Behind the Cottage Door: Sheepberry’s Sustainable Practices

Before art and marketing, my initial career plan was going into biology and wildlife. Even though I’ve changed paths, I still hold a great love for the complexity of life and the Earth. The least I can do in my lifetime is do my part to respect it. Sustainability is one of the key principles of my business model, and it’s very dear to my heart. Here are the things I do while running Sheepberry: to buy used, create less waste, and just be kinder to the planet.

               The first step I take to be less wasteful is how I source my materials for my products. I always try to shop for pre-owned yarn before I buy new. You can find well-priced lots of yarn on eBay and Facebook Marketplace in basic colors: black, white, red, etc. Or you can get a colorful lot and be inspired by what you end up with.

Being sustainable is also super cost-effective! A great “hack” I discovered is using old pillows for the fiberfill! I used the website freecycle.org and got 14 used pillows for free! Freecycle is a great resource, it’s a lot like Craigslist, but everything must be given for free. I ended up with 3 trash bags bursting with stuffing, and more pillows left over to use later! I saved the fabric as well to use as lining for sewing projects. I also have a stash of cotton balls that I use for stuffing. They couldn’t be used for hygiene as the package was opened, but it’s a wonderful way to make use of organic material.

                Managing waste is a big part of being sustainable. I try to make use of all the waste that Sheepberry produces. Large yarn scraps are saved and are put together in scrap yarn cakes, which can be used to make all kinds of projects with a uniquely colorful chaos. Small scraps of yarn, fabric, felt, and ribbon are chopped up with scissors and are used as another source of stuffing. I also keep a shoebox by my desk to put any recyclable waste in. I realized a lot of recyclables get thrown out because it’s easier than walking across the house to the recycle bin for one toilet paper roll, but every little bit counts, so bring the bin to you!

                As a mostly online business, packaging and shipping is likely the biggest part of Sheepberry’s carbon footprint. If you’ve ordered from me online, you can see that I reuse my bubble mailers and boxes! (No, you didn’t make a purchase from Amazon that you can’t remember.) I recycle them from online orders from both me and my family. The same goes for any bubble wrap or foam padding. I also like to reuse tissue paper and kraft paper. It just has to be smoothed out and folded up and it’s good as new! I also use paper bags to package my extra goodies, and scrap decorative paper to write most of my thank you notes. If I ever run out of my vast collection of mailers and boxes, I plan to buy from Eco Enclose, a company that provides shipping supplies that are either made of recycled materials or are recyclable or compostable.

                Over the past few years, being sustainable is becoming more and more important. Maintaining eco-friendly practices is not only cost-effective, but it really shows what you believe in, as an individual and as a business. Transparency from businesses is incredibly important. Customers deserve to know what they’re getting: where it came from, what it’s made of and where the money is going. You deserve a quality product from a business that cares about the impacts they make.