We, like most people, hate plastic, and the fact is it is so hard to get around entirely with so many companies using it in such large quantities. Occasionally we need to buy things by mail order, and even many of the most green looking wholesome companies can supply their goods wrapped in bundles of plastic. It always feels disheartening when confronted with a massive quantity of unnecessary single-use plastic when buying something you feel should be sustainable.
We first bought from Harts of Stur two years ago, and I’ll always remember how we felt when we opened the parcel to be confronted with what looked like a box full of polystyrene chips to protect its content. That was before we read their accompanying literature. You see these, chips were in fact made from GM-free biodegradable potato starch.
To test this we put a handful into warm water and in moments they had vanished.
Not only are Harts of Stur within our county of Dorset, but they are one of our Sustainability Heroes. We try to buy local whenever possible; the times when we have bought from Harts of Stur, it is good to know that we are not also receiving large quantities of plastic. Once we’ve taken the content of our parcel out we can empty the rest onto our compost heap, to add to our soil within months.
Please, if you are a company selling delicate items mail order and feel plastic is your only solution, take a leaf out of Harts of Stur’s book and look into this biodegradeable packaging. They keep the most delicate items safe, are light to package and do not add to our plastic oceans.
A very worthy hero!