Our business is designed with our earth and global community in mind. Our shop products are made to order, use eco-friendly materials wherever possible, and shipped efficiently to reduce emissions. We want to share our approach to building a sustainable business and be transparent about how we make our products.
Made-to-Order, Fulfilled Locally
All of our products are made-to-order by our environmentally- and socially- responsible partners. We reduce waste by making only what is needed!
We also work with print labs around the globe to reduce international shipping distances, and therefore, reduce carbon emissions.
Our products are shipped from Australia, the UK, the EU, the US (all products) and South Korea & India (phone cases). This way, wherever you are in the world, our products travel shorter distances, have lower emissions, and (bonus!) arrive more quickly.
Sustainable Materials
Wherever possible, our products are made with responsible materials that reduce our impact on the environment.
Eco-Friendly Inks
Our art prints and device cases are printed with neo pigment, water-based inks, which are 100% non-hazardous, toxin-free and vegan friendly. They meet the strictest industry standards as defined by Global Organic Textiles (GTOTS-3V), Residues Standard List (RSL) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.
Our canvases are printed with eco solvent inks derived from ether extracts taken from refined mineral oil. While they still contain harmful solvents, they have a lower VOC content than standard solvent inks and are significantly less hazardous.
Sustainable Wood & Paper
The wood and paper for our art prints, framed prints, and canvas products are sourced from sustainably managed forests. Sustainably-managed forests meet the needs of wildlife while supporting livelihoods and providing many other ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and flood risk mitigation.
Phone Cases
At this time, our phone cases are made from plastic (polycarbonate and polyurethane). We continue to look for more eco-friendly materials that we can offer at an accessible price, without compromising quality.
Sustainable Packaging
Our packaging is recyclable and made from recycled materials whenever possible.
Our unframed art prints are shipped in rigid cardboard tube mailers.
Our framed prints and canvases are shipped in double-walled recycled cardboard boxes, with no plastic.
Our phone cases are shipped in a variety of materials depending on where they are printed, including recycled cardboard boxes and tear-resistant mailers.
Responsible Supply Chain
Our supply chain is screened for compliance with fair labour and sustainability standards, where possible using suppliers who are ISO 14001, ISO 24000 or ISO 26000 compliant, and who use renewable energy over standard grid electricity. As a minimum, all our suppliers comply with anti-child labour and anti-forced labour regulations, and provide traceability for all core raw materials.
Our Approach
We love our planet and do our best to build a sustainable business. We believe everyone can make a meaningful difference through their choices and actions. We invest extra time and money to offer sustainable options & support manufacturing partners that are doing things well, and share this information to hopefully inspire others to do the same.
That said, I want to add some perspective here. While supporting sustainable small businesses is important, the collective effort of small businesses and individuals pales in comparison to the difference corporate and government change would make. The latter is where we should focus our power of persuasion as consumers.
Second, even the most well-intentioned eco-friendly business is at the end of the day still creating a consumable product, which is not as eco-friendly as simply making nothing. So no product company, even a digital one, can truly say they are not causing any harm to the environment. We must balance the pros and cons of our actions and move forward as best we can. I think creating things is important to our humanity; but then our creations should honor the materials it took to make them. 💛
We are constantly learning and want to contribute to this conversation. While the environmental challenges we face are serious, I have an optimistic, humans-are-creative-and-can-solve-problems viewpoint. Print-on-demand is a good example of this. For example, in just a few years, I've seen the quality improve so much that we were able to transition from shipping everything from our studio in Los Angeles, to this more sustainable made-to-order model in 2023.
Thanks for Caring
Thank you for learning more about our sustainability efforts. If you have any questions or recommendations, please feel free to email us at hi [at] mimochai.com.
