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#thepureoption was starting with the lofty mission to end the crazy practice of using dead dinosaurs to create something that is single use, so we replaced the dead dinosaurs with plants, a simple solution that is both sustainable and equitable for the planet.
So I recently attended a number of workshops with Small Business Britain series and Sustainable Pathways hosted by Ciaran Armstrong on how to use our businesses as a force for good.
It was an excellent reminder that Small Business can be a driver for change.
Social & Ethical Impact
✅ We have made a move from overseas production of our products, to a UK centric solution, we are currently at 72% UK manufactured, which reduces the carbon footprint of our UK made products by 12%.
✅ We only work with companies that are SEDEX member, or have a proven ethical approaches to their supply chain and workforce.
✅ We have a policy of sharing 10% of our profits with our employees & 10% with local charities (hopefully we can do more of this when we get past poorly thought our policies like the Plastic Tax & Plastic Ban).
✅ We source our products using plant based waste from agriculture, so that we can offer additional income to farmers.
✅ We are open & honest, we publish our profits, profit margins & costs, in our "Lets be Transparent" , we consider ourselves a responsible corporate citizen, honest and open is in our DNA.
✅ We strongly believe that zero hour contracts are only acceptable if the employee asks for it, we work around the lifestyles of our team & always look for ways of working that help our team to work happy and not just effective.
Economic Impact
✅ We have a policy of sharing 10% of our profits with our team & 10% with local charities, this is so we can improve the lives of our team and the community we operate in.
✅ We work with our supply chain to help them to be a driver of change.
✅ We hire people based on their values & not their CV, we work with people who may be considered disadvantaged, but to us they are considered someone valuable and worth investing in.
Managing the worlds finite resources responsibly.
✅ We were told we could get around the plastic tax by adding 30% recycled plastic to our products, we will never sell plastic based products, even when it financial hurts us, we only do plant based products, no compromising here.
✅ We track the carbon footprint of all of our products and if there is a way of creating our products with better environmental outcomes, we change our products.
✅ We look at our impact and find ways of doing it with minimum (or preferably, no impact), we offset our servers carbon, eliminated paper brochures & incentivise our customers to order in bigger quantities to reduce the shipping carbon.
✅ We reuse waste material, our current waste is less than 1%.
✅ Our company vehicles are low Co2 or electric.
✅ We encourage our team to work from home.
✅ We utilise technology to avoid needless journeys, so nearly all of our meetings are done online.
Our obligations to our customers.
✅ We will always act in the most honest and transparent way, if we get it wrong we will be honest we got it wrong, even when it hasn't been noticed, we will always do the right thing.
✅ We will always be transparent about what we do and how we do it and will add this to our “Let's be transparent” page.
✅ We want to empower you and give you the facts that help you to make the right choices, we don't believe in the current narrative of telling you that you are an awful person, messing the planet up, we give you the information to make an informed choice.
✅ We created our carbon audits so you can drive sales, just by doing the right thing, we recommend sharing with the world the amazing difference you are making.
✅ We are here to support you, see us as your free environmental experts, advice is always free and non judgemental.
