Hey everyone and welcome to our first Blog here at oh!
As one of our passions is our planet, we thought we would have a brief look at the topic of ‘sustainability’ in relation to the environment and oh!s journey to becoming a more sustainable brand.
What is the dictionary definition of sustainability?
‘Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance’
Mmmmm, so what does that actually mean in lamens terms! Basically stop overusing and replace / re-use or re-cycle what you can, but bear in mind, some things cannot be replaced and we will run out.
It is up to all of us to protect the future of our planet for the sake of our children, children’s children … and so on, so we need to be mindful of what affects our planet.
It is well known that single use plastic, for example, depletes natural resources, contributes to global warming, and harms wildlife, us and our atmosphere. Therefore its important that we recycle and re-use plastics as much as possible, or swap to something different that is more environmentally friendly.
Interesting fact
Did you know that it takes upto 1000 years for a plastic bag to degrade in landfill?
Basically it never really goes away and currently there are 100 million plastic bags used in the UK in 1 year. WOW!
The more we reduce, reuse and recycle products and materials instead of throwing them away, the less impact we have on our environment and the more sustainable our production and consumption practices become. This is an example of how we have started our journey to become more environmentally sustainable.
Here at oh! HQ we endeavour to make our gift box packaging environmentally friendly by sourcing boxes made from recycled card, which in turn can go on to be re-used and/or recycled. Our gift box filling is a mixture of undyed, recycled paper and natural undyed woodwool. Our shipping boxes are also made from recycled cardboard, and we try to reuse any shipping boxes we receive where possible using paper packing tape to seal them.
In addition to this, we also try to work with suppliers who share our ethos, such as Vent For Change who produce stylish, sustainable stationery, using some unusual materials, such as reclaimed coffee beans, reclaimed lavender, reclaimed cotton and ocean waste. They also make pens & pencils using plastic bottles and CDs.
Have a look at some of the items we stock of theirs from the links below:-
https://ohgiftingcompany.co.uk/make-a-mark--pen--pouch-set-387-p.asp
https://ohgiftingcompany.co.uk/love-coffee-letterbox-1161-p.asp
If we all ‘did our bit’ to put sustainability at the top of the agenda, just imagine the collective change we could all make to slow down climate change!
Lets us know what you do to promote sustainability at home or at work We’d love to hear your ideas.