people
We believe in business for good & partner with suppliers that are committed to high standards in manufacturing coupled with fair & safe working conditions & the third party certification to back it up.
FAIR & SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS
We believe that each person should be treated with respect in a safe working environment with fair employment terms
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
We believe that every person has the right to demand their rights within the workplace
We ensure that suppliers have a grievance policy & mechanism in place for workers & share accurate & up to date info about which trade unions employees are able to join
WAGES
We make sure that suppliers are transparent about wages at a factory level and all our suppliers meet or exceed the country's wage requirement
AUDITING
We use third party audits of suppliers and/or our own visits to ensure that our standards are met
MODERN SLAVERY PREVENTION
We believe that no person should be forced into work, be exploited or trafficked & everyone should have full control and access over their wages. Regular third party audits of our suppliers ensure that no slavery, child labour or exploitation is taking place in the production of Elephant Box products
We vet suppliers carefully with personal visits & third party audits from independent organisations such as BSCI & Sofeast. We will not work with any company that does not ensure fair & safe working conditions, freedom of association, transparent wages & overtime policy & does not partake in regular third party social audits.
Our suppliers are based in India South Korea and China.
planet
We strive to reduce the negative impact our business has on our planet by thinking carefully about how we do things & the resources & materials we use in making our products.
We pledge to continually reduce & eliminate waste in our supply chain and in our operations
We have always used plastic-free packaging throughout our supply chain from manufacturer to consumer
We use recycled & recyclable paper & card
We have a paper-free office & paper-free orders
We supply a growing range of accessories & spares to help extend the life of our products
We strive to make our products as useful, versatile & as durable as we possibly can
We back our steel products with a 15 year warranty.
Recycling - you can send any damaged or faulty things back to us and we'll make sure that they are recycled
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
We use materials that minimise harm to the environment, use less resources to produce & less energy to recycle at the end of life.
Stainless steel has a number of brilliant properties that make it the best material for carrying and storing food in which are also great from an ecological perspective too. It’s incredibly durable with a very long lifespan. Another big plus is that it doesn’t downgrade. What this means it’s infinitely recylable. Steel products can be recycled over and over again into a new product.
We use powder coating to create the colour finish on our water bottles. Powder coating unlike solvent-based paint, doesn’t generate harmful fumes or pollutants. It also has less waste in the overall process.
Cork is highly renewable. It’s harvested every 9 years from the bark of the cork oak tree. As it grows again after harvesting it takes up co2. Regularly harvested cork trees absorb 3 to 5 times as much co2 as unharvested trees. Cork forests host one of the worlds highest levels of forest biodiversity & provides habitats for rare & endangered species.
Cork products are natural & durable. At the end of their life they are biodegradable or recyclable.
The cork we use for our To-Go Cup sleeve is grown and processed in China.
The production of silicone uses petrochemicals, but we use it for our lids & seals because it's better than plastic from both an environmental & health perspective. Silicone is more robust & tends to have a longer lifespan than plastic. It's safer for humans and more "ocean-friendly" because it won't break down into micro particles in the same way that plastic does. Silicone can be recycled at specialist centres like Terracycle
We use GOTS certified cotton for our tote & produce bags. (Global Organic Textile Standard) The use of organically cultivated fibres, the exclusion of environmentally harmful or toxic substances & the introduction of a minimum wage are just a small snippet of the binding criteria stipulated by GOTS.
However, as virgin cotton is extremely water intensive, we are investigating an alternative material for these products.
We use BPA free plastic for our sports & coffee caps & for the trigger of our reusable spray bottle. It was after much discussion that we chose to introduce some plastic to our product range. It came down to the fact that we'd rather provide a reusable solution that's versatile & meets peoples needs than not. We'd much rather you bought a steel bottle with a plastic lid than a fully plastic bottle. Like silicone we use it sparingly & when there isn’t a good alternative. Sometimes it’s just the best material for the job.
MATERIAL TESTING
Our products undergo regular independent testing to ensure they comply with European food safety standards.
FUTURE ACTIONS
Set up a seconds shop for wonky, damaged but still functioning products
Work with suppliers to continue to improve conditions & environmental impact
Continue to promote the philosophy of buying better & buying less
