Earth Day is (appropriately) quite close to Belle Terre's one year anniversary, so this is an exciting time for us. We frequently take an inventory of what we've done to ensure we are environmentally conscious and this is a great time to focus on that a bit more.
Personally we are trying to transition to a life that allows us to live closer to the earth, in a much smaller home, and to grow our own food. We are expanding our apiary, working on plans for our home, and we're developing our land to provide fruit and veggies for us.
From a business perspective, we started Belle Terre with the promise to ourselves that we would create a product that would be as eco-friendly as possible and we've held to that. Our packaging is minimal and typically recycled, we use recycled shipping envelopes whenever possible, and we research our suppliers in order to choose only sustainable ingredients.
We recently asked ourselves how our packaging could be more sustainable and the answer was basically not to have any. Sounds crazy? It might be slightly nuts, but others are doing it and we think it works. So, meet our new line of Naked Soap:
The bars are round (woohoo!) and are currently offered in three options:
- Simply Shea - our basic soap recipe with added shea butter
- Charcoal Shea - our basic soap with charcoal and shea butter
- Tea Tree - our basic soap recipe with tea tree oil
The Simply Shea & Charcoal Shea soaps have no added essential oils so they are perfect for sensitive skin. Tea Tree oil is known for its antibacterial properties. All three are just soap. Pure and Simple. These new options are available now on our Etsy site.
The giveaway: What are you doing personally or professionally to increase your commitment to the environment? One commenter will receive a free three pack of our new Naked Soap! The winner will be chosen Wednesday April 27th.
belleterre
April 24, 2011
Stephanie – I love the paper idea! At my day job, we’ve been trying to donate paper that’s written only on one side to a local school…they use it for craft projects for the kids. :)
chui ying
April 23, 2011
Ooh! I found your blog! I will be following it for gardening tips!
I love thrifting and buying second hand because it’s fun to turn someone else’s trash into my own treasure. I’ve given up my long time indulgence – book-buying. Instead I head to the library! I also take trash like cereal boxes and egg cartons to my work (I work in a children’s museum) for the kids to craft with.
Most recently I took the a broken photo frame and converted it into an earring holder. I love the challenge of problem solving with whatever resources I have on hand, instead of buying from the stores.
Petra
April 22, 2011
I’m making and taking my own lunch in a reusable bag! I save a lot of waste this way – no plastic wrappers, no disposable forks/spoons, etc. I bring everything home and wash it.
We also try to not run the heater or A/C until it’s unbearable weather. We unplug all appliances when we leave for a weekend, and my husband stopped buying soda – both for his health and to cut down on the waste!
ikkinlala
April 22, 2011
I am trying not to use the clothes dryer anymore. It’s been my guilty little wasteful indulgence for years, and I am running out of other things to change.
Ingrid
April 22, 2011
At work, we’re embracing full digital and quitting the unnecessary use of paper. There are recycling piles at every “island” of desks and we banned plastic cups!