Happy Earth Day, Stampaholics! I hope that this day catches you feeling a little green (not in the nauseous way!) and willing to do your part to make our Earth a better and healthier place.
One thing that I've done is placinga recycling receptacle in my studio and using it to collect all of my paper scraps. When it's full, I put it out with our weekly recycling and it'll cut down on my garbage production.
Stampin' Up! has taken many steps to reduce their carbon footprint as well. Here are some of the ways that they've cleaned up their act...
*Excess RUBBER is donated to Courage Reins, a non-profit that provides horseback lessons to physically and mentally challenged children. Courage Reins takes the ground rubber and sells it to groups and individuals for playground and horse stables to help defray costs of their mission.
*Our WOOD BLOCKS come from a tree farm in which maple trees are grown specifically for wood harvesting.
*All of our packaging PAPER is 100% recycled.
*All of our CARD STOCK contains leftover paper from other paper runs that would have otherwise ended up in landfills. The darker the color card stock, the more recycled material is inside of it! (Go Basic Black!)
*Our DESIGNER SERIES PAPERand CARD STOCK production is overseen by a broker who is triple certified to ensure that our production practices are coming from sustainably managed forests and eco-friendly paper mills.
*Our PAPER mills generate their own power.
*Stampin' Up! facilities in Utah are eco-friendly too! Lights are on sensors and timers to reduce waste, stamp production pollutants are filtered and reduced, and geothermal wells help regulate building temperatures and lower dependency on oil and gas.
*Our shipment pick ups with UPS occur during non-peak traffic times to reduce emissions. And, our in-state shipments from Kanab to Salt Lake City (the distribution center and headquarters) "carpool" with other companies that would have empty trucks coming back to each area. For example, stamps coming from Kanab "hitch a ride" with empty Sysco food trucks back to Salt Lake City. Those trucks would otherwise be traveling with nothing in them!
I'd love to hear about how you're reducing your carbon footprint while taking part in paper crafting! Please leave a suggestion in the comment area of this post to help other Stampaholics reduce theirs as well!