Sustainability

We're not perfect, but we:

• Package responsibly

• Print and ship carbon-neutral

• Have trees planed for every item sold

1. Being transparent about our impact
2. Outlining all of the steps we're taking to reduce our footprint
3. Being proactive about building a better future
4. Doing all of the above without an upsell to our customers

Sadly, many environmental initiatives taken on by businesses are simply veiled attempts to greenwash their actions. This isn't just misleading, it's irresponsible.

We do our best to avoid putting the "sus" in sustainability (OK yeah, we hated that too, but we had to take a swing).

Our Impact

Design

Our design office is not currently carbon-neutral, however we're exploring options to improve this in the future.

Printing

Most of our products are printed on paper, which ultimately means that, at some point, a tree had to come down so we could make our product. This is the largest component of our footprint, and also the biggest area where we can stand to do more.

While our printers pull from sustainable sources, our goal is to get to the gold-standard: 100% FSC-certified papers. We're partially there, with FSC-certified envelopes, but there's room to grow with our art prints and Cards That Don't Suck™.

What We're Doing About Our Footprint, Every Step of the Way

Printing

We're proud to report that 100% of our paper products are printed carbon-neutral. Carbon offsets are purchased to compensate for emissions made directly by printing facilities (Scope 1), as well as emissions generated by the electricity from energy partners (Scope 2).

Importantly, our printers use vegetable oil-based inks. These emit very low traces of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) — which are the fumes that evaporate as the ink dries —when compared to traditional petroleum-based inks and solvents.

And, of course, during production of your goods, all scraps from printing are recycled.

Thoughtful Packaging

We're very proud to be 100% plastic-free with our packaging. Tape, labels, even the bags used to protect your art prints during shipping are all made without plastic. Plus, 100% of our packaging is curbside-recyclable.

Our shipping labels are made without BPA or PFAs, are FSC-Certified, and made in the USA.

Our shipping boxes are made in the USA with 100% recycled content and 95% post-consumer waste that has been diverted from landfills.

True Carbon-Neutral Shipping

Making our products is only half the battle. Next, we have to get it to you.

For every order, we utilize true carbon-neutral shipping.

Many carbon-neutral initiatives use carbon offsets that are simply used for forest protection. In other words, a company basically says that they are carbon neutral because, in response to their negative carbon actions, they prevented something equally bad from additionally happening (deforestation). So, 1 bad thing happened instead of 2.

These are OK, but for our shipping we go a step further.

To truly offset our carbon emissions, funds from every single order go to causes that actually capture carbon and store it. Think of it like the fossil fuel industry, but in reverse. The captured carbon is removed from our air and oceans, and put back into the ground, where it is stored for anywhere between 100 and 1,000 years.

Now, 1 bad thing happened (our carbon emissions), and 1 proportionally good thing happened to compensate (carbon removal). Neutral.

The organizations we support include Climeworks, and Sustaera— among many others. More information is available via the Shopify Sustainability Fund.

Actions for Future Generations

Future generations inherit the Earth from us. It isn't fair for us to reap the benefits from our planet and then leave it worse off. To "pay it forward" we donate to Trees for the Future, to plant trees for every product we sell. Not 1 for each order — at least one for every product sold.

Our tree planting contributions are as follows:

• 1 Greeting Card = 1 tree planted 🌱
• 1 Thank You Card Pack - 2 trees planted 🌱🌱
• 1 Art Print = 2 trees planted 🌱🌱
• All other products = 1 tree planted 🌱

It is important to note that we did not include this in the "What We're Doing About Our Footprint" section, because that would imply this is a 1-to-1, more immediate sustainability remedy for our operations. That would not be accurate or right, as a planted sapling is not at its full carbon-reducing potential for many years.

Planting trees is an investment. Although they start small, they grow and ultimately capture (in a very conservative estimate) at least 200kg of carbon each during their lifetime — usually much more.

Additionally, planting trees encourages biodiversity and provides an economic boost to local communities that deal with extreme poverty. We chose Trees for the Future because of their well-documented, proven track record, and their commitment to breaking the cycle of land degradation. This ensures they don't just plant trees, they plant trees that will thrive.

Note: Free cards received as part of any of our promos do not count towards the planted tree totals.

Future Plans: As we grow, we hope to have a verified dashboard that shows our total trees planted, so you don't just have to take our word for it.

The Cost of Sustainability

Finally, we do not charge extra for carbon-neutral shipping, nor do we put the onus on our customers to add planted saplings as add-ons to their purchase.

Our carbon impact is the result of our actions as a company, and we believe it's our responsibility to foot the bill. In our view, sustainability is not an upsell, it's a simply the cost of doing business.