SUPPORTING THE PLANET
Supporting the Planet
Whilst single-use plastic poses a great threat to our oceans, there are also many more human habits which are having an adverse effect on our planet. We have been told for many years that we need to limit our CO2 emissions – and this has now reached a critical point. With the earth’s temperature set to rise by 2.5-10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century[1], we need to act fast to limit and stop these dramatic temperature increases in order to eradicate issues like melting ice caps and world famine. At Bags of EthicsTM we do everything possible to limit our carbon emissions, such as using less electricity, and where possible shipping orders via sea freight rather than air.
This means that the farmers who grow the cotton are not using pesticides which contain nitrates – nitrates easily enter the watercourse and have an adverse effect on biodiversity, soil, and public health. We also use non-toxic inks and dyes that are REACH-compliant. REACH is a regulation of the European Union adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks posed by chemicals. It also promotes alternative methods for the hazard assessment of substances in order to reduce animal testing.
In our offices both in London and India, we encourage our team to be as sustainably-minded as possible, both at work and at home. We regularly send around emails with tips on things like how to reduce single-use plastic usage and encourage recycling within the office. We also have a team lunch every Wednesday which reduces food and packaging waste and encourages the team to bond over an eco-friendly meal.
We are constantly working on finding new ways to be more eco-minded, sustainable and environmentally friendly. We are always trying to find new materials that are 100% biodegradable, finding more ways to reduce our CO2 emissions, and spreading the message of sustainability in order to educate more people on how they can make small changes that will have a big effect on our planet.
[1] IPCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.