At Stitch, we take great pride in the fact that we don't use any plastic packaging, despite being in the food industry. Everything comes delivered to you in reusable materials, such as our paper boxes, bags & envelopes, and glass jars. Our cake boxes also aren't lined with plastic, making them easier to recycle.
In our fast-paced, consumption-driven world, it's easy to contribute to the mounting amount of plastic we use. If you're looking to develop some more sustainable habits, here are a few ideas we have for you:
1. Get your office to switch to water dispensers
Conference rooms, visitor lobbies & front desks tend to use an obnoxious number of single serve plastic bottles per day. Install water dispensers in all these areas, and have clean glasses served to your guests instead.
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2. Ask restaurants, hotels & retailers what their recycling policies are
Bottled mineral water at restaurants and hotels, and packaged cosmetics, also leads to huge amounts of plastic consumption. If not repurposed, the vast majority of these bottles end up in landfill or in the ocean. Ask whether glass bottles are available, or whether these organisations have any recycling initiatives in place. The more consumers demand this, the more we encourage our local businesses to take decisive action.
Photo credit: @toosid
This is what Mumbai looked like after a few hours of heavy rain & flooding - a testament to how much trash ends up in our ocean.
3. Store food in reusable containers or jars
Over repeated use, plastic can release unhealthy chemicals into the food that we store in certain plastic containers. If the base of your container has the number 1 printed on it, it is a single use container and must not be reused for food storage. Use jars from your Stitch order, in addition to other glassware & tupperware, to store your food, including food items you may send to your friends' and family members' homes. Don't be shy to ask for your containers back!
4. Request food delivery services to leave out plastic cutlery when reusable cutlery is available
Zomato, for instance, has a checkbox that allows you to decline plastic cutlery in an effort to save plastic (see below). Until all food delivery platforms adopt the same practices, leave a note in the special instructions section to do your part.
5. Keep a cloth bag handy for shopping
Tote bags made out of canvas or cloth are easily foldable to store in your handbag/backpack or car. These bags need not be reserved just for groceries, and can instead be used for all sorts of purchases you may make.
We'll keep adding to the list in the hope that it's helpful to you. In the meantime, do please share your sustainability tips with us so we can share it with our community. Write to us at hello@stitchexperiences.in so we can make an impact together!