We had no idea this was a day.
In fact, it only came to our attention yesterday - by accident. Everything related to the environment, sustainability and issues that concern the longevity of our planet elicit such an overwhelming response from each of us who work at MV.
You may (or may not) know, that our cute little warehouse is based on the northern beaches of Sydney, Australia. This is where (since 1999) we handcraft all of our artisanal products with love, from 100% vegan and plant-powered ingredients.
The area is a peninsula of breathtaking natural beauty surrounded by the rich tapestry of the wild Australian coastline.
From a young age at school we are taught to be aware and mindful of the way in which we interact with the world around us, and of the fragility of our surrounding ecosystem that requires our wholehearted commitment to protect.
What we forget, however, is that this innate consideration is not the case for everyone and certainly not the case for a number of businesses.
Because being environmentally ethical is obvious to us, we forget to tell you all about the ethical actions we take at MV to consider this planet.
WHY?
Because to be entirely honest - it's just so natural to us (excuse the pun), there was simply no other way. We do now realise that brands need to advertise how eco they are, to inform their customers of their allegiance to the environment.
So, get comfy and allow me to explain what we have always been doing at MV, and what we will continue to improve on.....
CONCENTRATED FORMULAS
This is one of the most important points to communicate, because it really is so rare and we consider it our point of difference. Since inception, MV formulations were created with the intention to be CONCENTRATED and never diluted or greenwashed with organic ingredients for marketing gain.
Of course, the benefits of this are multi-factorial and ultimately result in our customers using less product, customising the dosage, and spending less money. The positive impact on the environment means that you purchase less frequently, we ship less frequently, and everyone wins.
RECYCLABLE & LIGHTWEIGHT PACKAGING
Opting for aluminium bottles over glass was no accident. Glass bottles are lovely - but boy are they heavy! We ship products to you so it's important to reduce the wastage from breakage, packing protection, and weight of our freight shipments. Aluminum is perfect for us because it's safe & food grade (coated with an inert resin lining), and while it's not only lightweight it's also 100% recyclable as a 'closed loop' product. Which means that it can be recycled infinitely! On the contrary, glass recycling requires larger amounts of energy and it is actually a very cheap technology to create new virgin glass, so many manufacturers do not see recycled glass projects as economically attractive and less glass tends to be recycled for industrial purposes.
Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the initial energy and only 5% of the greenhouse gases. It is for this reason that approximately 75% of the aluminium ever produced is still in use today!
100% BIODEGRADABLE PACKING 'PEANUTS'
Have you noticed those funny 'lil peanuts in your order? These are actually bio-fill and manufactured from renewable resources that are made from 100% corn and potato starch. They break down completely and are compostable too, in-fact they can actually improve the soil structure of your garden. Yipeee. Don't have a compost? That's fine, just add them to your garbage and they'll disintegrate with no residue.
RECYCLED PAPER BOXES
We purchase boxes made from recycled paper.
Currently they're 76% recycled but we're always researching to find ones with an even higher percentage of recycled material whilst still maintaining the quality we need. Watch this space.
ECO BUBBLEWRAP
Only where needed, we use an eco bubble manufactured from a plant based material. The breakdown process is activated by UV light (a renewable resource) and will ultimately biodegrade into CO2, H2O and biomass when discarded - whether it ends up in landfill or another part of the waste stream.
REUSE, REUSE, REUSE
This one is MAJOR. Waste is only waste, when it becomes.....well, waste.
We all need to reuse as MUCH AS POSSIBLE in our everyday lives, and this is something really and truly practiced around the office every.single.day. How? Boxes we receive goods in are repurposed for stockist orders, we make notebooks from scrap paper, we upcycle containers, we make our own cleaning products, we share recipes and leftovers.
The list is exhaustive, trust us- we care, in a big way.
