Environmentally thoughtful packaging at Cheeky Cherubs

Above is what our orders look like these days - no plastic bags! YAY!

When we first started Cheeky Cherubs in July 2009 with the sole focus of providing for the ‘gap’ in the market in Gisborne, not a lot of thought had been given to how we would ship parcels to customers based out of town.  Truthfully, I didn’t expect to be shipping parcels nationwide like we do now, or at least hadn’t thought that far ahead! 

Initially, we were using all of the shipping options available through our chosen courier company including the plastic courier bags, which are the cheapest way to send parcels, but as our orders increased and our order pile grew, I became more conscious of the plastic packaging that was being sent out each day and the long term effects it would have on the environment.  I would look at the orders feeling excited to have so much support from customers but at the same time a slight sense of guilt that it was all wrapped in plastic that would simply be thrown out and take hundreds of years to break down, if at all!

This is an example of what it USED to look like (on a good day!).

My conscience got the better of me and over the past 12 months we have been phasing out the plastic packaging bags.  I have been very lucky to have some friends (that are customers too!) who have gathered boxes from their work places or even the supermarket, all so that our orders can be sent in recycled boxes!  We have also recently purchased some boxes to see us through when recycled boxes aren’t available.  And I tell you, the feeling is MUCH better when I look at the packed orders and there is no plastic bags!

Here's the cute stickers we had printed so that recycled boxes could be labelled as they went out to customers.  Thanks to my clever friends who made up the rhymes for me!

Since changing from using any of the plastic courier bags, which are the cheapest way to ship small items, some small parcels now cost more than double for us to send but I felt that if we want to build our business up and have a higher volume of orders going out, I didn’t want to have all that plastic waste sent out into the world for the sake of a few extra dollars profit!  

I know our parcels aren’t entirely ‘earth friendly’ yet, but we are making a conscious effort to make changes where we can.  The next step in the process is eliminating the plastic address sleeves which will be happening soon as we are working on implementing a new shipping system.

So, I guess this blog post is to let you know that Cheeky Cherubs is a business with a conscience behind it!  At the end of the day, we are a business based on providing great products for your children so I felt it was important for us to look after the world we leave behind for them too.

Here’s an interesting link if you want to find out more about how much of an impact plastic has on the ocean alone.

xx Jacquie xx