Preserving and conserving our planet matters, which is why we’re constantly working on ways to make our gifts and all our operational practices ever more sustainable.

At eatsleepdoodle, our aim is to create high quality, long-lasting gifts of integrity – educational, creative and stimulating - that can be used and enjoyed again and again! Creating products that are designed to be used multiple times prevents excessive production – reducing our carbon footprint, use of materials and more.

Like many when the New Year comes around, we got to thinking about our 2024 resolutions and how we can continue to be evermore sustainable as a company and in our day-to-day office life.

An exciting new project that we’re thrilled to share with you is that we are taking steps towards making our packaging 100% plastic free! We’re in the process of designing brand new cardboard packaging for all of our colour-in gifts and pens. Each gift and wash-out pen set will soon arrive in a cardboard sleeve or box which will be completely recyclable – and the stickers on the boxes will be made of paper so they can be recycled, along with the box!

So far (almost) all our pencil cases and crossbody bags come in a cardboard sleeve and our placemats to go come in a (cute!) mini cotton tote bag. Our pens will also begin to come in a cardboard box too (look out for the pastel set – already sporting the new box!). But don’t forget that all our current packaging can also be recycled at home with your council’s kerbside recycling scheme. 

With this in mind, we thought we’d share with you a few of the ways that we try to be as eco-friendly as possible at eatsleepdoodle HQ. Read on for some sustainability facts, recycling tips, and ways we’re trying to continue our sustainable journey as a small business in 2024!

1. Walking where we can

Aside from being great for our health and well-being, walking to work rather than driving can be a great way to reduce our carbon footprints. Did you know short car journeys produce much more pollution than longer journeys? When travelling a shorter distance, our cars struggle to get warm quickly enough causing them to run inefficiently.

As a team, we opt for walking where we can - eatsleepdoodle team member Jess walks to work every day and if we have a show or meeting to get to, we take the train or car-share where possible. 

2. Swapping disposables for reusables

 

It's no secret that switching to reusables from single use items is a great way to be more sustainable - and you know that we love reusability at eatsleepdoodle; it’s at the heart of our brand and reflected in each of our textile colour-in gifts!

And did you know all our textile gifts are made from 100% natural cotton? The cotton we use is completely biodegradable, our pencil cases have recyclable linings and all of our gifts are 100% vegan.

We've also adopted this further in our office by swapping out paper towels for kitchen tea towels, that we can take home and wash; bringing our own cutlery from home and each having our own reusable water bottle - this is also a great way to save some money too!

3. Only boiling what we need

 

A nice cup of tea or coffee is like fuel at eatsleepdoodle HQ - our kettle works hard enough to be another member of the team! But did you know that each extra cup of water can add 45 seconds to boiling time? And that a boiling kettle can use more power than your TV, laptop and fridge put together!

One easy way to save energy is to only boil the amount of water you need - and you'll save some time too! It may seem little, but each time you make a drink you’ll be one step closer to meeting your sustainability goals for 2024. We always try our best to implement this in the office.

4. Recycling correctly

 

Whilst recycling is not a new thing, many people may not realise that they are recycling incorrectly. Research from Recycle Now found that in 2022, 84% of households are contaminating their recycling through well-intended ‘wish cycling’ - where people want to recycle as much as possible but end up putting materials in that aren't suitable for recycling.

In 2024, we're making an effort as a company to avoid 'wish-cycling' and are making sure we check to see what we can and cannot put in each bin. This handy tool tells you what recycling symbols mean and also has lots of other information about how recycling works, what recycling bin things go into and how recycling can help the environment!

Reducing the amount of waste you produce is also a great step in helping the environment, whether this is through limiting food waste, proper recycling or steering clear of single use items.

As for eatsleepdoodle gifts, our product packaging and non-textile gifts, such as gift wrap and activity paper can be recycled at home with your council’s kerbside recycling scheme. For our textiles, because their high quality gives them a long lifecycle, when you’re ready to move on from your gift you might like to consider donating it to an organisation, charity, children’s hospital or shelter where someone else can enjoy it. Otherwise, you can use this link to find your nearest textile recycling point.

Thanks to Terracycle’s Writing Instruments Recycling Programme, you can recycle all things stationery from printers to paper and especially PENS! at convenient drop off spots dotted around the country. Our nearest spot is the local Salisbury Rymans, where we recycle all of our eatsleepdoodle and office pens. You can find your nearest spot with this link and just look out for the special cardboard deposit box!

5. Make sure everything is off!

It's still quite dark and chilly in the UK at the moment, which means lights and heating are probably being overworked! Whilst we can't go without using the energy from our lights and computers during the day, we make sure everything is off when we leave to avoid wasting energy overnight. We also make a conscious effort to limit the use of our heater and even though it's a bit chilly first thing in the morning, things soon warm up as the day goes on!

Another energy saving top tip is to only have things on in the places you need them and to make sure to keep doors shut to hold the heat in.

These are just a few of the things we do as a company and we hope we’ve given you some ideas, tips or tricks to keep in your sustainability toolbox so you can achieve some of your environmentally friendly resolutions this year. We know sometimes it can feel like a big burden to bear but the little things really do make a difference – so keep going!

If you want to know more about how we try to remain sustainable, you can read our full eco policy on our website and if you have any questions or feedback, please do get in touch – we would love to hear from you!