Save The Planet: Making Your Store More Environmentally Friendly

So many businesses are solely focused on making money, leading to unhappy workers and a damaged environment which really isn’t acceptable. Of course, profit is always going to be the name of the game in business and you need to be making enough to continue with your venture- but there are other things you should be considering too. And the impact your business is having on the planet is definitely one of them; in recent years the damage that we’ve caused as a species has become far too obvious. With this in mind, here are some of the ways you can make your shop more environmentally friendly. 

Re-use and upcycle

When you’re kitting out your shop, instead of buying everything brand new- why not re-use and upcycle existing fittings instead? This will reduce waste that goes to landfill while also being a pocket friendly option. From repurposing scrap wood to buying full shop fitouts that would be discarded by another shop unit there are plenty of options. Find second hand bargains on everything from shelving to lighting and give existing items a new lease of life. When brand new things are purchased, this creates more of a demand to where more factories (using lots of fossil fuels) pumping out these kinds of products are opened. By reusing things that already exist, you do your small part to help slow down this demand 

Stop using plastic bags

Plastic is a huge threat to the earth, since it takes hundreds of years to break down, much of what has ever been produced still exists somewhere on earth. Often, it ends up in landfills slowly polluting the ground or washed up in waterways where it destroys wildlife. Stop using plastic bags, encourage shoppers to bring their own bag or provide strong paper bags where necessary since these can easily be recycled. Giving out plastic bags that are going to be used once then thrown away is incredibly wasteful and damaging, thankfully companies all over the globe are on board with this idea now and it encourages people to bring their own bags to shops with them. 

Ditch the receipts

We live in a digital age, we no longer need paper receipts- these are always more of a hindrance than a help. They clutter up our bag and lets face it, when we do want to return an item they’re nowhere to be found. Sending a digital receipt to a customer is far better, they can search their inbox to find it when they need it and there’s no need to waste paper from trees (which take a lot of water to grow, and factories using fossil fuels to create). You could always give customers the option of a paper receipt if they need one, but make paper free the preferred option. 

Choose the right products and suppliers

Finally, the suppliers you choose to work with should be chosen carefully. You might be doing everything in your power to run an environmentally friendly business but if you’re purchasing from suppliers that burn through fossil fuels like there’s no tomorrow, waste lots of plastic, water and energy then you’re essentially contributing to the problem. Work with businesses that have a similar outlook to you, by choosing them you help to create more of a demand for sustainable companies. From eco promotional items to companies that use recycled materials to those that don’t test on animals- choose wisely. As a business owner, a lot of responsibility falls to you to do more for the planet, the choices you make genuinely can make a big difference. 

Use metal hangers

Plastic coat hangers tend to get snapped often and aren’t long lasting. If you sell garments, hang them on wire hangers which can be reused for longer and can also be recycled when they’re no longer any good. Many companies offer the plastic coat hanger along with the garment when the customer purchases, but refrain from doing this. We should be encouraging customers to purchase their own long lasting and non-plastic hangers as another way to reduce plastic in landfill.