PLANET & PEOPLE
hampers.com is on a journey to minimise our environmental impact, while enhancing the positive influence we have on the people in our local communities.
This is a key motivating factor in all decisions that we make, from packaging right through to the charities that we support.
We know just how important it is for companies and individuals to do their bit to help the environment and the planet and, while we know we’re all human and we’re not perfect, there are many steps that we take to actively reduce our environmental impact and improve our contribution to society. Below are just a few of the ways we do this…
We are incredibly proud to have been certified carbon neutral since 2022, which is a step along our journey to becoming B-Corp. We choose to offset our entire carbon footprint via supporting global projects. You can read more about this here.
Offsetting our carbon doesn't mean that we're wasteful. There are still many actions that we take to help reduce our carbon footprint and our effect on this planet, not least striving to use local companies - both close to our base in Oxfordshire and around the UK, while not compromising on the level of quality of our gift hampers - from our packaging through to our suppliers.
We don’t in fact have our own fleet of delivery vehicles. We instead rely on a standard courier network to deliver our parcels around the UK, and the world, in order to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. This means that we are able to take advantage of available greener options, including electric vans where possible, for 'last mile' deliveries.
We encourage our corporate customers who are placing large orders to have them all delivered to one central location, instead of being delivered here, there and everywhere.
It’s not just us though; all businesses based within Milton Park, where we call home, are encouraged to car share where they can and there are also dedicated ‘cycle to work’ days which are heavily promoted around the area. We even have access to a regular electric shuttle bus that connects the train station and the surrounding areas to our business park, allowing staff and guests to contribute towards our ethos of doing our bit for the planet.
First and foremost, our warehouse team who handle deliveries and orders are committed to recycling as much as they possibly can; we ask all staff to place all excess cardboard in the bailer which is regularly collected to be recycled.
When it comes to the packaging on our hampers, we’re very proud of the steps we’ve made…
The outer cardboard packaging AND any inner cardboard packaging is 100% recyclable. We’re also very proud of the fact that all our cardboard is FSC certified.
The FSC certification is considered the "gold standard" designation for wood harvested from forests that are responsibly managed, socially beneficial, environmentally conscious, and economically viable.
The beautiful wicker, bamboo and willow baskets that we use are made of sustainable materials, allowing them to be reused time and time again. However, they are also biodegradable for those who don’t wish to keep on to them, meaning they will break down naturally and won’t damage the environment.
Inside the hampers, the wood wool that we use as a loose filling to protect the luxury, gourmet food and drink items is 100% biodegradable, can be recycled as normal with the cardboard or can be put into a composter.
While we all know that not all plastic can be recycled, the spiral wrap that we use to protect our hampers is 100% recyclable. How great is that?
It’s worth noting that any products not deemed fit for purpose, for whatever reason, are removed from all packaging, with everything that’s recyclable going into recycling and all waste food being used as pig food.
We’re fortunate enough to work in a fantastic 2,000sq m combined office and warehouse here at Milton Park and we’ve made sure to kit it out with Low Power LED lights as part of our energy saving tasks.
We also use a low energy system to control the heating within the office and workshop.
We’re just as passionate about giving back to the communities we are found in as we are about doing our bit for the planet as a whole. Because of who we are and what we do, being gifting experts, we often find we have excess stock, especially following Christmas; instead of wasting these products, which we hate to do, we ensure we donate to our local food-bank organisations and homeless shelters.
During our peak times, typically between September and January in the build up to Christmas, we find we need more hands on deck than at any other time of the year to fulfil all handmade orders that are being ordered to make someone’s day. We are incredibly proud to say that during this time we offer temporary work to around 100 people in the local community, with many coming back year after year. And sometimes, where we’re able to, we turn those temporary contracts into permanent contracts.
We are proud to be named in the UK's Top 100 Small Businesses to Work for, ranking at number 59 in our first year of entry. We earn this place by creating an inclusive and enjoyable culture, by holding ourselves accountable to our values, and by providing excellent pay and benefits, including private healthcare for all permanent employees. Our temporary and permanent staff in our warehouses and offices are paid at least the Real Living Wage.
Doing our bit for the planet and local communities isn’t just ingrained into everything that we do, oh no. We also aim to work with as many high quality suppliers as possible, year in year out, who make it their mission to be as environmental and planet-friendly as possible.
For more information about our suppliers, please view our suppliers page.
