Packaging Policy

As a business focused on the resale or pre-loved goods we recognise the importance of further reducing our carbon footprint wherever possible. We have to balance this however, with the need to deliver fragile, and often heavy, goods to you in one piece. 

The majority of our packaging may be recycled: - 

Cardboard Boxes

Mostly, we use FSC certified double wall boxes made from 60% to 90% recycled material. They are fully recyclable. Furthermore, their heavy duty nature minimises the chance of breakages which reduces waste and the need to resend goods. 

We also sometimes use second-hand boxes when we are able to source boxes of appropriate size and strength.

Paper Bubble Wrap

Our paper bubble wrap is made from 100% recycled material and is 100% recyclable. We have also found it to be far more effective than traditional plastic bubble wrap, and doesn't require sellotape to hold it together.

Self-adhesive Paper Kraft Tape (Inc. Fragile Tape)

We no longer use polypropylene or PVC tapes and only use self-adhesive paper kraft tape, made popular by the picture framing industry. It is 100% recyclable, which means the boxes are fully recyclable without having to remove the tape first.

The only exception to this is when we sometimes use second hand boxes and there is existing PVC/Poly tape holding them together. This tape should be removed before recycling. 

The following may not be recycled and is not biodegradable: - 

Flo-pack Green Filler

We use this filler to pack out our boxes and to separate items in the box. They are made from 100% recycled commercial waste. They are not however, bio-degradable. While this is not ideal, they are the best compromise we have found for getting your orders to you in one piece while at least using recycled material to do so. 

Please do not email us telling us how terrible this is and how there are much better alternatives on the market. There aren't. We have tried them all and they invariably fall down on one of the following points: - 

• too heavy, increasing the cost of postage (which most customers are unwilling to pay);
• too flimsy, leading to compressed pockets inside the box which is not suitable for fragile goods. 

That said, we work with an excellent packaging supplier and they let us know whenever new products come on the market and we test them all!

In the meantime, if you do not wish to throw away some or any of the materials regardless of which bin you use, why not offer them to your local charity shop. Many of them sell online these days and welcome free packaging. Alternatively, offer them up on Freecycle.org, and no doubt a local online seller will be happy to collect them from you.