it is very important to me that my parcels are beautifully wrapped in tissue and ribbons/wool/string, but it is also vital that they arrive in good condition
a huge concern is the cost of all this packaging which eats merrily in to any profit that i make
but even more of a concern is the environment
this amount of plastic bubble wrap from just one business is horrifying!
what other choices do i have?
are there earth friendly options that will not cost a fortune?
if i spend more on packaging i will have to put up my p&p prices - will this put customers off?
what do all you lovely small businesses do to overcome this problem
or are we all in this bubble wrap boat together..........
so, today i have spent hours packing parcels, ordering more stock, ordering more bubble wrap(!)
and not a lot else
of course i have hugged my cats
and walked the hounds
(the item beanie is carrying looks horrific but is in fact only seaweed!)
but nowt else!
the weekend looks good
saturday morning - post office and library
saturday afternoon - visiting our mini donkeys and discussing when they will come to live with us x
sunday afternoon - visiting a breeder of Soay sheep, hopefully to gain handy tips on sheep farming x
oh - and lots of tea drinking, scone making and parcel packing!
t x
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25 comments:
You can get that thin foamy stuff that is supposed to be as good as bubble wrap, but I always wonder how it can be when it's so thin??? Maybe some of the smaller bits can go in little padded envelopes?
Sorry ... I'm not much help, am I? I always use bubble wrap!
Take care :-) x
Could you use those little tubes that look like think penne pasta but can go on the compost heap ( methinks there may be a more technical description of them but hopefully you know what I mean!)
Really loved your cat pic.
You could always use kittens. Cheap, soft, organic, bio-degradable...
x
P
PS - I think I've taken on Spike's persona!
crikey Mr Sinclair you may be on to something!!!
t x
ohhh - i love spike :)
How about shredded newspaper? I am fortunate to work part-time for a large retailer, and get to take home and recycle their packing material. Otherwise it would be a big and expensive problem!
p.s. hello and I love your blog!
Lucy
I'd try the shredded paper route (although glossy magazines look better than newspaper and cut the messy ink problem out). I am also anal about recycling wrapping materials. If I can avoid little fingers popping all the bubbles that is.
Sorry, no suggestions for replacing bubble wrap, but your weekend sounds like it'll be very nice, and peaceful. Just the way it should be!
Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)
Tracey - you could try putting a note in a local shop for other people's bubble wrap. I get all mine from other people and it does tend to come clean and in large pieces - you'll probably find that people don't know what to do with it but don't want to throw it out and have masses cluttering up drawers.
A local phoenix card seller gave me about 40 metres- all pristine!
J
x
That sounds like a lovely weekend, I hope you enjoy yourselfs.
As for the rapping problem, I always use old magazines as packing. It takes a while to rip it into stripes but it really does work and I would of only recyled them anyway. So I'm helpng the planet too. I just hope my customers reuse it or recyle.
Hope this helps.
Hugs.
Catherine x
Ps: I'm off to the CL fair today is there any of your items there?
Lol sorry for the crappy spelling it's to early, not the best night. We're all full of colds :(
Catherine x
Hi there Tracy, I think you have a grand life and I thoroughly enjoy poppin over to see how your world spins and it always makes me feel warm and cosy inside. Thanks for that. Best Wishes from Annie x
Hi Tracy
I have just read your post, I never use bubble wrap! It gives me the creeps (I don't know why).
I always use unbleached paper sheets, (the sort that newspapers are printed on) and I scrunch them up and place them around the candles.
My candles are fragile of course, but a slightly too big box stuffed with paper keeps them safe and is eco-friendly (and cheap!).
I hope that helps a bit??
Victoria x
I use a fair amount of bubble wrap too. I always resuse any bits that I get and just hope people who receive items from me also reuse it. I have been told that it's worth asking at your local supermarket as they have tons of the stuff they have to throw out. I've never tried this but feel it might be worth a go. Gorgeous cat pics by the way.
Yes but what about all the therapy you could be giving people like me who loves jump, jump, jumping on the stuff or popping it one by one. It's just so good.
and useless to anybody else after that.
Well, it's just a thought x
Hi Tracey,
I'd buy a shredder and shred up old paper,newspapers and mags.
I loved the pics of your cat,is it Archie ???
Thats some pretty awesome seaweed you got up there,can you dry that on racks and use it for packaging ?? !!! LOL.
I used to get bubble wrap from Tesco for my dad to use in his greenhouse,so you could ask there.
Enjoy your weekend.
I'll be posting again myself soon,
Hugs Kat xx
I just adore your sweet whippets! I can imagine a pair of those on one of our beaches here would cause quite a stir - they are such lovely dogs (children)! =)
I agree totally on the bubblewrap issue! We run a gourmet and tabletop shop, so you can imagine all the bubblewrap we use when packaging bottles, china, dinnerware. I opt out of bubblewrap whenever I can personally for my own little craft business. I recycle old tissue from sewing patterns in lieu of bleached and dyed tissue, and we also have over here earth-friendly constarch-based packing peanuts (just add water to them and they literally disintegrate and are not harmful).
PS - I noticed your kitty photo! We have a "frequent visitor" cat who looks indentical to yours! I feed him once a day, but he is obviously someone's cat (he's not cold when he visits my house, despite cold temps outside; he's very clean, and well-fed). I swear once it starts to snow I'll invite him over to nap by our woodstove! =)
ummmm i use pop corn from an air popper. No fuss, no mess and the birds can be fed from the leavings!!!
Hellooooo my darlings,you sound very busy and oh so happyxxx the girls look like they are having a good time to.I have a film on my phone of you and the girls on the beach,you sceeching, "come back",them just doing the opposite,i do miss you all,but loving the blogg,makes me feel a little closer.xxxx Take care my loverly's. Mummy.xxxx
From working in a small china shop, use small bubble wrap around the piece, then fill box with whatever paper you have(news,magazine,phonebook it all works). Large size box, few pieces to the box. No overcrowding! stuff corners full!scrunch whole sheets fan style to go down the sides to keep pieces from bumping. Also have used the bicarb peanuts but not too cost effective. Have fun. Love the pictures of the girls and mr. pickles. Wendy
Sorry I called the kitty Mr. Pickles. Thats the name of a different cat. Still love the blog.Wendy
Although no one has a *perfect* life, yours seems pretty darn close. Thank you for sharing it with us. :)
I have a couple of people who receive packing peanuts as part of there job and save it to give to me. I also occassionally get bubblewarp supplies from them but have to resort to buying it new which makes me grumpy. Next year I plan to spread the word that I want packing stuff as far as I can and see what the universe provides :-)
Popcorn inside a box to protect things like china are good, and compostable. Newspaper, cardboard and tissuepaper are all good. As is the idea of using old sheets from charity shops, woolen blankets and old curtains. As long as they are made from natural fabrics they'd be compostable, although slowly.
Good luck!
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