Etsy Monday - Clara and Macy Baby Wrap

Revisiting a favorite shop of mine. Of course, in honor of Earth Day and every day, this shop uses eco-friendly materials.  Clara and Macy designs are beyond charming.  You can buy great gift wrapping sets at this shop - Each gift wrap set is available in a set of two sheets with two tags, a set of four sheets with four tags, a set of ten sheets with ten tags, or a set of twenty sheets with twenty tags, and matching ribbon or twine is available as well. This new baby design is really adorable.

So, so cute. 

You can also get a personalized gift tag for new to the world arrivals.

Cute, and good inspiration

Finally, this rainy day gift wrap called to me.

a cheerful counterpoint to rain

I have noted that many of my favorite shops are located in the United Kingdom and thought about the ethics of ordering something eco-friendly from someplace that needs many planes and trains to get to me. My first conclusion was that patronizing any shop anywhere that makes the effort to source eco-friendly materials is better than buying from and  perpetuating marketplaces that don't care about the issue.  However, since I want to walk the walk as well as talk the talk, I am going to start to research carbon offsets.  At first blush, it seems like a pretty good idea - carbonfootprint.com is one of the places I want to check out. Turns out that a lot of the carbon footprint plans  involve planting trees, and that is something I am in a position to personally do. So I will figure out what makes the most sense. For the environment, it seems clear that it is the little bits that add up to good, just as it was the little bits that unthinkingly added up to bad. The difference comes from how many of us choose to try.

Wrapper of the week: Smock

There are many, many good reasons to support stores like Smock.  I don't think I can describe them better than they do themselves:

"This is how we do business.

We print sustainably; doing things all responsible printers should do. We use only  vegetable oil based and low-Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) inks. We use low-VOC and citrus-based solvents. We recycle our photo chemistry, film, paper offcuts, and photopolymer printing plates. Empty ink cans and old rags are kept out of landfills. We recycle and compost our waste. We use recycled packaging materials and reuse packing materials from our vendors. We donate surplus paper and envelopes to our local public schools.  We package our custom work in keepsake boxes made in NY  from 100% post-consumer recycled materials.

We print on Bamboo paper. Bamboo is a truly sustainable and renewable resource, generating up to 35% more oxygen than hardwood trees, and absorbing 4 times the carbon as well. It’s the fastest growing plant on this planet; it grows without pesticides or fertilizers; and it requires very little water to grow. Bamboo also makes the prettiest paper out there. Today, we partner with a historic New England  paper mill to develop a pesticide-free, fertilizer-free, fine artisan paper just for us. Our bamboo paper is extremely soft, luxuriously thick, and elegantly textured. It’s also perfect for letterpress. 

We actively work to reduce our carbon footprint and are entirely wind-powered through Native Energy. We offer bus passes to employees to encourage public transportation usage. We subsidize Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) memberships with a local organic farm, because we believe our food shouldn’t have to travel 1,500 miles to reach us."

Their choices in gift wrap are beautiful and beautifully done. I particularly like their double sided options, as they say, all printed on bamboo paper.

This two sided "ink" gift wrap is beautiful.

Eco friendly, sustainable gift wrap

2 sheets, each 24 " x 36"

They also have gift boxes. I was just thinking about how gift boxes were probably the best possible solution for wrapping. Easy to use and much easier to re-use, beautiful gift boxes justify investing a little more in something that can get used again and again for the best possible presentation. Swap in some beautiful ribbons and gift tags and you are done!

I love this option! It's like a gift around your gift!

Their tags are beautiful too.

Pretty and special.

All of the short sighted things done that have led to climate change were motivated at least in part by economics. Somewhere, consumers wanted better hairspray, or cheaper energy or something and there were those ready to take advantage of that.  So why don't we, the consumers, take control of that cycle and support those willing to invest in trying to do things the right way.  It is a small action that can add up to a big influence.