Studio Calico Recycles

Earlier this week April wrote about how she created a piece of art to help support and bring awareness to a very special cause in our community. To continue that theme, I thought I would share how Studio Calico helps the global community on an environmental level. It may be a small gesture, but it is one that is very important to me.

Each month, our office is flooded with cardboard boxes loaded with scrapbooking goodies. Instead of tossing the empty boxes into the dumpster outside, I take them to the curb on Fridays, to be picked up by the big green truck. I also reuse all of the packaging materials we receive, and I have even been known to upcycle damaged paper bags into giftwrap!





Another way that Studio Calico has embraced environmental awareness is by choosing a printer that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. What this means is that they print on paper purchased from special tree farms and they use recycled papers whenever possible. They also use recyclable inks and toners and water soluble, bio-degradable, and recyclable chemicals and solvents. And to take our printer's commitment a step further... when we put promotional coupons and stamp backers in your kits, not only are they environmentally friendly, but they are also completely reusable!



We also encourage the manufacturers that we work with to reduce the amount of packaging they send to us whenever possible. Some of our partners in this initiative are Sassafras, Hambly, Maya Road, and Jenni Bowlin. Instead of packaging the items we order in quantities of 6 (which is standard in the scrapbooking world), these manufacturers will often send our items unpackaged or in quantities of 100. We truly appreciate their willingness to help us reduce our negative impact on the environment.

For me, the commitment to helping the environment doesn't stop at the office. I am constantly looking for new things to add to my reduce/reuse/recycle routine. On a recent visit to a charming little boutique, I found some cheerful cards by Positively Green. Not only were they cute, but they were printed on recycled paper, they contained encouraging messages, and each one had an environmental tip printed on the back. Here's a sample of what they had to offer (I chose these because I think they accurately express what the Studio Calico community is all about):



If you would like to learn about some small steps you can take to help the environment, here is Positively Green's list of tips. How many of these can you add to your routine?

Now, as promised... the announcement of the winner of last week's Blinkie RAK...

{2H Design}! Congrats, Lauren! Thanks to everyone for showing your Studio Calico pride :)