Sustainability
Naturally, nature plays a huge part in what we do. So, of course, we do what we can to show our respect. This includes using sustainable materials, eco-friendly paints and recyclable packaging. We also recycle what little studio waste we produce, read on to find out more.
FSC MDF Wood
We use UK FSC MDF for all of our laser cut creatures, and source this from an independent family business in South Wales. The MDF is composed of post consumer waste materials and is suitable for laser cutting due to its low formaldehyde content. We save all of our offcuts and take them to be recycled.
Foliage
The foliage we use for our wreaths is gathered from a variety of places. Foliage and grasses are foraged on our morning walks through out the seasons. We only collect where there is an abundance, and nothing that is considered endangered or uncommon, and always tap out any seeds. Many of the seed heads we collect from the gardens of the LF team, their friends and family. These are supplemented with UK sourced speciality pieces to give our wreaths a little pep in their step.
We collect all natural offcuts from the wreath making process, and these are saved for fire lighting over the winter months. We all live rurally and rely upon woodburner’s and Rayburns to keep the cold out.
Paint
One thing for certain is that we only use water based paint and inks in the Studio. We work with a combination of Emulsion paints from the Little Greene Paint Company, and pair these with Gouache Paint and Metallic water colours for our creatures finer details. These are then finished with Posca Paint and Indian Ink details.
All paint and ink vessels are washed and recycled.
All of our paper goods are printed in the UK, this includes our notebooks, cards, paper tape and tissue paper. For all of our custom FSC packaging, we partner with an independent packaging company based just up the road in Wellington, Somerset. They use a consortium of UK Mills to print and manufacture our bespoke boxes. And all our other printed items are created in house. We use UK sourced paper, and are in the process to switching all of our labels over to Kraft paper. We personally prefer the look of them, and their eco credentials to boot. Our printer is an Epson Eco Tank printer; meaning she goes for miles on very little ink, with refillable tanks rather than cartridges.
Packaging
We want our products to arrive looking ship shape and enticing, whilst also keeping packaging to a minimum. Our custom packaging is designed to fit inside a Large Letter envelope, to ensure safe migration and pocket friendly postage. All of our parcels whether they be wholesale or web sales are carefully packed in plastic free materials, we strive to pass on nothing that cannot be reused or recycled.
Gift wrap
If you opt for gift wrap at the checkout you can be sure to know that we’re green as a wink. We wrap every item in FSC Kraft tissue paper printed and fasten it with paper tape - they’re both made in the UK. They are then tied with a paper bow, and finished with a Kraft label and one of our laser cut seed heads. These are made from offcuts of our MDF and leftover paint. We hope you can re-use or upcycle this for future crafting or gifting endeavours.
What’s left
Like all businesses not everything fits in a neat little box. Some of our materials and resources are packed with paper and plastics, these we separate and recycle in their respective places. Unfortunately there is still some that goes to landfill, but genuinely only a very small amount.
Whenever designing new products or creating new processes we strive to reduce the impacts this will have on the waste we produce. When looking for new machinery and equipment, we always look to second hand first, and re-home or recycle what we no longer use. We are always open to new ideas on how to tread more lightly, and if you think you have a suitably suggestion, we’d love to hear from you. Email the studio at hello@lily-faith.com