The growth of the internet as a shopping tool has been a double-edged sword when it comes to waste heading for our landfills. On the postive side, it has replaced some printed catalogues and flyers, saving countless number of trees. However, this positive influence is being outweighed by the amount of packaging materials needed to ship all those orders placed online. Product packaging constitutes one-third of all non-industrial waste.

As a responsible internet retailer, we are committed to minimizing the amount of waste that enters our landfill sites. Here are just 4 of the practices we employ every day:

1. We use only organic cornstarch packing peanuts as opposed to the less expensive and more popular styrofoam. Cornstarch peanuts dissolve in water and leave no toxic waste behind.
2. Our cardboard boxes are made from recycled materials and can be placed in your cardboard recycling container.
3. Occasionally we will reuse cardboard cartons that we have received products in. As long as the carton is clean and sturdy enough for the job, we see no reason not to keep it doing what it was created to do.
4. We slice up cardboard boxes that are not suitable for shipping and use the good parts as spacers, dividers and filler for orders. Anything that is not suitable for reuse is then placed in a rubbish bin strictly for cardboard to be recycled.

We think what we are doing is simple and in the long run, saves us all some money while we are helping to save the environment from needless waste. We hope you think so too.