Earth Day, recognized annually on April 22, is an occasion to show our love for the planet and demonstrate our dedication to protecting it. Each year, Patrick McDonnell calls attention to this important day through his MUTTS comic strip, and advocates for earth-friendly living through the MUTTS Manifesto.
We at Team MUTTS share these values and are committed to making the MUTTS Shop as eco-friendly as possible. This means being deliberate when searching for product partners, selecting materials, and packaging items for shipping. It means challenging ourselves and seeking feedback to ensure our products are both kind and desirable.
Interested in a behind-the-scenes look at our process? Read on to see how our core values influence our decision-making when creating new items for the MUTTS Shop.
Love for the Earth
It is important that our products reflect our passion for environmental protection. When creating apparel, we look for organic fabrics (which are made from plants grown without pesticides and other toxins) and soy-based inks (which are cleaner than petroleum-based inks).
We use recycled or reforested paper when creating stationery, art prints, books, calendars, and other paper goods. We strive to avoid plastics and also encourage others to reduce plastic pollution by purchasing items like reusable bottles (instead of disposable ones).
When packaging MUTTS shtuff for shipping, we use recycled paper stuffing. (We do use bubble wrap sparingly, and only when necessary to protect your purchases.) We also vacuum-seal some items to reduce the amount of shipping materials required.
Kindness to Animals
We never want our products (or the methods used to make them) to harm animals in any way. That’s why all items on the MUTTS Shop are cruelty-free and made with animals in mind.
Support for Small Businesses
Although we dream up and design all MUTTS merch ourselves, we do need help turning those ideas into real, tangible goods. To make this happen, we work with outside vendors who share our animal- and earth-friendly values. Many of our vendors are based in the USA, but when we do seek help from companies in other countries, we choose small or family-owned businesses and often travel to see their operations in person.
Kindness to One Another
Our commitment to the MUTTS Manifesto extends beyond the items we create for our online shop. For example, we work remotely, in a distributed team (which eliminates the need for daily commutes). And as often as possible, we support and partner with other animal- and eco-friendly organizations to spread awareness about the issues we care about.
We’re not perfect. However, we do strive to continually improve and to make sure our values drive every choice we make.
We also welcome input from other members of the MUTTS community. Do you have ideas you’d like to share? Write to us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.
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