Happy New Year! 😊
You have also made it your goal for the new year to pay even more attention to your consumer behavior and to protect the environment better? Then we have a few tips for you here.
By the way, we weren't the only ones concerned - the legislature also came up with something to promote waste reduction...
1. “Manufacturer to Customer”
...in English: "From the manufacturer directly to the customer".
This refers to a trend that has gained a lot of support due to the stronger growth of online trade (especially during the pandemic). The advantage is that an enormous amount of CO2 can be saved if you order your products directly from the manufacturer instead of through an intermediary, as is the case when shopping in retail. Because products are usually first sent from the manufacturer to a central retail warehouse and from there distributed to the individual branches, which emits a lot of CO2. You can easily avoid this by simply ordering directly from the manufacturer.
Incidentally, this is also one of the reasons why we manufacture our own brand products from WingGuard, plain b and Paperdent ourselves.
2. (If possible) Just stay at home
Admittedly, this is a "trend" that unfortunately not everyone can perceive. The magic word is "home office" and was rather sparsely spread in Germany before Corona.
However, experience during the pandemic has shown many companies that home office models work and not only have a positive effect on the work/life balance, but also help to save CO2. During the lockdown phases, it was observed that CO2 emissions in Germany fell by a full 40%.
So if you prefer to work from home, you can do so with a clear conscience.
3. Mandatory reusable offers
Since January 1st, 2023, restaurants, bistros and cafés have been obliged to offer their guests reusable packaging as an alternative to transporting groceries home. This is intended to reduce the use of mostly plastic-containing disposable packaging, which is used in particular for to-go food and drinks. This obligation was decided in May last year and has now come into force.
However, there is also (in our opinion justified) criticism of the legislative decision. Only locations with a size of more than 80 m² and at least 5 employees are obligated. In this respect, many snack bars, which put a large part of the disposable packaging into circulation, are not covered by the obligation. Accordingly, it remains to be seen how effective this measure really is in practice.
