Environmental protection and packaging

Dear customers!

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

The issue of packaging waste – and plastic waste in particular – is very important to us.

I’m under no illusions: with our limited means, we won’t save the world!
But we can at least tell our grandchildren that we weren’t part of this madness, and that’s worth a great deal to us.

A while ago, we put this issue on our agenda and have now managed to get by with 0 g of plastic we’ve bought ourselves in our packaging!
So no more polystyrene inserts, no bubble-wrap bags, no plastic tape, and nothing else that can’t be recycled in the compost or at the paper recycling centre.
Of course, bubble wrap is the lightest and safest way to send bottles or anything made of glass – unfortunately. Our current cardboard cushioning materials take up considerably more space and weigh more, which results in larger parcels. But I think that, in terms of the environmental footprint, plastic and polystyrene would be worse than the minimal extra fuel consumption by DHL if, for example, our parcel weighs 550 g instead of 500 g.

However, many of our suppliers still use plastic, specifically in the form of bubble wrap. To then dispose of this here and replace it with cardboard padding just to make it look ‘eco-friendly’ would be nothing more than greenwashing, because the film has already been produced and is out there in the world, and our eco-friendly packaging materials also consume energy and resources during production.
Seen in this light, there is of course no such thing as ‘environmentally friendly’ packaging, cars, heating systems, etc.; there are only ‘less harmful’ options!
So don’t be surprised if a bottle does happen to be wrapped in bubble wrap. We simply reuse materials that have been sent to us as part of orders, whether with goods deliveries or standard office supplies. And because we only use materials that were ‘involuntarily’ sent to us with orders – and which are better off being reused than thrown away – and because we use very little of it, we don’t believe this contradicts our claim of plastic-free shipping.

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

So please don’t be surprised if you receive a parcel from us bearing our large ‘Plastic-Free’ label, but which appears to have been sealed with plastic tape. It isn’t plastic.

Admittedly, not all manufacturers see the point of this. We have many contacts in the online shop scene and some of them scoff at it. But we stand by it, even if it means extra work and expense for us.

Here’s to a hopeful outlook for a greener future!

Mario Müller