2023 R2R STUSTAINABLITY REPORT

TRANSPARENCY

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What does R2R do?

R2R is focused on changing the culture of consumption by educating our community on ways to consume consciously. As a 501(c)(3) we are able to accomplish this in many ways. R2R supports brands that make a difference in protecting the earth and all those that inhabit it! We provide our community with products, solutions, and knowledge that are totally sustainable and ethical. We offer collaboration, communication, and community education on our current linear production system. Through these changes, we believe we can eventually transform the current culture of consumption into a closed loop, circular economy. 

We have a long-term goal as a non-profit to create off-the-grid, closed-loop communities that will serve as a circular model for others around them. This is an evolving mission as we discover new and innovative solutions. Our founder, Ashleigh Morgan, often discusses the idea that everything can be something and a solution is always out there.

Staying connected and fully transparent is crucial in fostering conscious consumption. Please don't hesitate to reach out through our contact page with any questions. 

We want to stress that every portion of your dollar counts here at Recycle2Riches. Our marketing team is working on sponsorship levels and we now have a pie chart to show you what percentage of your dollar is going where. If you would like to donate: CLICK HERE

Packaging & Shipping:

Everything to do with an R2R shipping is 100% sustainable or recycled in some way. Our tags, cards, and even labels are recycled. Everything to do with our branding is handmade and customized. If it is shipped from R2R headquarters, we ship through Sendle.com with Boox.eco boxes. Through these communities, we are able to stay carbon neutral. 

Recycle2Riches Shipping Policy:

What’s up with my shipment after I order?

R2R orders that are shipped from HQ are done through Sendle and shipped in a reusable BOOX shipping box. Through these communities, we are able to stay carbon neutral and work towards net zero. Recycle2Riches is constantly searching for new ways to reduce our carbon emissions and give back to our planet.

Each order should be delivered within two to three weeks from when you donated and fulfilled within 3 days. Almost everything is made-to-order, custom, or handmade products. This means patients are a virtue, we take pride in not being fast production and we stand for quality, not quantity. 

Lost package?

Please reach out to recycle2riches@gmail.com for lost packages and shipping delays. If you have an order number you can always track your package through the confirmation email from us. Or you can reach out with your order number and we will gladly track the order and get back.. If you have given us the wrong shipping address we do not cover lost packages. Unfortunately, we can not give returns for an issue like this, only exchanges and replacements. Once your package is delivered to USPS with the correct shipping address you provided it is their responsibility to deliver it to you on time and safely. For custom shipping or a return label please email us.

What is this going to cost me?

We work with amazing organizations that are reducing our carbon admission. Through these companies, Sendle and Boox, we have been able to provide FREE shipping for our USA customers. 

How do I send my Boox Box back to keep it in the loop?

Step One: Open up Boox and see your R2R items inside, remember we work with a dropship system so you may have more items coming in the mail directly from the makers. Once you have drooled over the items inside, take a look at the bottom of your Boox box. Here you will find the return label. 

Step Two: Fold your boox up into an envelope by following the pre-set lines and seals of the Boox.

Step Three: When you are ready to head to the post office, use the prepaid shipping label you found earlier and place this on your now Boox folded envelope. BOOM you're ready to drop the Boox off at any USPS post office or drop-off locations. 

Step For: Once the Boox box is delivered to their headquarters in San Francisco, it gets cleaned up and sent back out into the shipping rotation. Boox is designed to be shipped, returned, then reused over and over again. This means no more breaking down boxes for your customers, and a cleaner environment for everyone. Boox also reduces your environmental impact by 75% compared to single-use packaging. It's science, people ;)

Still have questions head to their website for more information: Boox.eco 

Definitions defined by our CEO, Ashleigh Morgan:

Sustainability: Transforming your life to become a conscious consumer. Sustainability means a personal day to day effort to make sure your waste doesn't just sit in a landfill. Sustainability is caring about your planet, humans, and animals. When you think before consuming; When you replace paper towels with a kitchen rag; When you purchase bamboo items instead of wasting trees and feeding into deforestation; When you look past yourself... that is the definition of sustainability. We choose sustainability in an effort to save our planet and make it thrive so we can all live healthy lives.

Overconsumption: Producing, making, and consuming more than we need. Overconsumption can best be seen in the fashion industry. We have enough fabric in the world that we can stop producing new units altogether, but instead, the fast fashion industry produces more fabric and pumps out billions of units a year. They produce so much that almost every single fashion brand has dead stock. Overconsumption means consuming more than is absolutely necessary.

Deadstock: Deadstock is units that were produced or created that can no longer be sold. Nordstrom Rack is a great example of how much dead stock is present in the fashion industry. That fashion brand, one of many examples,  runs on overconsumption and overproduction. 

Zero waste: Too many people throw this saying around. I’ll have you know it is very difficult to produce zero waste on this earth. There are extremists that practically do have zero waste footprint on this earth! That takes a lot of growth and discipline. It is a lifestyle similar to becoming vegan or vegetarian. Zero waste is simply not throwing anything in the landfill. It is turning everything into something!

Ethical: Being ethical is usually indicated when a company is “fair trade certified” or a “certified B corporation.” These are key certificates or badges, if you will, that suggest ethical working conditions. Being ethical means that you pay your worker's fair wages, the working conditions are clean and healthy, and everything produced is handcrafted.  

Biodegradable: The Google definition reads: “(of a substance or object) capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms”. This definition leaves out that the decomposition process of biodegradable items is longer than compostable items. Unfortunately, even products with biodegradable labels do break down in a more harmful manner, leaving chemicals or other damaging substances in the soil. Anything that is biodegradable needs a certain condition to break down properly. It can take over 100 years for a biodegradable product to fully break down. The best products to buy are ones that are compostable. 

Compostable: An item that is capable of disintegrating into natural elements in a compost environment, leaving no toxicity in the soil. This typically occurs in about 90 days. Most compostable items can be composted in an at-home composting bin. 

Closed loop: Keeping everything in the loop. We live in a linear production system and our goal in a sustainable world is to bring about a closed-loop production system. Nothing made or produced that can't be reused and kept in the loop. Including everyone and everything in our production process. What is the being and end of every product and how can it give back to mother earth? 

Linear economy: TAKE (use our scarce Resources), MAKE (produce), USE (consume), WASTE (landfills). 

Circular economy: google defines a circular economy as the opposite of a linear one. The concept is to keep resources in use for as long as possible, get the most out of all products, then recover and regenerate products or materials at the end of the product life cycle. It turns into a TAKE, MAKE, REUSE economy instead. 

Regenerative agriculture: Improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, aiding in carbon sequestration, incorporating humane treatment of livestock and farmworkers and improving the overall larger ecosystem as a whole. These are the top 5 main points for Regen agriculture. 

More definitions will be added as we learn more and grow in this field of sustainability and conscious consumption.

Ask away... Please email us with the product, shipping, sustainability, nonprofit, or any other questions you may have. We stand on the three C’s, Communication, Collaboration, and Community education. Our customer service team is more than happy to answer your questions! The team is eager to answer questions and give you all of the information you need on changing the culture of consumption. 

recycle2riches@gmail.com

You can also book a sustainable consultation with our President, Ashleigh M Dawson through her Calendly account.