We purchase about 85% of our ingredients from a supplier that is 10 miles from our office. While some of these ingredients are sourced in the US, many of the oils are ultimately from Europe (apricot, avocado, grapeseed and olive oils). About 80% of the oils we purchase are certified organic. Certified organic ingredients are grown and harvested in a much more earth-friendly way, free of harsh chemicals. We purchase our raw ingredients in as big a quantity as possible for a small business. This means that many of the ingredients are in 5 gallon sizes which cuts down on plastic. All of the plastic packaging that our ingredients come in, is recycled locally.
Product Packaging
This is the area we spend a substantial amount of time on. We purchase most of packaging from a company in NY. However, we do realize that all of the plastic packaging comes from China ultimately. We are working on changing out plastic for products where this is possible. Refill sizes, products used in the shower and products that require squeezing to be applied are more difficult to figure out. We are looking at aluminum, however, as a small business it has proven to be cost prohibitive currently. The cost is about 8 times as high as plastic. We do not ship our products with outer boxes that end up being thrown away.
Shipping Materials
Our products are shipped via USPS for 95% of orders. For large orders, it may be more cost effective for us to use UPS.
Orders under 1lb are shipped in padded mailing envelopes. Depending on the volume of the order, we use either a 100% post consumer recycled padded envelope that is plastic free and curbside recyclable or an Ecoenclose bubble envelope. This envelope is made with a minimum of 33% post consumer plastic. It has an extra adhesive strip so that it can be reused and it is recyclable with plastic film recycling. (Most grocery stores have bins to recycle plastic film and plastic bags.) Ecoenclose will also take back the used mailers.
Our shipping labels are also from Ecoenclose. They are printed thermally so no ink is needed. They are curbside recyclable. The labels come on zero waste release liners that are 100% recycled and curbside recyclable. We do use these release liners as void fill when packaging large orders.
Our packing tape is from Ecoenclose. It marries a cellulose backing with a high-performing natural rubber adhesive. It is 100% plant-derived, renewable, and industrially compostable.
Our Be Green branded tissue paper and sticker that your order will be wrapped in is from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, acid free paper printed with soy-based ink.
The void fill we use includes air pillows, paper, bubble wrap, peanuts and other misc. products. The vast majority of the fill is donated to us by friends, family and local businesses to be reused and recycled. Please recycle air pillows and bubble wrap with plastic film recycling. We do purchase heavy duty bubble pouches and plastic zipper bags for the 64oz refill sizes. USPS and UPS require this for shipping liquid products. We also purchase small bubble pouches for the glass bottles.
Your packing slip is printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper. On the reverse side, we print information about Be Green and our products.
Office
In our office, we use 100% LED lighting. We use energy efficient Mitsubishi mini-split for both heating and cooling. (Honestly, though, we don’t use the heat or AC very often.) All lights are turned off at the end of the work day and electronics are powered down to sleep mode to conserve electricity. All of our paper and plastic waste is recycled on a weekly basis. We use nearly all of our paper waste as void fill when shipping products.
We strive to be as earth-friendly, sustainable and low waste as possible. If you have any comments, questions or ideas about we can become more sustainable, please reach out to [email protected].
