We are all wanting to be more eco friendly, as individuals and companies. At Cupsleeves.co.uk, we know that more and more businesses are looking for environmentally friendly options. Not only are they better for the world in which we live, increasing numbers of customers are looking to buy ‘green’ products, to offset their personal carbon footprint. By supplying eco products, you already render yourself a potential supplier for the discerning customer. But how exactly do you become the green machine we’re all looking to be? Follow our simple ideas for how to be more eco friendly below:

Produce recyclable products
Ditch the plastic
Use Kraft material
Use FSC paper stocks
Print with vegetable inks
Be more eco friendly with deliveries
Make onsite changes to your office

1. Produce recyclable products

The easiest step on your journey to being more eco-friendly is to produce products, marketing materials and advertising that are recyclable. A recyclable version of your best-selling product will be sure to catch the attention of the eco-conscious.

We’ve committed to fully recyclable cup sleeves that can be popped into home or domestic recycling bins. All our materials are fully recyclable (unless lamination is added on top of the paper). By creating a recyclable product you not only help the planet, you help your sales as well!

2. Ditch the plastic

Did you know that some plastics take up to 500 years to decompose! And even those plastics may never break down, as plastic requires UV light to decompose. That bottle at the bottom of a heap on the landfill will probably never see the sun – so will never break down! Furthermore, when plastic does eventually start to break down, it can often leak toxins into the surrounding soil, wreaking havoc on plants, creatures and the general food cycle in the habitat.

Plastic is not a natural compound – it isn’t found in the world naturally. Molecules are held together with carbon bonds, not chemical bonds like those found in nature, making it much more difficult and requiring much more energy for decomposition.

Paper is a fantastic alternative to plastic, as it is generally recyclable, and will always decompose quicker. An average piece of paper takes between 2 and 6 weeks to break down. Consider switching your plastic mailing sleeves to card ones, or your plastic enhanced cup sleeves to pure paper!

3. Use Kraft material

Brown Kraft paper is becoming more and more popular. There used to be a time where its brown hue was considered unappealing, with paper products opting for more traditional white paper. However, nowadays companies are using Kraft paper as a demonstration of their commitment to the environment and offer a pleasing, rustic aesthetic. Kraft paper is by far the most option if you’re looking to be more eco friendly because it is:

Fully recyclable in any domestic or commercial recycling
Already recycled – it is made from reclaimed paper
Unbleached – bleaching paper white uses energy. By avoiding this, Kraft paper uses substantially less energy to produce than its whiter counterparts. This renders it by far the most eco friendly option.

4. Use FSC paper stocks

Paper is often the go-to choice for an eco-friendly material, and rightly so. Most papers are recyclable and decompose far quicker than metal or plastic. However, it’s also important to remember that paper is not a finite source. Deforestation is causing sustainability issues in its own right, not to mention the impact it has on indigenous wildlife and plant life.

As such, it’s very important to get your paper stocks from reputable and sustainable sources. As part of the Inprint Group, Cupsleeves.co.uk are fully certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). This organisation keeps records of all paper materials from forest to consumer and ensures that they are all sourced from managed forests.

5. Print with vegetable inks

Our lithographic printing inks are 100% vegetable-based, and all of our toner and ink cartridges are recycled. Our inks are fast, bright and vibrant, and don’t compromise on quality or image. But vegetable-based inks require less energy consumption to produce compared to other inks, and are more sustainable.

6. Be more eco friendly with deliveries

If you’re a business that delivers, an essential part of becoming eco-friendly is to ensure that your deliveries are not undoing all your good work. ‘Georgia Ayfantopoulou at the Hellenic Institute of Transport in Thessaloniki, Greece, estimates that between 20% and 30% of a city’s carbon dioxide emissions come from last-mile deliveries’ (read cited article here). That’s just local business to customer deliveries, not even factoring in B2B emissions!

To offset your carbon footprint, try to make your deliveries as eco-friendly as possible. You can do this by:

Using bike deliverers as much as possible
Using a courier with a carbon neutral pledge, like DPD. Most of our product deliveries are fulfilled by our courier DPD Local, who are committed to offsetting carbon emissions via a combination of fuel-efficient driving, greater load capacities and the financing of cleaner energy solutions – with no extra cost to the consumer. Offsetting your footprint – if you cannot avoid carbon emissions, commit to planting a tree for every order.

7. Be more eco friendly via onsite changes to your office

Do you have an office or factory site? If you’re looking for tips on how to more eco friendly, there are lots of simple things you can implement achieve a greener workplace.

Water fountains

Install water fountains or kitchenettes and supply branded mugs and glasses. That way, single use cups will become a thing of the past – and your branding will be naturally reinforced in client meetings!

Go green by going green!

If you have a garden or outdoor space, encourage your employees to plant trees and flowers. Why not create an office allotment and allow your staff to grow vegetables? Invest in a rain water butt and catch the falling droplets – use it to water your plants. That way, your otherwise-unused space can become an eco haven!

Keep the heat in

Save on heating bills and emissions by investing in draft excluders, blinds, curtains and window insulation wrap. This will help the environment, and keep your bills down too!

Opt out of junk mail

Whereas most papers are recyclable, it’s pointless to receive mail that you know will go straight into the bin! Opt out of junk mail and save some paper.

Make your Christmas bonuses green!

Support local eco charities and businesses and buy your colleagues and staff eco-friendly hampers. Alternatively, make a donation in their name, sponsor an endangered animal on their behalf, or present them with a beautiful desk plant. You could also gift bee bombs, a voucher towards public transport or an allocation towards a bike.

Switch to eco-friendly cleaning products

Companies like Honestly Eco provide cost-effective, eco-friendly cleaning products. Keep your old bottles and use a waterless cleaner – the transportation costs and energy usage will be much lower to transport, and you can fill it up from your own tap! You can also go extra eco friendly with:

Reusable kitchen towels (simply pop in with your laundry)
Bamboo sponges and scourers

Switch to energy saving bulbs

As bulbs go, make sure to replace them with energy saving alternatives. A simple way to be more eco friendly; an energy-saving bulb uses less electricity to emit the same amount of light as a traditional bulb. This will not only reduce your electricity use, but your bills too!

Double up the paper

If you’re in an office that uses a lot of paper, create a paper tray for paper that has only been used on one side. That way, paper can be used twice – perfect for note taking, brainstorming or making instant memos and reducing paper waste.

Incentivise carpools and public transport

Encouraging staff members to get to work via public transport or carpools can greatly reduce your company’s overall carbon footprint. Consider offering the car parking spaces closest to the building to carpools only, or provide a fuel voucher / public transport voucher to subsidise these more eco-friendly methods of getting to work.

Set up an electric charging point at work

Electric and hybrid cars are quickly becoming the predominant road users. Encourage your staff to invest in eco-friendly, electric cars by setting up an electric charging point at work. Take a look at Zap-Map to see if you can have one installed.

If you have any further questions about how printed cup sleeves can help you with your bid to be more eco friendly, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team today!

Printed cup sleeves are fully recyclable, providing no additional lamination is added. You can use your cup sleeves to promote new products and offers, celebrate special occasions, link customers to your website or social media through QR codes, and much more – all whilst acting as a handy cup holder!