For a more sustainable ecommerce experience
The ecommerce has a waste problem. The German ecommerce alone is responsible for 1.5 Mio. tons of waste (50 kg per second) and 3 Mio. tons COâ‚‚ -Emissionen through use of disposable shipping packaging. Choose "reuse" instead!
We use recyclable material
The hey circle packaging is made of recyclable materials. It's 97% polypropylene (PP), with less than 3% polyester (yarn, zipper fabric, velcro). Both plastics are recyclable and have established recycling streams in Germany.
With the next production in summer 2023 we will use recycled material.
Reusable box competes against disposable cardboard box
By using the hey circle boxes and bags, waste and COâ‚‚ are avoided.
The waste avoidance is obvious. But what about COâ‚‚?
We asked the renowned Ökopol Institute to do the lifecycle assessment.
The result: The box saves COâ‚‚ after 10 cycles compared to the disposable carton*.
Over a lifetime of 50 circulations hey circle saves 94 % waste and 76 % CO2 emissions.
We are often asked whether the COâ‚‚ balance of our box is negative due to the need to return empty packaging. The Ökopol environmental assessment shows: Most of the emissions occur during the production of each newly produced disposable box. Returning and cleaning reusable shipping packaging generates CO2 emissions, too. But, making disposable boxes emits more CO2 over their lifespan.
Disposable cartons (80% recyclate) were compared with the hey circle size L (0% recyclate) over a service life of 50 cycles. Ecological evaluation by Ökopol (APR 2023)
Sustainability is work in progress
Our mission is to avoid waste and COâ‚‚ and to constantly expand our impact. In doing so, we try to get a little better every day. Because: we are not perfect. On some issues, we have to start with compromises and evolve towards our goals. We pay attention to transparency and discuss in each point where a compromise is justifiable and where not.
Our production is located in China - for now
At first, we were looking for a European manufacturer. We wanted them to emit little CO₂ during transport, deliver fast, and have high sustainability standards. However, our boxes and bags are sewn and the boxes in particular are complex to manufacture. We have to establish reusable packaging. This requires considering the price-sensitive logistics market. We thus decided to produce in Asia first. We will then move production to Europe when we can get a lower price. This will be possible through automation and larger orders.​
We produce in China, in Shenzhen to be precise. We apply the same standards to production there as we do in Europe. Our factories have sustainability certificates, such as the Sedex Smeta 4 Pillars, BSCI, and ISO14001. We include the transport route from China in our life cycle assessment. Even with a production there, we avoid COâ‚‚ and waste to the great extent mentioned.
Percentage of recycled material used in the production is increased
Currently, we do not yet use recycled material. This will change with the next production in summer 2023. Our goal is to successively use 100 percent recycled plastics made from PE, PP or PET.
For later production in Europe, we will use a cradle to cradle approach. Old boxes and bags will become new boxes and bags at the end of their life.
We are working on the following sustainable development goals
