It’s Earth Day tomorrow! We know sustainable living isn’t something that can be crammed into one day a year. But the day does serve as a good yearly reminder to take stock of the efforts we are all making and where we can do more.
At Common Deer, here are a few ways we take in order to reduce our impact:
Supporting American-made
Products made with care to last are less likely to end up in a landfill. Conscious shopping encourages us to really consider our purchases, and seek quality over quantity. The small brands and makers we work with are part of our communities, and they are often leaders in sustainable practices. We believe that supporting small business is the way to a stronger planet (and economy).
Local sourcing
Whenever we can we source inventory and supplies locally. Goods that don’t need to be shipped around the globe simply have a lower carbon footprint. We are always focused on promoting bioregionalism, to help our business and our customers reduce their impact.
Domestic manufacturing
Locally-made is gentler on the planet. Domestic goods are required to meet certain environmental standards, enforced by third-party certifications, which help ensure their production is more sustainable.
No free shipping (here’s why!)
The lure of “free” shipping encourages more frivolous purchases and increases returns – all of which has a much bigger impact than we may think. Shipping actually has a large carbon footprint, and produces a ton of material waste and pollution.
Our Materials
Our shopping bags are always made with 100% recycled material. We also encourage people to use our Common Deer tote bags by offering a 5% discount when you wear it into the store. Many of the materials we ship with are also reused – and we deliberately limit the amount of branded paper goods we include in our outgoing boxes.
Reuse it
We find a second life for just about everything – from rubber bands to ziplock bags to cardboard. We reuse boxes and packing peanuts received in shipments, and meticulously save bubble wrap to use in the store. This is NOT at all the easy way of doing business, but for us it's the way we want to. If we can’t use supplies we’ve saved, we often find a local business or artist who can. To make it easier for others to repurpose OUR shipped materials, we don’t use branded boxes.
Supporting Local
Through our Vermont Parks Collection and Vermont Souvenir donation programs, every year we donate a significant amount to partners who share our vision of a greener, more sustainable world.
As always, thank you for supporting our small business!