Ethical Practices in the Glass Studio
The policies and procedures for the fused glass bird designs and glass art, evolved to help The Glass Bakery reduce its environmental [bird track?] footprint as much as possible.
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Recycling and Repurposing!
Waste is recycled wherever possible. Wholesale packaging makes use of repurposed newspapers, and pre-used boxes where available. New packaging material is comprised of recycled Kraft brown paper, card, corrugated card and paper wadding. Paper is surprisingly good for packing glass and no expensive honey-combed packaging is required!
Minimal bubble wrap is used, and the wrap is "eco-friendly" with as much recycled content as commercially available. All the packaging used is recyclable as part of household waste within Canada. Unbleached paper-based or cardboard protective packaging materials are favoured to reduce environmental waste, contamination and exposure to chemicals.
Unfortunately, there is currently no commercial glass recycling in Western Nova Scotia, but raw glass material waste has been minimised through a bit of creative thinking!
Natural Retail Packaging
Retail packaging for the glass art and birds uses Kraft brown paper, paper wadding, corrugated card and natural fibres. In 2023, vinyl stickers on bird perches were replaced with wood branding. If you find anything vinyl in your gift package, it'll be because I'm using up old stock to avoid waste!
Cruelty Free Cleaning
All cleaning products used in the glass studio are Cruelty Free and Environmentally Friendly brands. Traditional silicone polymer and paraffin wax wood preservative for the birds live-edge perches was stopped in 2022 and replaced with natural oils such as Hemp or Linseed.