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Orinaku green pledge
Orinaku proudly champions a green pledge, but what's that all about? Let's break it down. You might have heard the term "dirty business" tossed around, hinting at how some companies prioritize profit at any cost. That's not our style. Yes, we're a commercial enterprise, and making money is key to our survival. However, we're not keen on taking shortcuts or harming the environment just to rake in extra cash. As a company, we feel responsible for our planet. Practices like fast fashion or constant consumerism negatively impact our world, affecting us all eventually. Below, you'll find our roadmap to our green pledge, where we're doing our utmost to reduce our carbon footprint. But here's the deal. We can't do this alone. We need you, our valued customers, to join us on this journey. Maybe, just maybe, by leading the way, we can set an example for other online shops and their customers to follow our example. Together, let's make a difference!
Step 1: Orinaku’s starting dissions towards a greenway of business
Before diving into this whole business thing, we sat down and talked about how to make it more eco-friendly and sustainable, especially for an online shop. Let's face it, running an online store isn't the greenest business out there. Shipments materials, logistics, hosting. All of it piles up CO2 emissions faster than you'd think. So, we kicked things off the smart way, starting small and focusing on what we could do ourselves, and expand from there.
We started by tackling our shipment materials. The goal was to make them 100% biodegradable. But wow, we hit two big hurdles straight off the bat. First, Orinaku has such a huge range of products that covering most of them with eco-friendly stuff would've cost us a small fortune. And even then, most of those materials just weren't tough enough to keep our products safe during shipping.
The second issue was the crazy prices for making these materials biodegradable. For us it did not make any sense to have the customer spend more then 25% on shipment materials on their order if the entire point was that you can just trow it away and would be biodegradable. So, after lots of searching, we finally found this awesome box supplier. They provide us with affordable, printed, triple-layered boxes that are tough enough to keep our products safe during shipping.
The second solution we were looking for was protective materials inside the parcel. You have to understand that the European Union will soon enact a law banning the use of air pillows, bubble wrapping, and packaging foam in parcels. So, we were left with two alternatives: reusing old boxes stamped for protective packaging materials, and using biodegradable chips. Orinaku wants to lean towards the first option; however, the initial startup costs for this are simply too high at the moment. Thus, we decided to go with the biodegradable chips for now. These chips are slightly more expensive than their non-degradable counterpart, but they're worth every penny when it comes to the environment.
From there, it was easy to wrap everything up by deciding to switch to strong paper tape to seal the parcel instead of using PVC tape or zip ties. Then, we ensured the envelope for the packing slip was made of paper rather than plastic. Finally, we made sure that all labels, such as the fragile parcel label and the shipment address label, were made of biodegradable paper. Even the packing slip (made of paper, of course) and the thank-you note inside the parcel are biodegradable.
The final strugle we had to overcome was to be able to use the closing tape with the Oriunaku logo (Brand tape) so we keep a marketing image, but have it in paper rather then in a polyester plastic. And we even manage to this! Our closing tape is biodegradable paper, but still has Orinaku’s awsome logo. And with that last step the package we as Orinaku ship to you, now is 100% Biodegradable. and we are very proud of this!
"A blossom tree does not think of competing with the tree next to it for more soil, it just blooms."
A beautiful house by a small lake in a forest near Kyoto, Japan – this is what it looks like when people live in harmony with the nature that surrounds them. Nature supports humankind by providing essential resources like air, water, and vegetation to sustain life. In return, we have the opportunity to relish the everyday beauty of nature, offering us moments that seem to endure eternally.
Often, people believe that a single person's efforts to preserve nature don't make a difference, yet they overlook that the initial step needed is becoming aware of the environment around us. If each of us takes this step, our actions toward changing our climate become a part of our nature. And let's face it – who wouldn't want to live in such a magnificent house by the lake like this?
Show your support for Orinaku’s green pledge
Supporting our green pledge takes less than a second – just click the heart icon.
Your simple click has a massive impact on our motivation and efforts to make our business eco-friendly. We've dedicated a lot of time to brainstorming ways to improve our business's eco-friendliness. However, we're just a small team with a handful of ideas.
That's why we're turning to our community for feedback. Show your support by clicking the heart icon below, no account needed, just one click. Do you have a brilliant idea, just show your appriciation, or want to guide us toward more greener options? You can always email or contact us using the button below.
People have supported Orinaku in the green pledge so far. Thank you!
Step 2: Restock fee enables thoughtful purchases and reduces carbon emmisions
Our next focus was on how we handle shipping and returns. At Orinaku, we add a restocking fee to discourage excessive returns. Our goal is to encourage thoughtful purchases instead of frequent trial-and-return behaviors. In industries like fast fashion, we've seen the massive resources needed to produce items that end up getting shipped around the world, returned in various colors, and sadly destroyed if they don't sell. Our wish is for customers to genuinely want what they order. But we get it—sometimes things don't match expectations. We advise doing some research before buying, checking out online reviews, or asking others who've used the product. Yet, there's always a chance you might not like it once you have it, and that is why we ask you to really think trough before ordering and understanding the risk in this.
It's important to know that 'testing' something involves multiple shipments: from us to you, back to us, then to a refurbished dealer, and potentially to someone else. This cycle creates a lot of unnecessary CO2 emissions. Plus, there's a financial impact when products are returned and destroyed. If consumers were more mindful of their purchases, manufacturers could reduce excess production, focusing on innovation rather than making more than necessary.
In our industry, it's often convenient to blame consumers for harmful practices, especially in fast fashion. Consumers want products that are cheap, quick, customizable, and returnable at any time. Consumer rights organizations have backed these demands, pushing producers to commercialize products by any means necessary.Yet, it's not fair to solely fault consumers. The core problem lies in production, distribution, and vending. We've created a shopping culture by prioritizing cheaper production and higher sales prices. Quality and durability have become a strategic commodity for repurchase. There's also a push to cut costs, sometimes resorting to less environmentally friendly transportation methods. All to keep as much consumers as posible engaged and sadisfied.
Even for Orinaku, this is a reality we can't entirely escape. However, part of our strategy is to seek cleaner solutions in collaboration with distributors and manufacturers, using your feedback as a consumer. Sure, it might make our products a bit pricier compared to certain giant marketplaces that rhyme with "Amazon." But it offers you, the consumer, an opportunity to make more ethical choices, even if Orinaku hasn't reached the pinnacle of ethical perfection.
Step 3: Opening up a dialog with our business partners
The next step we've taken and are currently maintaining involves examining the efforts made by our partners to preserve our ecology. Whether it's our branding partners, distributors, or logistic partners, we're looking into their initiatives.
It's essential to highlight that we're not asking them to actively pursue a greener way of conducting business. Doing so would be patronizing and hypocritical on our part, considering Orinaku is far from achieving this itself. Instead, we aim to initiate a dialogue to understand why they have or haven't taken any steps in this direction. We're interested in comprehending the obstacles they face—whether it's related to finances, resources, customers, or entirely different factors. As a business, Orinaku can learn from these insights and potentially avoid making similar decisions.
We're grateful to witness a shift in the business mindset locally here in the Netherlands. More and more transport companies are using for EV cargo vans to distribute parcels among various businesses around here. Besides being the most environmentally friendly option currently available, we at Orinaku also find these vans incredibly appealing as they pass by.
We're proud to say that the Netherlands is one of the top two countries globally in terms of solar panels per person. Our little country is making significant strides, generating abundant green energy. However, this surplus of sustainable power has started to challenge our country's grid capacity. So we still have some challenges to tackle when it comes to efficiently using our recently acquired energy.
Step 4: What can you do more to support a greener way of business?
But it's not only companies that can contribute to a greener way of conducting business. You, as a customer, can contribute with five of the simplest things listed below. We encourage... no, better yet, we challenge you to change your mindset towards a greener way of consuming products. Because without you, there is no incentive for companies to change their ways towards a greener environment.
We know what you're thinking, and yes, you are right. Choosing the green way usually means spending a little bit more than usual for your product. However, if all of us do that consistently, the financial shift in production would favor an environmentally friendly approach. This would involve producing, transporting, and ultimately extending the life cycle of all products, leading to cheaper products in the end.
As you can see, supporting Orinaku's green pledge goes beyond simply clicking the heart button to show support. You don't need to be an environmentalist or a nature rights activist to do what's right for the planet we all share. Small individual actions have a far greater impact than attending an eco-demonstration. It's the actions we take, not just the words we speak, that will bring about change for a greener way of life for all humanity.
Ultimately, the decision lies with you. We can advise and encourage, but the choice to act is yours alone!
Thoughtful purchases
Before you buy a product at any online store, be absolutly sure you really want the product
Shipment materials
Sort the shipping materials you got with your purchase neatly into the right waste groups.
Repair products
Broken products can be repaired instead of trown away. You can even sell it after the repair.
Refurbish products
Consider reselling or giving away products that you don’t use anymore. Give it a second live!
Recycle products
Parts of broken products can be re-used if you as a consumer give them to teh proper channels.