We do not use any plastic for picture frame mouldings, and much of our wood is certified by our suppliers as being from sustainable sources. However, we are dependent on our suppliers to ensure that this is monitored and sustained. Because we care about the sustainability of our business model, we considered it to be important that we made some direct contribution to supporting sustainability for woodlands, and so we have teamed up with “One Tree Planted”. This is a non-profit organisation focused on global reforestation. Broadly for a contribution of one US Dollar, One Tree Planted will plant one tree. We offer a scheme whereby we encourage all customers to make a £1 donation which we will forward to One Tree Planted to help ensure that there will still be trees in the future. We also make sure that the offcuts of wood from our frames are segregated, and not sent to landfill but find alternative uses.
We have increased sustainability by eliminating plastic in the packing as much as possible. Protection of artworks, both while they are in our custody, for shipping, or handing back to clients is going green. We use corrugated cardboard and brown paper, which is recyclable, and avoid bubble wrap which is not. This also has the advantage of being better for the artworks as it avoids leaving marks on the artworks which can arise from using bubble wrap.
Nearly all of our supplies now arrive wrapped in card, so we are able to separate and recycle our paper and card waste. This includes all our inbound packaging, off cuts of the packaging we use, and, importantly all the offcuts of mountboard used in framing and mounting artworks. This takes a significant amount of waste out of landfill.
One of the long term issues we had struggled with for a number of years, from a sustainability viewpoint, was the inevitable need to dispose of offcuts of glass arising from the framing process. Our glass is very high quality and is in demand from glass manufacturers as it is entirely re-usable in the manufacture of new glass, with significant reductions in their energy needs and consumption of raw materials, but is not accepted by bottle banks. To our great frustration, we had to include this in general waste for many years, but now we have a solution. Working with our waste contractor, we have negotiated a separate bin for high quality sheet glass so this goes right back into making more perfect glass.
We make a small number of ready made frames that can be purchased in our shops. The frames are often different, but this is because we only use byproducts from our bespoke picture framing. Everything that goes into our ready made frames would have been thrown into the bin, recycled or general waste, if it had not been made into one of these. Come in to our shop and enquire about these picture frames today.
Caversham: 0118 948 1610