At the heart of Sweet Art's mission lies a core value: 'Environmental Advocacy.'
To us, this refers to our commitment to positively enhance the well-being of individuals within Aotearoa, as well as consider how our product's creation and production may impact the environment.
As a testament to our commitment to our environmental impact, we've implemented a series of environmentally conscious measures in our product development, to minimise our footprint:
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Non Toxic Paint: The majority (60%) of the paint colours used in our paint kits are sourced from New Zealand based company Natural Paint Co. They are known for their dedication to creating paint from natural ingredients without any toxic chemicals, making their paint safer for you to use. For these reasons, we hope to ultimately source 100% of our paint from this eco-conscious provider in the future.
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Bamboo as the Wood of Choice: We've opted for our designs to be engraved onto bamboo; a rapidly regenerating plant that matures in just three years, in contrast to the 30-40 years it takes for most other trees. It's fast growth reduces the pressure on traditional forests, sequesters more carbon, and requires less water to grow.
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Using Industry Waste: Our bamboo supplier sources off cuts from the culinary industry, minimising waste and conserving resources.
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Durable Bamboo Engravings: The bamboo engravings we offer are crafted to the highest quality standards, ensuring they grace your wall for a lifetime.
- Recyclable and Home Compostable Packaging:
- All of our packaging, including the courier boxes, labels, product stickers, box packaging, kraft tissue paper, and storage envelopes, are designed for easy recycling. Moreover, the box packaging, kraft tissue paper and storage envelopes are home compostable if preferred over recycling.
- Sweet Art's Instructions, Artist cards, and discount vouchers can be recycled or home composted.
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Home Compostable Wood Shavings: The wood shavings used to protect our products within the box are home compostable.
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High-Quality Paint Brushes: Our high-quality paint brushes are designed to last, encouraging their reuse for future creative endeavours.
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New Zealand made and owned: We are proudly Aotearoa made and owned.
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Local Suppliers: Most of our suppliers are based in New Zealand, with the majority hailing from Auckland, where Sweet Art is based.
- Commitment to Conservation: $1 from each purchase goes towards giveatrap.org.nz (by Forest & Bird), an organisation who protect our native bird and tree species from invasive predators. Through our contributions in the form of trap donations, Sweet Art is actively participating in Aotearoa's mission to be predator-free by 2050.
Improvements Sweet Art would like to make:
In upholding our values, we have identified areas for improvement:
1. Sustainable Paint Containers: Sourcing an affordable, durable, long-term paint storage solution with a secure seal has posed a significant challenge. This compelled us to temporarily use plastic paint pots sourced from overseas. We remain committed to exploring alternative options that align more closely with our values.
2. Plastic Pot Returns: We are actively seeking a more cost-effective returns process for our plastic pots so Sweet Art can re-use them.
3. Open to Innovation: We continually look for greater alternatives to our products and welcome fresh ideas from our community. If you believe there are ways Sweet Art products can be improved, please reach out to us at hello@sweetart.nz.