It's Not Easy Being Green, But Here's How We Do It!
At Bigjigs Toys we take our environmental and ethical responsibilities very seriously. We follow a number of environmental procedures in order to ensure our impact on the environment is as small as possible.
11 Ways We're Being Environmentally-Friendly
There's always more we can do to work towards a greener future but here are 11 of the key ways in which we try to do our bit for the environment:
- Solar Powered - In December 2011 the Bigjigs Toys Solar Project was born! We had a solar generation system installed onto our warehouse roof which will offset 2239 tonnes of carbon in its 25 year lifetime!
- Green Packaging - All of the cardboard used for the packaging of our toys is made from 100% recycled cardboard and is fully recyclable.
- Wood You Believe It? Our Directors visit the sites where our wood is sourced to ensure environmental criteria are being met.
- Rubberwood, Not Rubbish - The majority of our products are manufactured using Rubberwood, a by product of the latex production process. Rather than the wood being discarded at the end of its useful life, it's harvested from replenishable forests and used in our toy production.
- Keep It Small - We use the minimum amount of packaging required to safely deliver our products to you. We also make sure the box isn't excessively larger than the product and in doing so we limit carbon emissions during transit.
- Recycling - All of our warehouse and office waste is sorted into general and recycling waste and all paper used is recycled and environmentally friendly.
- On Your Bike - We also have a cycle to work scheme and a bike shed to help encourage healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution.
- Saying "No" To Polythene - We ensure that no polythene will ever be used in packing customer parcels.
- Less Time At The Printer - Approximately 90% of our invoices and statements are emailed rather than printed in order to save paper and reduce paper waste.
- Power Saving Mode: Activated! All of our computers are set by default to have a number of power saving features enabled so we can reduce unnecessary energy consumption.
- The A-Team - Class A energy lighting is used throughout the office and showroom areas which allows us to use less energy while keeping the same amount of light.
Have you heard of Green Toys?
If you didn't know already, we're also proud distributors for Green Toys; one of the most environmentally conscious toy lines in the world. Green Toys deliver high quality, eco-friendly toys which are good for the Earth, as well as safe and fun for the little ones who call it home!
To date, Green Toys have recycled over 100 million plastic milk jugs! These milk containers are then reprocessed and mixed with food-safe mineral-based colouring to create beautiful eco-friendly toys.
On average, every pound of recycled plastic used to make Green Toys products saves enough energy to power a TV for 3 weeks! It's also equal to the same energy as 3000 AA batteries or could keep a laptop running for a month.
All of Green Toys products are packaged using only recycled and recyclable materials and are printed with soy inks. No wonder they won the Greener Packaging Award for best practices and sustainable packaging. Plus there are no metal ties or screws!
Environmental Responsibility
You can read more about our most recent eco-friendly changes and commitment to environmental responsibility & sustainability here.