We are increasingly being asked about sustainable print options for our clients’ communications in line with their objectives around reducing environmental impact.
Bransby Horses is one of the UK’s largest equine welfare charities and following a tender process we were commissioned to produce and fulfil their quarterly magazine, Bransby Life.
Sustainability and the environment are high on their agenda; as an outdoor charity, taking care of the land their horses live on is equally as important as looking after the horses themselves, so they are keen to ensure they are investing in ways to make their activities more ecologically sound.
We discussed recycled and FSC® certified paper options with them as well as sustainable mailing options. FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper is paper that has been harvested and produced responsibly and comes with a clear chain of custody which ensures all organisations in the supply chain are FSC® certified, of which we are proud to be one!
Mailed out to approximately 92K supporters quarterly, Bransby Horses were able to carbon balance the manufacturing of the 3.1million pieces of A5 100% recycled paper used to create their Autumn/Winter 2019 magazine through the Woodland Trust Carbon Capture scheme, which mitigates Co2 emissions generated through the paper manufacturing process. Through this scheme Bransby Horses have created almost 100 m2 of new woodland, removing 3,750 kg of carbon from the environment!
It’s not just the paper for the actual communication piece that has an environmental impact, the packaging used to enclose the mailing plays a huge part.
Naked mailing (where there is no outer packaging) wasn’t suitable for this project due to the multiple contents enclosed in each mailing. The other potential options were: standard envelopes or corn starch polybags, however traditional envelope windows are made from cellophane and so not fully recyclable, and Bransby Horses were concerned that corn starch polybags still look very similar to the plastic versions, they also have a limited shelf life due to their rapid degradation (which is of course their USP!)
Envelopes were the preferred choice but Bransby Horses needed a greener alterative to plastic windows so we researched options, and together with one of our paper merchants, Premier Paper we discovered we could manufacture envelopes with corn starch windows and FSC® certified paper, a fully recyclable option which also met the environmental requirements for preferential postage rates!
We’re thrilled to work with a like-minded organisation who have provided an economically and ecologically considered solution to one of our largest communications without compromising on quality. The feedback from our supporters has been fantastic, they love their new look, eco-friendly magazine. Thank you to all the Ruddocks team.
Paul Banton, Managing Director at Ruddocks commented:
"We believe we are one of the earliest adopters of this ecologically sound mail packaging which can be manufactured in any size and we are currently in discussions with our paper merchants around recycled mail bags and paper tape (as an alternative to traditional non-biodegradable brown tape."
If you have a project you would like to talk to us about, please get in touch to see how we could help make your marketing communications more sustainable.