Eco Conscious
what makes my personalised Stationery kinder to the planet?
So what does it mean to be an Eco Conscious business? Well, It means that the Impact that my business has on the planet and also on the people in the supply chain is always at the front of my mind.
I look hard for innovative materials and choose ethical businesses to work with in order to bring my products to life. a true collaboration between traditional techniques and modern innovation.
By using a mixture of recycled materials, materials made from other industry byproducts and materials that use resources in a sustainable and even circular way, I strive to leave a lighter imprint on the planet. Read on, to find out about some of the ways in which I do this.
Traditional making methods for modern stationery
Using traditional craft techniques that haven’t changed for hundreds of years to make modern stationery that you want to own and use today is at the heart of the Blue Stiggy studio.
Almost all of my products can be made completely off grid using only hand tools and hand operated machines.
My vintage typewriter Dorothy works extremely hard personalising your notebooks every day and my vintage letter press Daisy joins in too.
The Blue Stiggy studio is solar powered so when I do need to use lighting, my laptop or a printer, mother nature is keeping the show on the road.
Blue Stiggy has been recognised as a Plastic Free Champion by SAS (surfers against sewage and Plastic Free Lincoln) Your order will come lovingly wrapped in recycled tissue paper with washi tape and inside a cardboard postal box delivered on foot by your postie.
I also love to include a hand written note on some paper offcuts - Honestly, I know they take more time than whipping one out of the printer, but I really love connecting with the people who buy my products and want to say a genuine heartfelt thankyou and best wishes to you.
Plastic free packaging
What materials do i use to make my personalised stationery?
I am totally in love with the innovative and eco conscious papers that I have found to make stationery for you. Here’s a run down of the main components and why I’m so happy with their eco credentials
Hand made cotton paper
This is some of my favourite papers to work with. Supporting a community of craftsmen and women in India who are properly paid for their work.
This paper is handmade from t shirt industry waste. It is handmade in the traditional way and whilst papermaking can be water intensive, the water is released after the process (there are no harmful chemicals added) the water here is reused several times for papermaking and then finally is sent to irrigate their organic mango farm.
It takes a while to get here, as it comes by boat not air, and is so tactile. it softens with age like a favourite pair of jeans I love that I can see the weave of the blankets used to press the paper. they leave a lasting impression and are each different ( i have my favourites)
UK made cotton paper
This paper is also beautifully tactile, made in the UK from textile industry waste by St Cuthbert’s Mill in Somerset. They are very mindful of environmental stewardship, the mill sits on a river.
The River provides a clean source of water, which has been naturally filtered through the surrounding limestone. It is returned to the river and has the highest classification for cleanliness and biodiversity.
This paper is used for the majority of my personalised notebook covers. It is beautifully tactile and has a soft appearance. Each sheet is finished by hand and pressed between wool felts to give a wonderful surface texture.
And a company after my own heart - the machine that they use to make this beautiful paper is over 100 years old too.
Recycled Coffee Cup Paper
This is the most amazing and innovative paper, made from recycled coffee cups, in a completely zero waste process. 95% of cup waste is converted back in to paper and the remaining 5% of plastic is used for energy recovery in the production of recycled paper.
It is made by the clever folks at the James Cropper Paper Mill in the Lake District in the UK
I use this paper for some of the envelopes for my notecards and also for some of my book covers.
Recycled Cartridge Paper Pages
All of my notebooks are filled with the most gorgeous 240gsm (that’s pretty thick) cartridge paper that has been made from 100% UK post consumer waste. So, you know the stuff that goes in your paper recycle bin? yeah, that stuff is remade in to more paper and used at Blue Stiggy HQ.
It is strong enough to withstand pretty much any media you can throw at it even a a light water colour wash.
Your fountain pen won’t feather or bleed through it’s amazing stuff and it comes from our rubbish I love it!
Pencils made from sustainable wood
You have no idea how happy I was ( I may even have done a whoop and a dance) to find a pencil maker using sustainably sourced wood to make their pencils.
I was even more cock a hoop to find that they are local to me, in the East Midlands, right here in the UK - Sustainable wooden pencils were surprisingly hard to find but I’m very happy to say that Blue Stiggy Pencils are made in the UK from PEFC certified wood.
Zero Waste stationery
Every business does create some waste but as you’d expect I try to minimise the waste that I produce and try to do something useful with anything that is still produced.
I have worked to modify my making process so that less trimming is required at the end of making your notebook but at the end of the working day, I have usually created a pile of paper shreds that have been trimmed off.
You’ll be pleased to know that I save every single one of these and take them to my friend and glass artist Scarlet Impressions. Scarlet uses the trimmings to pack and protect her glass work when sending to her customers. Any trimmings that Scarlet doesn’t need, I take to a local glass company, Majestic Crystal in the next village and they happily take them to use in their packaging too.
Many of my supplies use paper and card as their main packaging materials so this helps greatly and can be put back in to the recycling system.
However, Paper needs to be protected from damp and so if a paper stack comes in the studio in a large plastic bag too, it is saved and then reused to take my book trimmings to my local friendly glass makers who use it for their own packaging.
I also save larger pieces to make other items from. This video shows the process of dividing up the larger sheets of cotton paper into pieces for book covers and what happens to the smaller pieces left over.
Energy
All of my notebooks are made exclusively with hand tools and my lovely vintage typewriter Dorothy which means that they can be made completely off grid.
Blue Stiggy HQ is a solar powered studio with solar battery storage so when I do need to use my laptop, lights, a printer or more importantly, when I pop the kettle on to make a brew. Mother nature is powering us all the way.
a tree planted with every order
I’ve teamed up with the fabulous Eden Projects to make sure that a tree is planted for every one of your orders. The trees are the planet’s lungs and I don’t think we can plant too many
So Job Done! Everything at Blue Stiggy is amazing for the planet yes?
Well………….. It would be really easy to just leave it there and say job done, but life and business is not like that. there are always decisions and compromises to be made in business so that means there is always opportunity to do more, do better, and find even more ways to limit the impact of Blue Stiggy on the Planet. There are some things that I would like to find alternatives for as I know that they can be better and I promise to always strive to do that.
Michaela
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