Ruby Is The New Green
Antique, vintage and artisan items are green by their very nature. Buying what already exists is one of the best ways to reduce environmental impact, and artisans usually work by hand with local materials. We encourage choosing these items to support local economies and to cut the waste and pollution of industrial production. At Ruby Lane, we use technology to run our business efficiently and keep our own carbon footprint small.
What We Believe
The Ruby Lane Advantage stands for quality, and for business practices that cause little or no harm to the environment. We believe that:
- Buying and selling antique and vintage items that already exist doesn't harm the environment the way producing new goods can, and handcrafted items cause less harm than most mass-produced ones.
- Technology is a chance to do more with less: less paper, less commuting and travel, less energy and less space.
- Safely recycling electronic waste (servers, computers, phones) should be easy, accessible and affordable for everyone: an automatic part of every product's life cycle.
Reducing Our Carbon Footprint
Here's how we're doing our part:
- Ruby Lane is a virtual company: all of our staff work from home, with no daily commute.
- Technology lets us make far fewer business trips without losing touch or productivity.
- Nearly all of our communication, with each other and with you, is electronic, saving paper, ink, office supplies and energy.
- Our policy is that the paper and office supplies we use are recycled or eco-friendly wherever possible.
- Our laptops use power settings that turn off screens and sleep when not in use.
- We hope that by speaking up about our commitment, we'll inspire the people we do business with, and beyond, to do the same.
What You Can Do
Some of these may seem obvious, but until every person and business puts them into practice, they're worth repeating:
- Shop owners: reuse packing materials and choose recycled shipping supplies whenever you can. Buyers: reuse the packaging your purchases arrive in.
- Whenever you buy office supplies, check first for a recycled or environmentally friendly version.
- Think before you print a document or email: is it really necessary?
- Turn off the lights when a room isn't in use, and switch to energy-saving LED bulbs.
- Set computers to turn off their screens and sleep when idle, and unplug chargers you aren't using.
- Recycle printer ink cartridges instead of throwing them away.
- Discarded electronics are a serious environmental threat. Take old computers and equipment to a recycling center that handles them responsibly, or donate them to be refurbished for places like schools.
Everyone Counts!
It's easy to feel that one person or small business is too small to make a difference to our planet. Don't believe it: everyone has a part to play.
