A blog exploring our online products from Kim Collins, WWF UK’s Online and Trading Manager. Our mission is to create a world where people and wildlife can thrive together. Our products must reflect our ethos and we want to inspire our suppliers to do the same.
What do we ask for?
What do we ask for?
When considering a taking on a new supplier, we have to clearly outline our guidelines for new products, this includes only using certified materials and not including any single use plastic. Every product has to be supported by any certification the supplier claims to hold – we check all certifications with the relevant bodies.
We then put both the supplier and product through a rigorous eco process. We need to know everything about the product, from its raw materials, to its manufacturer, any chemicals that are involved, packaging, shipping and what happens at the end of the products life.
Once we have all the information, and are happy that the product has a fully sustainable supply chain, it has to be signed off by our Environmental Manager and myself as a final check.
We often choose products that are made right here in the UK and are made to order – such as our tea towels, cushion covers, tote bags, posters, and t-shirts. This means we avoid any mass manufacture that could produce huge amounts of waste.
This is just a flavour of what it takes to get a product through our sustainability filter, but if you’d like any further information, check out our environmental policy.
Products with a story
Products with a story
Working in collaboration with small to medium sized companies, who share our vision of achieving less impact on the planet with their products, is really exciting. From this market we are seeing more interesting, low impact products that showcase great design.
Take for example our t-shirts that are printed on 100% GOTS organic cotton and are produced in facilities powered by green renewable energy where 95% of their water comes from the monsoon rain, reducing the need for large scale irrigation projects.
Other products
Other products
Some of the most successful products that we’ve worked on in the last few months include:
4Ocean bracelets – made from recycled plastic and glass, every one of these bracelets that are purchased, means one pound of rubbish will be removed from the oceans and coastlines.
Silk and linen scarves – that have been woven on traditional looms in a remote village in the Vietnamese countryside, where the entire community is dedicated to artisanal craft. Each scarf is dyed by hand using pigments derived purely from natural materials that are environmentally friendly. The income from these scarves helps provide fair wages for the community and ensure that their traditional skills are not lost.
Vangärd baseball caps - these are made from 65% ocean plastic waste and 35% recycled organic cotton, showing that great products can be made from recycled waste.
Dingbats wildlife notebooks – this collaborative range highlights fragile ecosystems and iconic species. With FSC® certified paper and 100% vegan leather covers they also pass our sustainability test!
Tatty Devine jewellery – repairable acrylic jewellery that reuses recycled material and supports our adoption programme