Our Packaging
At Lucy Bee, we believe that part of our Social Responsibility is to care for the environment.
While we insist that our products are the best quality available, we also insist on using recyclable packaging. We make every effort to minimise our packaging and to use only the most sustainable materials available to us. We realise that we’re not perfect, but we do our very best to be as eco-friendly as we can.
Coconut Oil and Creamed Coconut
We use recyclable glass jars (made with approximately 20% recycled glass), with a lid, which is the highest quality available with a BPA free liner (BPA-Non Intent design).
Our Coconut Sugar and Coconut Flour
Something that we have to consider when packaging our products is the durability of packaging and whether it is ‘fit for purpose’. By this we mean that the products have to reach you in one piece, be kept fresh for you to enjoy and that we use materials which are suitable for the product itself.
Our Coconut Sugar and Coconut Flour are both packed in a plastic recyclable inner bag, which is placed into an FSC recyclable, compostable and biodegradable card carton (except the Flour which uses a recyclable paper bag).
Inner Bag
Unfortunately, the inner bag for these products currently, although recyclable is not commonly recycled in the UK as it is made of a mix of LDPE and PET.
We’re as frustrated as you may be about this and assure you that we’re doing all we can to improve on this. We’re in talks with the packing company about this, though it’s not a simple and straightforward change.
These products require a good moisture and odour barrier to help keep them fresh and although we are pushing for a more readily recyclable or biodegradable bag, there are other issues to take into consideration:
- We will only partner with a BRC Grade A packing company and there are few companies to this level in the UK
- There are lengthy stability tests which need to be carried out with any new material used, plus new machines are needed for this, all at a huge cost. This is not to say it can’t be done in theory but the practicalities of this make it very difficult
As mentioned, we’re constantly in talks with companies to find more eco-friendly alternatives, and we will continue to try and find a solution, but until larger manufacturers order large enough quantities of green alternatives, prices will remain high, or when the government or companies invest in other alternatives, we are unable to change the packaging at the moment. If you have any suggestions or know of anything that could be suitable, we would love to hear from you!
We have to get the cartons from the packers to our warehouse or to stores. To do this, we use sturdy cardboard boxes which double up as a shelf-ready tray for use in stores. This replaces the need for card trays and plastic shrink-wrap. In this way, we’re reducing waste and plastic.
Shipping Products to You
To ship your order to you, even though our prime concern is to make sure it arrives with you as we would like to receive an order ourselves, we’re also conscious of sticking to our values of caring for the environment.
Charlie and his team in our warehouse take pride in packing your items using:
- recyclable boxes
- recycled and recyclable brown packing paper
- recyclable paper tape to seal the box
About Lucy Bee
Lucy Bee is a lifestyle brand selling food, skincare and soap products all completely free from palm oil and with minimal use of plastic. Lucy Bee is concerned with Fair Trade, organic, ethical and sustainable living, recycling and empowering people to make informed choices and select quality, natural products for their food and their skin.
Any information provided by us is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. We always recommend referring your health queries to a qualified medical practitioner.
