Eco-craft Ltd is a family business, originally called The Cutting Edge, it was founded by Lorraine and Kevin McCarthy, 25 years ago in Summer 1991.
We decided at an very early stage to use recycled paper and card in our products and after having 8 years experience designing and manufacturing our own greetings cards and gifts, we found that more and more craftspeople were asking us to produce blanks for them. We currently have the fourth generation in the family associated with the paper industry, previous members having been involved with the manufacturing process. In fact the mill where they worked was the first in the UK to produce kraft paper.

Due to our personal concern for our environment, it is our company policy to offer greener products that are more ecologically sound than their standard counterparts. We source our products from reputable green suppliers wherever possible and take great care to research the credentials of the papers we use. Most of the paper and card are 100% recycled and the majority contain a large proportion of post consumer waste (ie. old brochures, print outs, etc.). The proof of this can be seen in the occasional tiny fleck or speckle which can sometimes be found in the card we stock.Choosing recycled products is a positive step towards helping to conserve the Earth's natural resources and reduce the amount of waste which would otherwise go to landfill.Recycling paper can also reduce the energy required in production by up to 50%, with similar effects on pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Recycling also reduces water usage by up to 50% and involves fewer chemical processes. The recycling paper industry is led by consumer demand so the more we use, the more the mills will produce.We reuse packaging from our suppliers, we buy once used cartons and all our office paper is recycled. Please remember most of the packaging materials used by us in your orders is recyclable, so please try to reuse, recycle or compost it if you can.We try to use green technology wherever possible, such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting and heat recovery systems, whilst keeping traditional and ethical values. We of course recycle as much as we can, for us this is not just a business but a way of life.

We wanted to reduce the amount of single use plastic in our packaging but we were unable to find a paper tape on the market that was sensibly priced and sourced from within the UK / EU. We send thousands of parcels a month and get through rolls and rolls of tape. That was a lot of plastic but also it was a lot of buying power! We contacted some tape manufacturers and asked for a tape to be made to our specification. We wanted it to be self adhesive and work in a standard tape gun, we'd tried gummed paper tape before but didn't like the time it took to dry. For this to work and be a viable alternative to plastic tape it had to be as easy and convenient to use! We ran some trials and results were positive, this led us to think that we might not be the only company who want to use paper tape for their postal packaging.

As an ethical supplier we believe that the treatment of our employees & suppliers is as important as our environmental responsibility.

Naturally we try to ensure we have a low carbon footprint. We source all of our raw materials from UK suppliers who source their waste paper from UK or EU mills. No materials are imported from outside the EU and none are shipped by air. Most of our deliveries are handled through a carbon neutral supplier DPD Local and we also use a hybrid vehicle to collect from local suppliers. We also purchase all our energy from 100% renewable, non nuclear energy supplier Good Energy.