The Environment

Some of the things we are doing to help protect the environment

At thecandleselection.co.uk we are very concerned about the environment and have a number of policies and procedures in place that help minimise our environmental impact.

One of our policies is to utilise sustainable / environmentally friendly packaging whenever possible and to minimise non-recycleable material in the packaging we use to ship your order.  However, we must protect your candles from damage during delivery so you may find that delicate candles are wrapped in a protective foam, we do this as we believe that the limited amount of foam we use is better than the environmental damage from a potential second delivery to replace broken or damaged candles.

We use cardboard boxes and fill the spaces in your parcel with either brown paper or compostable loose fill (the white chips or 'peanuts' you may find in your parcel).  This loose fill is made from corn starch and will quickly break down with water and is a major environmental improvement to the polystyrene chips previously used.

Also, we sort and reuse boxes from suppliers and from other businesses local to us.  We feel it is far better to give used packaging a second life, rather than to have it consigned straight to the bin.  Therefore, please accept that your delivery may be packed in a previously used box or with previously used packaging material.  However, this may mean that the loose fill used is made from polystyrene, not corn starch, so can not be composted.

Being conscientious about the environment, for smaller orders we aim to charge the correct costs associated with the packing and delivery, therefore, we do not offer free shipping below order values of £75.00, as we believe this encourages better environmental buying decisions by customers.  This is because either our customers will not buy single low value items when they know the true cost of shipping, or our customers will increase their purchase to make the delivery more worthwhile in environmental terms.

Some of the things you can do to help protect the environment

It is widely acknowledged that the 'last mile*' of the delivery is the most expensive in terms of the environment, so we have some tips for you to consider when placing an order on line to help protect the environment:

• Select the items you want with care, make sure you are selecting the right size, colour, shape, etc., for the products you want.  Returns are more environmentally damaging than the original order, so if at all possible, please do not order multiple products to try and return.
• Always place the largest order you can, consider buying with family and friends, as larger orders are more efficient and help reduce environmental damage as more items are delivered in the same journey.
• Always choose a standard or eco delivery service as 'urgent', 24 hour delivery services, can be inefficient as couriers may send partially filled vehicles to meet promised delivery times, rather than send vehicles only when they are close to being filled.
• Ensure you are in to receive your delivery or have left alternative delivery instructions, such as where to leave the delivery if you are not in to receive it, for example: "leave in the greenhouse", or "leave with a neighbour".  If the courier is required to attempt a second delivery, or if you need to collect your delivery from a collection point, more environment damage is caused by the second journery.

* The last mile is defined as the final delivery to the customer. As the 'last mile' is believed to be the most environmentally damaging, do all you can to ensure the delivery is efficient and can be completed safely and securely first time.  Thank you.