Not the Earth Day Email I Set Out to Write

This started out as a simple blog post to let you know we're phasing out the plastic packaging for our holiday ornaments. Then we realized Earth Day was coming up—an opportunity for content!

But it's been hard to write. I've started to receive Earth Day emails from brands sharing their sustainability efforts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I've received newsletters using Earth Day to sell more clothing made from plastic. Yet nobody acknowledges that we all make stuff.

At Hereafter, we make and sell physical goods. Each year, we evaluate what we can do better across manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and as a company overall. We never want to contribute to the thinking that the more we have, the happier we'll be. When we do create products, it's with the belief that thoughtful, well-chosen gifts can be symbols for our treasured relationships.

Yvonne and I often talk about what's enough for us as a business. We don't have investors or shareholders pushing us to grow year after year. Neither of us want to build a massive company and manage a ton of employees. We get to envision what we want for Hereafter, our team, and ourselves and take concrete steps to get there.

So I'm not sure what I wanted to get across with this. Yes, we're reducing the amount of our packaging and plastic use as much as possible. We produce in small batches, often made-to-order, to reduce waste. We've used sustainably-forested American grown wood from the start. But I guess we wanted to acknowledge that Earth Day isn't just a marketing or greenwashing event. We need to hold corporations, governments, and ourselves to task to make the real changes that will help save our planet. Remember, we vote with our wallets and the choices we make will affect the world for generations to come. Big or small, every step counts! 

Eva