If travel might negate some of the environmental benefit, why not find an experience nearby? If they don’t automatically offer gift vouchers, most local businesses will come up with something. Think about what they would really like, perhaps a slap-up meal at their local vegan restaurant or look into local courses in hedge laying or bee keeping.

Alternatively, give them an experience where they don’t need to leave the house. Zero travel and you won’t have to worry whether the current situation will mean they can’t redeem their vouchers in time, due to travel restrictions. Airbnb is a good place to look. Your loved one can dive with a shark expert, go on a safari, or even experience the Great Wall of China, all from the comfort of home!

Trees

With more trees planted we’ll have less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and more oxygen. Also, planting trees helps counter mass deforestation. However, there are limitations: A sapling is unlikely to suck up enough carbon to make much difference immediately; only mature trees really have an effect. You could buy your environmentalist friends a sapling to start their contribution to the process.

If space is an issue, you don’t have to land your loved one with a tree bigger than their garden can accommodate. The Woodland Trust gives you the opportunity to buy ‘trees for bees’. For just £10, you can help the Trust plant more trees and create future homes for wildlife in the UK. They even send you a certificate that you can personalise.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

Green charities

It may not sound like the kind of thing that will excite your loved one when sitting round the tree on Christmas morning, but your planet-friendly friend does not necessarily want lots of ‘stuff’. After all, consumerism and a surplus of objects that we don’t need and which then have to be disposed of, sooner or later, is part of the problem and reason we find ourselves in such a dire situation environmentally. So, it’s highly likely that knowing you have given your money to a charity that they believe in, will actually go down rather well.

There are so many charities and if you know what their favourite is, that’s the one to go for. If you’re not sure, think about what their chief reasons for caring about the environment are, and pick a charity accordingly. If they are concerned about the impact on wildlife, consider a donation to WWF, Born Free or similar. If deforestation is their bug bear, try something like the Rainforest Trust. And if you’re not entirely sure, Greenpeace is a good bet! The good part about this is you can donate what you would usually spend on a gift so the donation can be big or small enough to suit your budget.

https://www.wwf.org.uk/
https://www.bornfree.org.uk/
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/

Carbon dioxide removal

A Climeworks subscription is a unique proposition that anyone who wants to help reduce their impact on the planet will love!

Climeworks removes carbon dioxide directly from the air, which is then stored safely and permanently underground. What’s clever about this is that it removes historic CO2, i.e. the carbon dioxide that has been kicking around for some time and that needs to be removed to keep global warming under control.

Climeworks works with big organisations, such as Stripe or Shopify, to help them remove their carbon footprint but it is also available to people like you and me – making it a great Christmas gift. For as little as €7 per month, 85kg of carbon dioxide can be removed from the air per year. That’s the equivalent of around four trees.
https://www.climeworks.com/gift

5. A smarter smart phone

As techradar has reported “ICT (Information and Communication Technology) represented just 1% of the carbon footprint in 2007 and, according to the researchers, will top 14% by 2040.” Despite their size, the increased use of smartphones means they play a large part in these figures. Mining the resources and raw materials means that before it even lands on your doorstep the building of a smartphone represents 85-95% of its total carbon emissions for two years of its life.

Your friend or family member won’t thank you for buying them a new phone unless they really need one but, if they do, enter Fairphone; they are all about designing longer-lasting products that can be repaired. Their materials are responsibly sourced, and they have replaceable modules that you can use to fix the phone yourself! And they can be recycled when the time finally comes to replace them. At just under £400, they’re not an inexpensive gift, but they are one that the recipient can expect to enjoy for (literally) years to come! Or, again, why not get them a gift card for them to redeem when they do need it: https://shop.fairphone.com/ch_en/gift-card/

Solar chargers/power banks

Our phones need charging, as do other portable devices, such as tablets and laptops. This means using electricity, of course. To be fair, charging a device actually uses relatively little electricity but all the small efforts that go into conserving electricity add up. So, another great gift idea is a solar charger or a solar power bank.

In addition to the environmental benefits, solar chargers and solar power banks for your portable devices are both economical and handy.

There is a wide range of options. You find ideas here:
https://www.lifewire.com/best-portable-solar-chargers-4149830

You have a wide choice of green gifts that you can give this Christmas so I hope these suggestions will help you go deep green.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liesbeth Deddens is from Climeworks. Climeworks empowers people to reverse climate change by permanently removing carbon dioxide from the air.

One of two things happens to the Climeworks air-captured carbon dioxide: either it is returned to earth, stored safely and permanently away for millions of years, or it is upcycled into climate-friendly products such as carbon-neutral fuels and materials, fertilizer for greenhouses or bubbles in your fizzy drinks. The Climeworks direct air capture technology runs exclusively on clean energy, and the modular CO2 collectors can be stacked to build machines of any size.

Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks strives to inspire 1 billion people to act now and remove carbon dioxide from the air.

Together we can build a climate-positive world. Join us!