✿ ECO-FRIENDLY PLASTIC FREE ONLINE SHOP PACKAGING ♻︎

[@Hailey-bz2ym]

I just want to add for anyone in the comments: please don’t shame small shops for not being eco-friendly. The plastic options are the most economical and accessible for lower-budget shops. Focus your energy towards larger businesses and companies. It might feel better to think you’re having an impact when it’s a small shop but the larger companies are the ones making most of the waste. Do what you have the means to do in your own life and nobody is solely responsible for the health of the planet.

[@LeighEllexson]

Preach

[@melanie_meanders]

Hailey yes!!! Did you hear about the climate clock in Times Square? Corporations are fully aware that they’ve shifted this guilt on consumers, making us believe we are responsible for their bad business choices because we rely on their products. The 100 most environmentally detrimental companies make up just over 70% of worldwide emissions/pollution contributing to the climate crisis. They know this, and have made it easier for us to choose resource-intensive products by making them cheaper. If we show what our values are as a society, companies that refuse to conform will eventually go out of business. Without financial incentive, corporations leave proactive eco plans to stagnate. We need to hold them accountable for their lofty promises that make sustainability seem impossible. Yes there’s a lot of work to be done, but the best way to start is by setting achievable goals that don’t scare people away!

[@Hailey-bz2ym]

@@melanie_meanders I have heard about that! Paints a very grim future. 1000% agree. It gives me so much hope to see the popular values shifting more and more towards sustainability and ethical shopping. For example, I’ve been vegetarian over 10 years now and I’ve seen a huge shift towards vegetarianism and veganism in popular culture. With that there are so many more food options and the meat industry is shrinking. I’m beginning to see the same with eco-consciousness as well

[@lindedesigns]

thanks for saying that! and some eco friendly packaging can only be bought in large quantities or in certain countries. I haven't found a good alternative for everything yet, because it can't be bought locally yet or it isn't waterproof.

[@jlshaw11]

@hailey you are awesome! Will look into your recommendations

[@Thebookrat]

I really appreciate people who are transparent about sources. Not only is it super frustrating for every single person to have to research every single thing because no one wants to share where they got something from, but in cases like this when you’re trying to do good, it only makes sense to encourage other people to also do that same good. Make it easy for people to make the best choice possible. Less gatekeeping, more of this.

[@shaicecream5246]

Reusing your mailers isn't always pretty, but you know what is pretty. The environment. xD * applauses for Leigh *

[@NatalieMadeThis]

By the way Leigh - your brown paper bags that say "40% post consumer" on them are 100% recycled paper. It just means that up to 60% of the recycled paper was sourced from industrial sources.

[@LeighEllexson]

THANKS!! Awesome news.

[@MonsterMaker]

Oh helpful thank you for clarifying!

[@nonamekc4790]

Hello, thank you for the information. As a small shop, I can say that I am 50% 50%. I ship orders using used boxes. When I receive packages 📦, I keep the box and send it to my customers. The kraft paper that companies use as fillers in the orders, I unwrinkled it and pack pack orders. Some of my products do not need a bag for presentation so I use rice paper make a pocket and sew them with twine. I use cheese cloth bags. I use the brown food bags and ship during the Summer so I know there is no bad weather. I use plastic during Winter and sensitive items. Some customers will not understand but it is ok. Two years ago, I collected all the paper shopping bags from retailers and made them envelopes to ship my orders.

[@amemayen]

I admire you for the commitment you have with eco friendly packaging. In Mexico is hard to find eco friendly options, I just reuse the packaging my mom recieves at her job, but every time I go to the post office they try to convince me to buy bubble envelopes 😓. This was a great video 💕

[@LeighEllexson]

Glad you found it helpful! I always feel pressured to use “nice” packaging too 😅

[@danielachiloiro1183]

Girl I just wanna say the more you commit to asking the questions of eco friendly options and normalizing the use of reusing packaging materials the more change you will bring, so thank you for doing what you can!!!!

[@TrishhMakes]

ayy! tengo el mismo problema en Peru T_T estoy buscando rigid mailers y el shipping hasta acà es carisimo T_T

[@touchofperu]

what an awesome video! thank you for sharing 😍😍

[@journalshopcanada]

Hi Ame 😁 My name is Nan and I was living in Nuevo Ideal Durango, Mexico last year I couldn't find a reliable post office to ship my prints 😭 who do you use to ship? Anyways, have a great day!

[@sammieclarkart]

Finally got a chance to watch this and I'm so happy someone finally spoke up about Noissue! The hack of making stickers from the zero waste labels is awesome. I've started using glassine for my 5x7" prints, but I wonder if I should just use recycled envelopes instead... mine are recycled Kraft paper from ClearBags. Papersource also has a large selection of colored recycled envelopes (thought color takes more energy and chemicals to produce and they come with some plastic in the packaging). The amount of orders I get for larger prints like 8x10 is smaller, and I have been wrapping those in Kraft paper that comes in packages I order. Those bags are awesome though, I have never used paper mart. I will have to check them out. I've been getting 100% recycled post cards and business cards printed through Vistaprint. They do wrap them in plastic, which I recycle with other thin plastics at Target. I chose to use Vistaprint over moo because it was SO much cheaper. But I'm curious, do the moo ones come wrapped in plastic too?

[@LeighEllexson]

The moo postcards have no palsy i packaging which I love!

[@ordinaryowls]

This is great! What most people don't realize is that even using recyclable plastic isn't a great option because most plastic doesn't ever get recycled, even after it makes it to a recycling facility.

[@michaelaskittle6494]

It's so admirable how much effort you put into ecofriendliness, it really just solidifies my feelings about support a smaller business over mass production, I'll always be happy to buy your art :)

[@ghostroseart]

Your sassy passion about our environment is something we need more of. Thank you for using your platform to educate!!

[@craftyexplosion8455]

I love this video and your passion for more sustainable business practices!! I see several people in the comments saying that they may try out glassine bags too, but one thing to keep in mind is that not all glassine bags are paper recyclable. Some have silicone or other coatings on them and it's important to know if they do or not, especially if you tell your customers that they can recycle them. If they have this coating, they may not be recyclable in most places. I was on the hunt for glassine bags too for my etsy shop and personally contacted a few companies to ask if they could confirm that they're bags were 100% paper recyclable. Nashville wraps said that theirs weren't certified recyclable, but PaperMart did say that theirs were! I also don't know about the sustainable integrity of that company, but at least they could verify that their glassine bags were actually paper recyclable. I love ecoenclose too!! I ordered a bunch of things from them and I'm obsessed (great customer service too)!!

[@LeighEllexson]

THANKS FOR THIS! Important read for anyone considering glassine or already has it!

[@agnese16]

it’s sooo weird to see the difference between the recycling systems in the usa and in europe. i very thankful i can easily recycle and have access to facilities that make it easier here in italy. happy that there are ppl like you who care enough to make the effort. loved the video ☁️

[@LeighEllexson]

There's nooooothing in the USA when I visited Europe a year ago I was amazed by the waste options on the sidewalks.

[@blondevlogger]

Thank you so much for this video and your input on no issue! I was so disappointed by their manufacturing and lack of transparency. I looooove ecoenclose so much. I feel like I learned so much from their website and it helped me stay away from compostable mailers

[@Create301]

I’m seriously glad to hear that you’re spreading truth about the recycle branding not being legit, I heard the plastic industry poured millions into lobbying to make plastic be “ recyclable”, it’s coming to light how in the end, plastic will not degrade at all. They even found the smallest micro plastics in non inhabited forests 😔

[@Jean_L.]

LOVE the way you stick to this environmental friendly guidelines! I had watched your previous plastic-free packaging sometimes ago and I'm so happy to see another one. It's sooooo informative and useful. Such topic should be talked more! Thank you for all the sharing💕

[@thecadaver]

With the "minimum 40% post consumer waste" thing, don't stress! Post consumer just means it's recycled from our personal trash, whereas pre-consumer is waste from manufacturers, like offcuts, missprints, used packaging etc. Basically they recycle their own trash too. All good stuff!

[@LeighEllexson]

THANK YOU! :-)

[@MsTegan]

Leigh Ellexon inspiring us to paint, save the environment and be an absolute unit.

[@crappycrafterr]

The lorax is her spirit animal. Omg Plz make more educational videos like this for noobs like me who wanna do better! All shop packaging videos are only about how to make everything fancy, like extra adds on etc. This is so refreshing. Would love to see a video on what exactly green washing is and how to detect it. Ok now im gonna go cry over all this plastic packaging supplies I still have from bulk ordering earlier this year 😭

[@HetPlutomeisje]

Thanks for all the extensive research you did Leigh! I was on a similar quest a couple of months ago and I decided to use Compostable Plastic Sleeves for prints and glassine bags for small items like stickers and postcards. I just wanted to add an extra note to your research about compostable bags. It's true that these bags don't disintegrate in home composting in 3 months (the amount of time most tests use to check this in industrial composting), but they do actually completely turn into composte. It just takes a bit longer. At the moment there's not really a standard, but in Belgium there's a companty that is looking into this and we have the "OK Compost" label on a lot of our compostable plastics, which means we can chuck them in the organic waste bin or we can put them in our garden composte pile. With this label there's at least 90% degradation in 12 months at ambient temperature. Just like some organic compounds (like branches, or thick leaves) also don't desintegrate in 3 months, these plastics are the same, it just takes them a bit longer. If you cut them up in smaller pieces they will also be gone quicker. :) If you're in Europe and are looking for compostable plastics, make sure to only buy them if they have the European standard EN 13432. EN 13432 requires the compostable plastics to disintegrate after 12 weeks and completely biodegrade after six months. That means that 90 percent or more of the plastic material will have been converted to CO2. The remaining share is converted into water and biomass - i.e. valuable compost. (source: www.european-bioplastics.org/avada_faq/what-are-the-required-circumstances-for-a-compostable-product-to-compost/). Places like eco-craft sell these kind of sleeves.

[@LeighEllexson]

IMPORTANT INFO FOR EUROPEAN PEEPS LOOKING FOR COMPOSTABLE SLEEVES ^^

[@animelover1992]

Yes!!!!!! I always reuse my mail. ALSO LEIGH I REUSE birthday/ holiday cards. I been going into postcard because cards use so much paper and one side gets trash so I’m looking into that and making it a thing. Cut the front nicely and you save money and paper and spread the idea of reuse and recycle ofc it can only be reused 1x but that still helps! Omg I always get excited exchanging ideas how to eco friendly

[@CharleyAnn]

as someone who worked at a grocery store with one of those plastic bag recycle bins, we had to throw all of it in the trash each night. my supervisor thought sorting through it and removing the pieces of trash and food was a waste of time, so it all went in the trash. discouraging, but something to note for others who think their items are getting recycled! there is a chance it is probably just ending up in the trash!

[@LeighEllexson]

UGH I’m not surprised honestly. Hate that. Thanks for sharing.

[@kotorno]

Can agree unfortunately, after working at another big box retailer, that our maintenance staff did this as well. ☹️ 🤨

[@Horriyuo]

I feel this, I used to work at a theatre and we convinced them to start switching to recyclable cups for alcohol as we spent an hour picking them up off the floor every night and ended up with so many bin bags to throw away, unfortunately because of the fact they contained alcohol we ended up throwing all the recyclable stuff too :( although I think they started switching to canned drinks which ended up in recycling more.

[@LeighEllexson]

I follow a girl who asked everyone who follows her to tell her what wasteful practices their employers/past employers made them so and I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!! I could but I couldn't ya know?

[@mrs.quills7061]

This doesn’t surprise me either. Where I work some managers are the same. And we don’t have recycling minus large cardboard because the cleaning people will just throw everything in the garbage. Like you’re kidding me right? My office used to have recycle bins and I hate that we don’t because we use paper and it just goes in the trash regardless... I remember asking about it because my coworkers did try to recycle before I started there and no one gave a damn when they separated it. If I have yogurt or something I bring the cups home with me now. But even then, I wonder when I sort my stuff at home will the garbage people actually do what they’re supposed to do as well? In my apartment building my landlord requires us to sort everything and I recycle everything regardless from tp tubes to cans and such. They get placed in different bins too. However, the garbage people just toss everything onto one truck, so it’s like how do I know they give a damn enough to do their part as well? If consumers care enough to take the time to clean and separate items, the people we pass it off to should as well. I understand garbage and cleaning positions are tough work, but if it’s already separated for you it’s not that difficult. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Andyapolis]

I love that you're committed to being eco-friendly! It's definitely inspiring! I just opened my shop last October and already regretting all the plastic packaging I bought. I'm definitely aiming to consume less plastic in the future once I run out of the ones I've purchased. Postal mail from my country takes a long time to get to international countries (around 2 months with COVID) and I'm always afraid it would get damaged considering the transit time. And even if I'm willing to replace prints or paper stickers, customers might not want to wait another 2 months to wait for the replacement. My shop is small so I'm adjusting as I grow but I do want to grow to in a more eco-friendly way! The most eco-friendly way I can think of for my situation is to keep to mostly paper products for my packaging.

[@blondietehdino]

I just wanted to thank you SO MUCH for all your info I’m launching an Etsy soon and artists like you and knifesmeow inspired me to strive to be as eco conscious as possible. Every single piece of packaging I’m using is zero waste, home compostable/recyclable, and sourced entirely from post consumer/post industrial waste. I feel so proud already just for being able to give people a plastic free alternative 💕

[@AvelloArt]

Thank you so much for these eco-friendly videos! I learned about EcoEnclose in your last video and have been using them in my shop for the last 2 months. I'm SO happy with their quality and also really glad to not be contributing as much waste in my own small way. Super appreciate you spreading the good word and helping other shop owners, love this video!

[@dougrubenstein]

Hey! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. You were really informative and had such great resources and this is an incredibly vital topic to have more clarity on. I'm a potter and starting my own small business through etsy and your hook up with ecoenclose blew my mind. Game changer for sure. Thank you again, Leigh!

[@PotchouDoodle]

I'm so happy that you went for 100% paper for your packaging. I always wanted to buy from you but I'm also conscious about buying outside of Europe but now I really want to support this important step. I'm currently selling printables bit I really want to sell physical products one day and you are a huge inspiration for that 🥰

[@julietpang]

THANK YOU X 100 for doing this video. Was looking high and low for proper eco packaging and shipping. I live in Australia, and we have noissue as well. Your review and sharing on glassine cleared a lot up! I'd tried some of the plant-based cello here but there are not very sturdy. The Kraft paper and glassine may help better. Thanks for persevering with those questions! Feels like a load off my chest! I can finally start developing my prints now.

[@TanaMakes]

Lmao. I love your honesty. I was sent stuff from noissue and asked to mention the items in a video, in a candid way at least, and I think I was so passive aggressive in that video that my husband was like "damn, maybe you could've been nicer".. but the packaging was so bad, full of plastic, surprised it came from China, etc. Was not impressed with any of that. Also, I have a cricut and use shipping label paper from ecoenclose and hacked making custom stickers with them 😎. Thanks for being awesome, Leigh. 💜

[@alexis_keith]

I love your KZbin channel btw:)

[@TanaMakes]

@@alexis_keith thank you so much! You're always so supportive 😊💜

[@LeighEllexson]

hahah same, my review is pretty nice and then I was like... do better tho, let's use recycled materials. I sent them the video to approve and they were thanks for the feedback :-) go ahead and post it. I was lol ya'll playin' everyone.

[@tinagomez1314]

Honestly thanks to even discovering you Leigh, not only do I admire your art and personality, but you've helped me find legit sources of eco-friendly packaging products for when I open my art shop💙 idky but it was hard for me to find companies that are transparent about their eco-friendly packaging products or just don't offer the option. So I really appreciate you helping me with my small steps in helping our little planet💙🌎

[@LeighEllexson]

It's seriously so hard to find solid companies, I still only trust 1 or 2 !

[@Jayellez]

hey Leigh, thanks for being constantly evolving and even correcting yourself when you find new info. i believe sustainability is a lifelong thing for all of us to learn, and because i'm in the industry with my fiancé, we're very heartened to see someone who is committed to doing better in this regard. thanks for advocating for educating ourselves. i love your work!

[@RadhiaRahman]

YES i am so glad we are constantly inspiring each other to make more eco friendly approaches for our shops!! also encouraging others :~) This video was great!! It's my mission to make my shop completely plastic free in the near future!! I realized this when I was individually packaging memo pads in lil compostable plastic sleeves and was like 👁👄👁 this still feels wrong. sux that there arent big boy glassine bags!!! guess ill just have to keep my prints under letter size if that means less plastic in the environment!! lovely video as always leigh :~)

[@LeighEllexson]

I feel like if more artists get in on it and create a demand someone will offer it! Maybe we can swindle ecoenclose to do it >;-)

[@magdalenakonecna1990]

What I've been doing for a long time (and I think it's a very cool way to be somewhat sustainable) is to recycle bubble wrap from shop in my area. I basically just asked a few businesses if they would like to save bubble wrap and foil for me, and everyone was very nice about it (even though I'm from Eastern Europe, where eco lifestyle is not really a mainstream thing yet). I think that reusing material that would otherwise go to waste is a very cheap option for small shops that don't have the budget or option to buy the fancy compostable materials.

[@studiostrixNL]

I recently purchased envelopes made from 100% grass fiber, I don't know if they have that over in the US as well, I'd think they do

[@rochellelavin6445]

wow! what company did you order these from?xo

[@studiostrixNL]

@@rochellelavin6445 I'm in the Netherlands, and I found them at an online packaging store here. I'm sure you can find something similar on Google of you type grass fiber envelopes

[@LeighEllexson]

I will have to look into this!!!

[@mrs.quills7061]

That’s interesting! Thanks for sharing.

[@andi7150]

what’s the name of the company?

[@melanie_meanders]

Thank you so much for this, again! It’s so important to me to be proactive about sourcing the best materials possible, so it’s refreshing to see you updating this list with better options! Very interesting to hear about no issue, I always wonder about the sustainability of when businesses start sending pr to lots of influencers. Looking forward to seeing what other folks I follow decide to do about it; unless everyone takes drastic action by not supporting these companies then they’ll continue to get away with greenwashing. Yes it has become “trendy” to be sustainable, but no different than cheap clothing knockoffs, businesses will always try to make us fall for that “perfect” illusion. This one can’t be reproduced, it’s our job to hold these companies accountable and vote with our dollar! It doesn’t take a lot to “check their stitching” and it will let corporations know that we WILL find out, to hopefully turn them off from doing the shady stuff to begin with. You are a role model for businesses and consumers!

[@LeighEllexson]

YES!! Hoping this video will reach some others who have tried their products in the past!

[@julietillustrates]

Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate you getting to the point and sharing the differences between biodegradable, compostable and why they don't really work if you don't have the facilities! I've been selling my art with glassine. They are costly but it's worth it. I also pop them in cardboard hard mailers so they have double protection. It has worked well so far. :)

[@kaitlyn3216]

something i've been doing for a while is cutting cardboard boxes that get shipped to my home to back prints/orders. instead of purchasing chip board or "fine art" boards, reusing shipping boxes is a great option to ensure the rigidity of prints and such. cardboard boxes are curbside recyclable (where i'm from), so it's nice to cut them down into smaller sizes and ensure the entire box gets reused !! i think it's a good place to start if you can't afford the recycled/compostable material! :)

[@cl0v3r1sh3r3]

I used to do this and then I ran out of boxes!! I started asking friends for them but they were never in good shape so I caved and bought a case of chipboard. At least it’s still recycled material...

[@LeighEllexson]

I do this for my original art! I have hoards of cardboard 😅

[@WendyGreenIllustrations]

thanks for making this video and putting in the time for the research you did. I wanted to start an art shop and want the be eco friendly to protect the earth! 💖

[@msellenandrea]

Living in Norway I dont really have access to a lot of these items, especially not on my budget. But I do my best by not pre packaging any items, and only use one plastic sleeve per order. If I send out stickers I use no plastic at all. I reuse boxes and envelopes a lot too, and I have a huge hoard of used packaging supplies in my closets xD If you are not able to do fully plastic free either, don't feel bad. Do the best you can!

[@LeighEllexson]

Agreed!! Love the last point!

[@lilymargo9678]

Hey just on the topic of compostable plastic sleeves (8:01), it still completely trips me out that people DON'T have access to industrial size composting facilities . I am very lucky to live in a small town in Australia that highly values rubbish collection being easy, effective and as eco-friendly as possible (although because ours is trialing a new system only biodegradable plastics approved by our local government can be composted at this time). When I go to big cities it confuses me that nearly all of them don't have three types of bin (red - landfill, yellow - recycling, green - organics and plant matter). Watching things like this really remind me how lucky I am and that this kind of system (if implemented in far more places) could really be for the benefit of everyone.

[@LeighEllexson]

I envy your composting accessibility!!!

[@libbytunney7382]

Thank you so much for this video! I just started my own small business and it was really important to me to find eco-friendly packaging! Again, I completely understand that not everyone has access to eco-friendly options but even trying to reuse plastic packaging is so important too.

[@isratkanchan9741]

I have a really small shop and sell stickers, and I’ve been reusing the scrap paper from packages I get to make envelopes! I hope my customers like it and it makes so happy! 🥰

[@lindseywells8817]

Highly recommend If You Care parchment baking paper for packaging :) I'm a small shop here in the US and am hoping to find something that already comes in the right size bags (same prob as Leigh) but for now it's been great. I have been watching and waiting to see if she could find something I missed -- looks like we're in the search together!

[@JimenezB385]

Love this! Especially thank you for the specific details on why no issue is actually not that great !?!

[@Kaspaara]

It's amazing how responsible you are and that you even gave us a proper informational (and instructional) video on a topic like this that can feel very overwhelming at times. Love the "made from recycled materials & please recycle card"!!

[@_turntsnacko_7994]

Thank you so much for this!! I’m planning on opening my Etsy shop soon and shipping stuff is so intimidating for me ON TOP of wanting to be eco-friendly 😭but again thanks for this, it was very helpful and I’m so excited to start !!

[@ArtleyDraws]

This video came at such a good time. There are so many new small shops opening during quarantine, but some packaging videos I see on TikTok feel so wasteful (though I understand sometimes being sustainable can be quite expensive). Thanks for sharing your findings, Leigh! My mom thinks I'm a hoarder for keeping all my boxes/mailers, but one day I know I'll use them

[@LeighEllexson]

I'm naturally a person who does not want to hold on to things but mailer are my hoard item for sure. Let's hoard together.

[@rinrios]

I really appreciate this video! I'm about to start selling prints, but I didn't want to get stuck using a bunch of plastic. Thank you!

[@rachelhartwig1]

Thank you for this video, for being environmentally conscious, and for reminding myself and others to do so as well!

[@Marbleheadstudios]

If anyone from the UK/Europe is looking for recycled packaging eco-craft have a lot of affordable products! 🌱 ALSO totally jealous that Leigh managed to find glassine and paper bags in such big sizes 😮

[@HeyItsIsla]

Omg super helpful! I just looked and they have great stuff 😊

[@PolinaKalina]

Probably won’t be very useful for Europe after a no-deal brexit 😭

[@rabidhouseguest]

This is the best! I've been looking for more eco friendly packaging before I finally launch my Etsy and Patreon. Thank you so much!!!🖤

[@AlexxWretched]

I'm working on building my website nd ordering shipping materials right now and I'm finding these videos so helpful! I've been a long time viewer and knew exactly who to turn to first for advice! thank you

[@intergalacticpeachpatrol]

yo, this was definitely a video i've seen! and the best video i've ever seen! honestly though, i was taking mad notes as you were explaining. definitely needed this video. i've been trying to tell people about how noissue outsources their production to china, but not many people have either seen/read my comments or cared... so glad you care! it's disheartening when people just wanna do stuff 'cause it's trendy. yes - noissue stuff is cute as heck. but it's not what we're aiming for.

[@ivaniaewing1045]

OMG....Im so glad I came up this video!!! I wanna be you when I grow up!!! I'm trying each day to find more eco-friendly hacks for my small business!!! #savetheplanet is my motto!!!! :) Thank you for this video

[@chloeduffin2194]

YES! Thank you for addressing the many issues of packaging, especially the plastic sleeves - biodegradable, compostable and recycled. I used to sell my art work in "biodegradable" plastic sleeves and then learned that it makes nooooo positive difference. So devastating. You're paving the way for eco-conscious packaging!

[@sentiments1562]

i really appreciate the way youre so passionate about making the world a better place, im planning on starting a cosmetic business and information you gave me was really helpful! youre definitely one of the people that encouraged me to do the same, im just gonna have to do more research as packaging stationary is different from packaging cosmetics... Thank you so much :'))))

[@MarlenaNicholeJ]

Really awesome info! Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

[@Kumikais]

Thank you so much for posting this! I want to launch my shop in the UK this week. One of your past videos on the subject was also very informative and helped me make eco-friendly choices. Luckily, I consider myself basically cottage core so kraft papers and glassine packaging fits my aesthetic anyway!. xx

[@EasySundayClub]

thanks for sharing! What a great hack about the shipping labels and I agree with your points about noissue.

[@karadj1313]

I use Eco-Enclose to mail out zines to my subscribers every month and I discovered them through you!! Thank you for always sharing your wisdom!!!

[@LeighEllexson]

holla at EcoEnclose

[@christinah3494]

I haven't even finished the video yet and wow I am so excited I found this. Thank you SO MUCH. Thank you for sharing resources that aren't amazon!! I have been trying to find these answers for so long on my own omg I wish I found this sooner but I'm so happy I found this video now. I'm definitely going to check out your shop. This rules you're an angel thank you

[@phonesallbroken]

For those in the UK/Europe eco-craft has a bunch of clear plastic sleeves that are NOT made from plastic, they're made from corn/potato starch and will completely biodegrade into CO2 and water, according to the documentation given on their website. I've only done research on their bags so far, and have bought their bags and recycled card/paper products. One thing to note though, their bags aren't quite as clear as regular plastic bags, and they're kinda crunchy sounding? If you scrunch them up, they don't regain their shape like plastic ones do. Like most materials of this nature, they're not completely waterproof, due to their ability to compost and biodegrade even in regular landfill, but they've helped protect items I've sent overseas, and also prevented stock from being damaged from accidental liquid spills/splashes at home (I am an exceptionally clumsy person). I want to research their mailers too at some point, but right now it's a little out of my price range to buy, so one day! I hope this info can help someone, but please correct me if I've gotten anything wrong!

[@curiouslanguage2032]

Yay! You made an update! Thank you! I was really dismayed about the eco plastic bags, because they didn't really seem better than normal plastic unless you had unusually good resources.

[@birdietam]

Thank you so much for this video! I love that you're normalizing reusing packaging materials as I feel like many creators shy away from it. Also really appreciate you bringing to light the issues with No Issue cause I don't think many people knew about them Stay awesome Leigh! 💕

[@MohiniMadhavi]

very nice info, Leigh. I was looking for something to waterproof the apparel items, so glassine paper sounds cool. Now ecoenclose also has those.

[@frilliepink]

Excellent video Leigh. You should get an eco-award. :)

[@nanirimo]

ive just opened my own little etsy shop and I was really inspired by artists like you, Radhia, and Cheyenne to try to be as eco conscious as possible!! I’m using glassine bags, mailers, and labels from ecoenclose to package all my prints!! 💛 I didn’t know about the process behind glassine, that’s definitely something for me to think more about! Thank you so much for making this and sharing all these resources!! 💛💛✨

[@thamires.magalhaes]

I really love that you share these. It`s really hard to search these things and even more for very small business that are starting. Love the work you make, not just your art that is also incredible and inspires me a lot. Thanks Leigh!

[@bremott9601]

my shop isn’t big enough yet to afford eco friendly shipping stuff but i do reuse boxes and filler instead of throwing those away when a family member gets a package in the mail

[@ElizaPrax]

aaaah this video is just everythinggg!! gosh thank you so much for taking the time to film this! here in Finland (and a lot of European countries) we have bio bins on every apartment building, so i thought everyone had them lol. Glad to know that is not the case, because i've been using compostable sheets for my prints and originals (from eco-craft) and will now try to switch to glassine ones for international orders. Since my shop is pretty small i can not afford refunding lots of orders yet (especially now with corona :< ) so that can not be an option for me, but thank you again Leigh, loved this video and really appreciate you talking about how important recycling and the environment is ♡♡

[@phonesallbroken]

As a note! The eco-craft ones aren't made of plastic (at least the ones available to me when I'm buying from in the UK) they're made from corn/potato starch, and even if not composted will still break down in landfill to CO2 and water, according to the documentation provided. I haven't done much research into their other products though, just their clear biodegradable/compostable bags. I don't know if any of this info is helpful to you, but I hope you find it useful in some manner!

[@kalcantara21ka]

Thank you for this video I’ve been on the hunt on where to find eco friendly packaging before I opened up a small shop!! This helped me a lot!!!

[@thenamesyancy]

Thank you for posting this! It was so helpful and interesting! I'm slowly getting things together to open up a small online business and I'm really trying to be eco conscious about my packaging. Thanks for all of the info!

[@humblestationery6668]

This is so great for someone gearing up to create a shop! Thank you for the information and content that allows me to keep dreaming and working towards my goal

[@somannifique5201]

Also lol love how u called out no issue i got that feeling with them as well esp after i read about the production of compostable plastic mailers and how its really not that ideal

[@hollyexley]

Wow. So much incredible information in this video. Thank you for doing all of this research! I didn't realise the issues with compostable plastic sleeves! No more! I am a big fan of saving and reusing packaging. Even if it's not as "cute", I just cross my fingers and hope my customers appreciate the resourcefulness! Also, great update on Noissue. I hope they make some improvements.

[@LeighEllexson]

💚🐸 I was initially inspired by you to reuse my old packaging so holla @ holly

[@elinordrake7129]

What a really Excellent video!!!I hope you get curbside composting soon! We have it near Boston and the company I am with is expanding really quickly. (Black Earth Compost!) I LOVE it. I have cut my actual garbage down to a teeny tiny sandwich bags worth since getting curbside composting. They take odd things like bones, meat, dirty pizza boxes...etc.

[@LeighEllexson]

I have a yard where I can compost food scraps and paper which is awesome but I would LOVEEEEE curbside!!!!

[@elinordrake7129]

@@LeighEllexson Oh wow, I am always impressed with folks who backyard compost, especially busy folk! I admit it always seemed like something that was too much of a hassle (or I was too lazy..lol) but I felt guilty about it over & over. So when curbside composting arrived, I was sooo Excited!!

[@seotini]

I really appreciate you making this video! I want to be as eco-friendly as possible whenever I do make my own online shop and this is exactly what I needed!

[@atiracheney9113]

me: watched your last video about your packing materials & spent $180 on my order YESTERDAY... then me being very happy that you still support the products that I invested in!

[@sianfilms]

This was SO helpful - thank you, Leigh! I hope to open an online shop, and I'd love to get as many things right (including eco-friendly-wise) as I can, when I do. I'm based in the UK, so will be on the lookout for local sellers, but found this so informative and will definitely be saving this video to come back to in the future! Thank you again!

[@phonesallbroken]

Eco-craft has a bunch of products that (at least with the research I've done) are eco-friendly. Their poly bags are made from cellulose and can be composted at home, but even if they're just thrown away, they're still able to biodegrade in landfill, and they'll degrade to CO2 and water. I've only really used their bags and their recycled card as a backing card for stickers, but I've liked it so far. Their bags aren't quite as clear as regular plastic ones (although are very close) and are pretty loud/crunchy? I'd say that's the only downside I've found so far, that and the fact they sometimes struggle with keeping up with demand for their products. I hope that helps somewhat!

[@sianfilms]

@@phonesallbroken This is amazing! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out. I seriously appreciate it :-)!

[@MapleAccents]

Great video, thanks for sharing. (I'm a new follower & catching up on vids!) I keep /save newspapers & use it as cushioning when shipping. I also try to use or invest in stamps instead of using stickers on packages.

[@MiraByler]

This is so helpful! I’ve been looking for alternatives to the eco sleeves from clearbags for a long time. Thank you for compiling this information to help other artists. Once I use up my plastic shipping supplies I am definitely trying to go greener. Also, the thermal label sticker hack is such a genius idea. Hope you’re doing well! ✨ 👁👄👁

[@misty1732]

omg! Mira Byler! This is so cool that you are here! I’m such a big fan 😁

[@LeighEllexson]

so glad you found it helpful!! :-) I have some left over supplies too! Going to save them for special occasions like original art

[@lemonproductions1770]

@@LeighEllexson Thank you for the video! I was planning to start a etsy store soon, and this was a big help! Thanks 😁

[@tourmii]

i'm still in the process of starting my business but i went to reddit to ask people what they use to package their wax melts because i don't want to use plastic. most responses were "the plastic is recyclable, it's fine" but so many people don't realize that a lot of things don't actually get recycled or that things like food containers need to be rinsed first. whether it's the local city or the consumer just not bothering lol i have two recycling bins and my roommates still don't bother to go the extra 10 feet to the recycling bins :(

[@shannongamble5207]

I'm currently looking into setting up a shop for next summer and was looking for plastic free/plastic minimal packaging this video wa super helpful!

[@cassandrasotelo605]

Wow! Thank you so much for showing us budget friendly eco packaging! It’s so hard to switch when the prices are ridiculous

[@Lowrunnn]

Funny, I just switched to both glassine and brown paper bags in my art shop last month :) Thanks for talking so much about recycling!

[@heycrisper]

Thank you so much for sharing your process Leigh! It's so nice to see an artist that is happy to share where they source their packaging. When I was first researching where to buy mailers and such I contacted so many artists I followed who weren't happy to share their sources. Maybe they were too busy too? Forgiven. These videos are such a great source for those of us that might be starting out, so I appreciate it. ♥

[@LeighEllexson]

Love to share sources but it is sometimes hard to get back to individual messages answering where I get stuff 😅 Glad you found this helpful

[@AngelinaWanczarskyj]

Fab video Leigh! Thank you for making these videos ❤️ for any UK artist/shop owner friends, I use eco-craft for most of my packaging 💕

[@nematarot]

♥️♥️♥️ thanks for the good good info! ♥️♥️♥️ oh, also i use glassine bags for my products, and i love them for marketing purposes because i associate them with baked goods. But i didnt know anything about how glassine was made- you’re always inspiring me to dig deeper 🙏

[@LeighEllexson]

glad to share that good good

[@naturalistabre7428]

Just wanted to say thank you for this informative video and for the referral code, I just used it! May your business continue to flourish ✨💕

[@alicesomhusbands]

You're my queen ! Thanks for making these questions important ! I personaly bought compostable sleeves for my prints I sell in real shops (because dusty, sticky fingers), but for my personal orders, I reuse thin paper I found in shoe shops for example, I think if I had a BIG shop like yours I would go for the thin paper you talk about, called glassine, seems cool! I don't think that because I'm a "small business" I have to use plastic, plastic is not the solution ;) Can't wait to see European eco-packaging if someone has to recommend...

[@martaolivo6421]

THANKS for This huge effort!! I love your work and I love that you share it to the world in this sustainable way. You are such a beautiful person ❤️you are super!!!!

[@mangoqath]

you're amazing leigh!! im doing my own shop prep now and am absolutely inspired by your sincere care for the environment - im going to do eco friendly packaging!

[@mermtato]

Thank you so much for making this video! I am aiming to open a shop myself some time in the future and using as many recyclable materials as possible is important to me too. This has been so helpful!

[@synthetic_animal]

super helpful video! thank you for being so passionate about sustainability and sharing all this information!

[@eleanorfreeman1361]

I am trying my best to go zero waste on my packagings and ordered from ecoenclose. Awesome. I love their bubble mailer. Love your vids. New sub.❤

[@okarenhelena]

In Colombia we have this brand named Mahíz . they have bags that look like plastic but they are made out of corn :)

[@nataliealarcon9021]

that's awesome" would you know of an alternative in Europe??

[@okarenhelena]

@@nataliealarcon9021 not really :(

[@kpsfineart-DreamingBearStudio]

I love your packaging ideas. The way you pack is so simple and lovely. I am learning a lot from you. I still have some hundreds of plastic bag for my greeting cards but I updated most of my package stuffs eco-friendly. It costs more but I feel good about it. Wish I have more orders and use all of them asap and I can go with 100% eco-friendly packages. Anyway you look good today with your glasses. I guess I miss your fur friends though. ^^Oh, I've got your mail and I love your package. I kept it in my studio. ^^

[@bethanymason6510]

Hey Leigh! Just wanted to let you know that Nashville Wraps have glassine bags in lots of different sizes! :)

[@Gloria-np1fz]

I'm not sure if you knew this already but EcoEnclose has some free card things that you can put in your order and they have a qr code aswell and its basically to remind people that the products are recycle and how to recycle them.

[@gurl4527]

thank you so much for this video! i've been looking to start an etsy shop but i was worried about finding eco-friendly packaging alternatives. this helps so much!

[@KINGTHEYORKIE]

I really love her color grading! Great tips

[@stephanietheoret8803]

I admire you ! Thank you for all the thinking and for sharing that ! You truly care ❤️❤️❤️