Why Australian Woodwork is going green in 2021 (Because isn’t it time we all did?)

2020 was a watershed year for the planet, with the covid-19 pandemic making us question fundamentally how we live. Pollution, climate change, our stretched global supply chains, being dependent on imported goods, all these came to our attention-demanding re-evaluation. As a result, this year we have decided to go all out on making our packaging as close as possible to 100% ecologically sustainable. Everything we use will be made from recycled material and will be biodegradable or recyclable or both, plus all our packaging with a few exceptions will be Australian made.

Being green can be complicated

As Kermit the frog famously said, being green isn’t easy! - all the different categories and terms floating about are confusing so here is a summary of what they all mean. 

Made from recycled materials means just that - your new unused package has been made from recycled materials, usually plastic or cardboard which would otherwise have gone into landfill. 

Recyclable means that the item can be recycled for further use such as above and can be dropped into your recycling bin. 

Bio-degradable means that the box or packaging can be broken down by microorganisms that naturally occur in the soil, landfill and compost bins, and turned into organic matter.

What packaging does Australian Woodwork use exactly?

We use Australia Post as our delivery service because, in a huge country like Australia, a continent, in fact, it is the only system that services the entire country. We also use mostly Australia Post packaging (read more here about their ecological milestones) and it is mostly green and ecologically responsible, for example:

Australia Post satchels - Australian made from 80% recycled plastic and conditionally recyclable.

Australia Post boxes - Australian made Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified mailing boxes, meaning the materials can be traced back to healthy, sustainably managed forests PLUS they are recyclable or even better, bio-degradable.

Australia Post padded bags - Australian made from 80% recycled plastic and conditionally recyclable.

Green bubble wrap - Australian made and tinted green for easy identification, this bubble wrap is recyclable in your recycle bin AND fully bio-degradable; naturally occurring microorganisms found in soil, landfill, and home compost bins can break down this eco-friendly product and turn it into fertiliser.

Gift boxes - Australian made, our new gift boxes are made from 100% recycled cardboard and are fully recyclable and even better, bio-degradable.

Tying up the gift box - our only imported packaging products are our natural hemp cord or raffia and we would buy Australian made if we could. However, these products are fully recyclable and bio-degradable.

What we can’t fix at the moment - our current stock of packaging tape is not recyclable but we are planning to replace it with a more eco-friendly product by mid-2021.

What else is Australian Woodwork doing to help the environment? We are reusing!

These days we all know that the environment needs our care and respect - we have all seen the photos of seas of plastic and with that in mind, we reuse as much packaging as possible. Our suppliers come from all over this wide land and we receive many boxes and parcels at our warehouse, so reusing the bubble wrap, butchers paper, cardboard and tissue that arrive with our beautiful products is a great step towards reducing landfill where packaging makes up 23% of the content.

And we hope you will too

We hope that our customers will also reuse their packaging; our gift packaging is sturdy enough to be reused a few times, as are our hemp cord and raffia ties. And if your order arrives in a cardboard box it can be used many, many times over.

While most of our major packaging milestones are in place, there will be a period of transitioning from our old stock of gift boxes and ribbon to our new 100% recycled, compostable range which we plan to achieve by mid-2021.

Everything you see here in our storeroom is bio-degradable and made in Australia