Earth Day: See what we've done so far

Since the Caroline Gardner brand started 30 years ago, we've been looking for ways to look after the planet and its people wherever we can.  We're not perfect but we're proud of what we've achieved so far, and are always looking at ways we can improve our practices as a business.  Read on to learn more about what we've done so far...

 

supporting meningitis now

As a business, we've supported the work of charity Meningitis Now for over 20 years when Caroline's youngest son almost died from the disease.  Over the years, we've donated 25p from the sale of every Christmas card pack to the work of Meningitis Now and have raised over £270,000 so far.  As well as the Christmas cards, we also collaborated with Waitrose, John Lewis, Tesco and myLakeland for a number of years on a collection of reusable shopping bags.  Not only did these bags help to support Meningitis Now financially, they were made from post-consumer waste, saving 8 million rPET bottles from landfill and counting.

 

 

switching over to paper packaging

In 2020, we made some big changes in our warehouse.  We reduced trays by 40% and started to fill our boxes with paper packaging instead of plastic air pockets.  We also swapped our plastic tape for a paper tape equivalent, and made the switch from glitter to eco-glitter in our card production. 

 

 

launch of the inFold

We were one of the first cards brands to develop a sustainable card packaging solution.  In 2019, we created the inFold, a recyclable card corner that keeps the card and envelope together while protecting the edges from creasing.  This development has meant we've saved 11,000 single use plastic bags every single day.  

 

 

plastic-free roll wrap

We launched plastic-free roll wrap to further reduce our impact on the planet. We've removed the packaging from the middle of each roll which has made space for an extra 2 metres of paper.  Each roll is secured with a paper sticker, and 10cm has been added on to allow for any wear and tear caused by the stickers.

 

 

 

partnership with the royal british legion

We have partnered over the years with the Royal British Legion on the launch of tote bags and poppy-related products.