Sustainability & Giving
At Waterknot, we seriously consider the impact of our business practices on our community and the planet and whole-heartedly try to make the world better, not worse. While any product that is made in this world has an impact, we strive to make sure ours is more positive than negative. It is our sincere hope that the art and design we create will brighten someone’s day by making them laugh or smile. This may sound like a little thing, but we believe that humor, open communication and deeper personal connections will go a long way toward healing our ailing world.
While the interpersonal good that comes from sending a card to a loved one is undeniable, the fact that we use resources to make and ship that card is just as true. Because of this, we strive to be a model corporate citizen by making environmental sustainability and social responsibility primary concerns, not just afterthoughts.
Our environmental efforts are focused in the following ways:
- We donate 1% of our sales to organizations who are working for the environment and social justice
- We print only on 100% PC recycled content or tree-free papers (please see below for more info)
- We pair our cards with 100% recycled (80% PC) kraft envelopes
- We recycle (or reuse) all of our office paper and production make-ready
Becoming a truly sustainable business is a lofty goal and an ongoing process. We realize there is always room for improvement. While attempting to make an honest living for our family, we aspire to be transparent in our business practices — all the while treading as lightly as we can, every step of the way. As we strive to lessen the impact our business has on our planet and the people who inhabit it, we are well aware that we don’t have all of the answers. However, we are committed to making changes and improvements as we grow and learn.
If you have ideas, thoughts or comments we’d love to hear from you.
GIVING
For every purchase you make at waterknot.com we donate 1% to a good cause—which cause is up to you. When you click the link on each product page or at checkout you can choose from 6 different cause "portfolios." Each portfolio is a group of excellent non-profit organizations working to make the world better. So whether you choose "Creating Equality" or "Environmental Sustainability" you can be sure that your donation is going to do some good work. You will not incur any additional expense. You shop. We donate. Together we change the world.
Our current "default" cause is the Greening Youth Foundation who engage under-represented youth and young adults from diverse background, while connecting them to the outdoors and careers in conservation. Default means that by doing absolutely nothing other than making a purchase on our site, we will give them a donation. But, every time you make a purchase, you have the option to choose a different cause. It's up to you.
Waterknot.com is only one part of our business. Most of our business is wholesale and that doesn't happen via this website. So we wanted to let you know who we give our 1% to on the wholesale side. We are proud to support these great organizations:
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A note about paper: All of our cards and notebooks are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled content, FSC certified paper. Our art prints are produced on 100% cotton paper. Cotton paper is made from a by-product of the textile industry so it not only saves trees, it keeps industrial waste out of landfills.