Environmental protection and packaging

Dear customers!

Here is a brand-new video tip: https://t1p.de/Recycling-Luege

The issue of packaging waste and especially waste made from plastic is very important to us.

I'm under no illusion: With our small means we will not save the world!
But at least we can tell our grandchildren that we were not part of this madness, and that already means a lot to us.

Some time ago we put this issue on our agenda and have managed to use 0 g of self-purchased plastic in our packaging today!
So no more polystyrene packing peanuts, no bubble wrap envelopes, no plastic adhesive tape and nothing else that cannot be composted or recycled at a paper recycling facility.
Of course, bubble wrap is the lightest and safest way to send bottles or anything made of glass, unfortunately. Our current cardboard cushioning materials have significantly more volume and weight, which leads to larger parcels. But I believe that in terms of environmental impact, plastic and polystyrene would be worse than the minimal additional fuel consumption by DHL if, for example, our parcel weighs 550 g instead of 500 g.

However, many of our suppliers still use plastic in the form of bubble wrap. To dispose of that here and replace it with cardboard cushions just so it looks "eco" would be nothing more than greenwashing, because the film has already been produced and exists in the world, and our eco-packaging materials also consume energy and resources in their manufacture.
Seen in this light, there are of course no "environmentally friendly" packages, cars, heating systems etc.; there are only "less harmful" ones!
So don't be surprised if a bottle sometimes ends up wrapped in bubble wrap. We simply reuse materials that were sent to us with orders, whether as part of product deliveries or as ordinary office supplies. And because we use exclusively material that was "involuntarily" sent to us with orders and that is better reused than thrown away, and only very little of it at that, we do not believe this contradicts our claim of plastic-free shipping.

One problem is packing tapes: paper ones have very little adhesive strength and tear resistance.
Our main supplier Biobiene has found a very good solution for this: a tape that has the properties of plastic tape but is not made of plastic, rather of a harmless biodegradable material: Monta Biopack 860 Compostable Packing Tape | Plastic-free packaging material & packaging (biobiene.com)

So please don't be surprised if you receive a parcel from us bearing our prominent plastic-free label that nevertheless appears to be sealed with plastic tape. It is not plastic.

Admittedly, not all manufacturers consider this sensible. We have many contacts in the online shop scene and some scoff at it. But we stand by it, even if it involves increased effort in terms of labour and money for us.

Here's to a hopeful look towards a greener future!

Mario Müller