Sustainability & Environmental Impact
In our 14th year we can look back at the transformation of our lovely Victorian school with pride. We have managed to change a cold and damp building into a warm and bustling award-winning shopping destination. Right from the start we have taken some big (and sometimes expensive) decisions to help reduce our impact on the environment and create a sustainable business.
- We have renovated large parts of the old school with underfloor heating, double glazing, and high levels of insulation, and replaced hundreds of lights to LED or low-energy fluorescent bulbs, powered by 100% renewable-sourced electricity and a wood-pellet boiler.
- The products we stock are checked for ethical and environmental standards, and while we still have some suppliers using plastic packaging that number is reducing all the time and we are actively encouraging suppliers to change where possible. In the last couple of years we have trialled "naked" greetings cards.
- Our clothing ranges are chosen to be as sustainable as possible with natural fibres and ethical sourcing. We also have socks made from recycled plastic bottles!
- All the boxes used in sending out orders from our website are re-used boxes from deliveries we receive. We also re-use all bubble-wrap received.
- Our own label products are all made in the UK, with natural organic ingredients, and the packaging includes recycled glass and card.
- For many years we have produced over 120,000 flyers per year which have been delivered door to door by Royal Mail. In 2019 we decided to reduce our paper use by doing TV advertising instead.
- BREAKING NEWS: We now operate a fully electric vehicle!
We still have lots of room for improvement and plans for making even more of an impact over the next ten years...watch this space!