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DESIGNED & CREATED IN THE UK

Sustainability guides the choices I make behind the scenes when creating new products. I spend a lot of time finding really good UK-based suppliers that will bring my ideas to life, and will use recycled & FSC certified papers and sustainable, local materials wherever possible.

For giclée prints, my local printer uses St Cuthberts Mill Fine Art paper. It has a lovely, subtly textured surface and it is sustainably produced in Somerset using cotton that is a by-product from the textile industry.

 
 
 

RECYCLED, RECYCLABLE & COMPOSTABLE

My goal is to create a product that’s going to last, in packaging that will protect it but doesn’t need to stick around on the planet indefinitely. I use recycled & recyclable plastic-free packaging wherever possible. Greetings cards are protected in fully compostable & biodegradable sleeves (derived from potato and corn starch), which will break down to CO2, H2O and biomass in either home or commercial composting environments. [Accredited to ‘OK biobased’ and DIN EN 13432].

Orders are shipped in super sturdy, FSC certified cardboard envelopes and boxes (and often made from 100% recycled paper too) and will only ever be sealed with paper tape that can be left on the parcel and recycled as normal. The paper branding and info stickers are also made from 100% recycled waste paper, and the transparent stickers are all compostable.

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REDUCING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

I’ll always re-use the shipping boxes that things arrive to me in and will re-purpose any plastic packaging (e.g. bubble-wrap) to protect larger wholesale orders, so I never buy any new. I also ask that my suppliers use plastic-free packaging wherever possible.

Currently, giclée prints are still packaged in a clear cellophane wrap (not compostable) with a conservation backing board. This is because I want to ensure that the giclée prints are fully archival, and so the packaging must be acid-free and suitable for storing the artwork long-term without having any impact on the paper or inks. I’m constantly researching ways to reduce single-use plastics and make my business more sustainable, so as soon as I can find an alternative or make any improvements I will do so - I would love to hear if you have any ideas or suggestions: alice@rosen.org.uk