Sustainability Declaration

Every effort we can take, no matter how small, is worthy in trying to tackle the biggest challenge of our generation: the Climate Crisis.

We think about sustainability in everything we do. Here we outline the efforts we're taking to be an eco-friendly small business you'll be proud to support. 

Carbon-Offset Shipping and Carbon-Neutral Internet Hosting

In neutralizing our carbon footprint in our primary business activities - hosting a website and shipping orders - our two most critical and impactful partners are our online platforms, which are primarily Shopify, who hosts our website, and Etsy, the "handmade marketplace" striving to "keep commerce human."

100% Carbon-Offset Shipping

Both of our platforms enable us to offer carbon-neutral shipping on all orders. Shipping impacts from all of our website and Etsy sales are 100% neutralized.

We joined Shopify's Offset program in 2020 and upgraded to Shopify's Planet program in 2022, which published our Climate Commitment page and badge.

Shopify's programs calculate the amount of carbon emissions produced on all our website orders by the weight of the package and the distance traveled, and then charges our account for the carbon credits of equivalent value to fund carbon removal projects. 

Unlike other sustainable commerce services, Planet focuses on carbon removal, rather than offsetting carbon with forest protection. To do this, Shopify works with high-impact companies like Running Tide and Remora through the Shopify Sustainability Fund to make a real impact on our Earth.

In addition, Shopify itself offsets all delivery emissions for every order purchased using ShopPay. (On our website, that includes almost all orders except those purchased using Paypal.)

Etsy announced in 2019 that it was the first major online shopping destination to offset 100% of carbon emissions from shipping. Today, all of the carbon emissions resulting from the orders shipped on its marketplace are offset in equal amount by Etsy investing in projects that reduce carbon emissions. Etsy includes offsets for all sellers and customers.

100% Carbon-Neutral Website Hosting

These are the sites that enable our sales on the internet: Etsy and Shopify. We're proud to work with Shopify for our website, who prioritizes green operations and created the Sustainability Fund in 2020.

Both of our marketplace/partner platforms are powered 100% by renewable energy. Etsy has released an ambitious Ecological Impact Plan and has pledged to be Net Zero by 2030, and Shopify's data centers - and therefore our website - are already 100% carbon-neutral. In addition to its carbon-neutral data storage, Shopify has a commitment to becoming carbon-negative, with plans underway for LEED-certified offices and carbon-neutral operations.

Sustainable Packaging

Eliminated Single-Use Plastics

In 2019, following the UN guidelines, we embarked on a transparent and singularly-focused initiative to end single-use plastics at all stages of operation at Walnut Studiolo. As of this writing, we have successfully eliminated single-use plastics from all of our packaging and products and we continue to seek out better sources for our operations. (How did we eliminate single-use plastics?)

Responsible Packaging

We package our products and orders in re-used and/or plastic-free packaging, in priority order: Reduce ~ Re-used ~ Recycled ~ Plastic-Free

• For shipping, we use recycled, re-used, and/or plastic-free packaging. We let customers know what's coming with a prominent sticker on the outside of each package.
• We choose re-used, upcycled packaging first. But we never have enough, so next we rely on biodegradable, 100% recycled (up to 97% post-consumer), no-marine-pollution, and compostable no-plastic paper mailers.
• Thirdly, for international orders, where it makes particular sense to have a lighter-weight package for a lower carbon footprint over many travel miles, we may use recycled-content bubble mailers (minimum 32% post-consumer) to shave space and weight. (Which is the most eco-friendly mailer?)
• For product packaging, we use only plastic-free, biodegradable, no marine pollution, paper packaging, such as waxed paper for with water-resistance.

Sustainable Sourcing

We consider "cradle to cradle" sourcing in all our product materials and lifecycles.

• We only use full grain vegetable-tanned leather as our main material, not chrome/mercury tanned. Chrome/mercury tanned ("garment leather") is 95%+ of the leather on the market: you can tell the difference. Veg-tan leather not only provides the structural rigidity that only high-quality leather can provide, but is better for our waterways. Vegetable-tanning is the old-fashioned, pre-industrial tanning method using plant tannins instead of chemicals (learn more). 
• All of our leather is sourced from a fifth-generation American tannery. It is exclusively tanned in the USA using old-fashioned methods and in accordance more stringent environmental laws.
• The kind of leather we use - American and vegetable-tanned - is the most sustainable and low-impact leather available. (What is sustainable leather?)
• Whenever it is an option, we choose first, sustainably-salvaged wood from a purpose-driven nonprofit and second, FSC-certified wood. 
• Hardware is sourced wherever possible from made-in-the-USA suppliers and low supply miles.

Eco Friendly Production

• We use natural materials in our product designs, like leather, wood, and metal.
• We create durable, high quality, and repairable products to prevent landfilling - and sell replacement parts. ("Repairability is the new luxury.")
• In product design, we aim to reduce waste by being as efficient as possible with our materials, including re-purposing waste materials into new product designs, such as our Upcycled Collection.
• We donate our high quality leather remnants to our chosen charity, Help Heal Vets, who uses them to create free craft therapy kits for veterans.

Local Renewable Energy

All of Walnut Studiolo's home and workshop electricity is currently powered by our local rural power co-op, the Tillamook Public Utility District. The majority of Oregon's rural public power sourcing is from the federal government's large hydro projects in the Columbia River. Although they do not produce emissions, they do produce other environmental damages, most especially endangering native salmon.

Although renewable energy options in our rural area are not as robust as they are in cities, we signed up as soon as we moved here for TPUD's Green Power program, which encourages the development of waste methane (biogas) renewable energy projects at our abundant local Tillamook dairies.

We signed up for waiting lists with both Etsy Solar and Tesla Powerwall + Solar and have a goal to incorporate on-site solar onto our rural property as soon as it's available in our rural area.

Giving Back

We are proud to support causes that support bicycling access and education with in-kind donations, in accordance with our Giving Policy. 

Green Operations

• We don't use energy-hogging A.I. Read our Statement on Generative A.I. as a Creative Small Business
• In all of our operations sourcing, we look for materials in the following priority order: upcycled/reused, recycled content or otherwise certified sustainable, no single-use plastics, biodegradability, low product miles, and last, new materials.
• We re-use our own waste materials wherever possible in our operations, including refilled ink cartridges and upcycled packaging and shipping materials.
• We are customers of our local re-use charity, SCRAP PDX, where we buy many of our upcycled materials and office supplies.
• We design our retail packaging with an eye towards biodegradability and reusability, to prevent landfilling.
• We support fellow bicycle-based businesses. 
• We recycle in our operations and compost food waste in our break room.
• Because of our efforts to reduce and reuse, we are a low-waste business. How low-waste? This one small 32 gallon trash can is rarely filled all the way weekly when combining both our household and business waste:

This post is just an attempt to capture what we're currently doing as of this writing, but we are personally and morally dedicated to decreasing our carbon footprint on a continual basis.