A more environmentally friendly approach to vintage and antique selling

At European Vintage Emporium, we sell vintage and antique items that have already had a previous life. Sometimes they’ve had several.

That means we’re not manufacturing new products specifically for our business, but sourcing, storing, photographing, packing and shipping vintage and antique items still has an environmental impact. We recognise that, and we’re continually looking for ways to reduce it.

Our approach is deliberately practical rather than perfect. We look at the different stages of our business — from sourcing and storage through to packaging, delivery and energy use — and look for realistic ways to work more sustainably without compromising the quality of our service.

We reuse materials wherever we can, choose recyclable alternatives where they are practical, reduce unnecessary packaging, use renewable energy solutions where possible and support tree planting and ecological projects.

We’re not claiming to be a zero-impact business. We’re simply trying to make EVE a little kinder to the environment, year by year.

Recycled packaging: giving useful materials another life

One of the simplest ways we can reduce waste is to reuse packaging that already exists.

We work with local businesses in Normandy to collect boxes, paper, bubble wrap and other packaging materials that they no longer need. Rather than those materials going straight into the waste stream, we bring them back to EVE and use them to protect our customers’ purchases.

We’ve accumulated a substantial stock of recycled packaging materials in our storage facilities, and we continue to build relationships with local businesses so that we can reuse more and buy less new packaging.

If you find previously used plastic packaging in your EVE parcel, there’s a good chance it has already had a previous life protecting something else.

And we’d encourage you to give it another life too.

Our long-term goal is to reduce our reliance on newly manufactured packaging as far as practical by increasing the amount of suitable recycled material we can source locally.

This isn’t simply about recycling after something has been used. It’s about keeping useful materials in circulation for as long as possible.

Less packaging doesn’t mean less protection

International shipping creates an unavoidable environmental impact, so we try to make every parcel as efficient as possible.

That means considering the weight, size and materials used in every package, while making sure the item inside is properly protected.

We use recyclable packaging materials where appropriate, including compostable wheat-based packing peanuts. We also continually investigate alternative packing materials and methods that could reduce our reliance on new plastic.

But there is an important balance.

A parcel that uses slightly less packaging but arrives with a broken antique isn’t an environmental success. Replacing a damaged item, returning it, repacking it and sending another parcel creates even more environmental impact.

After more than 25 years of international shipping experience, we’re still learning and experimenting with better ways to pack.

Our goal is simple: use as little packaging as practical, but enough to make sure your purchase arrives safely.

Your feedback helps us plant trees around the world

We wanted our environmental efforts to extend beyond our own business, so we’ve partnered with Ecologi to support tree planting and ecological projects around the world.

For every customer who makes a purchase and leaves us feedback, we ask Ecologi to plant a tree on our behalf.

Together with our customers, we’ve now helped plant more than 3,200 trees around the world.

We think that’s a lovely example of how a small action can add up over time. One customer leaving feedback might not seem significant, but thousands of customers doing the same thing can create something much bigger.

Customers and visitors are also welcome to contribute directly through our EVE Ecologi profile.

Buy something. Leave feedback. Grow a tree.

It’s our way of saying thank you.

Looking at the wider environmental impact of our business

Packaging and delivery aren’t the only areas where we’re trying to make improvements.

We use an electric vehicle for local trips and journeys to the Post Office, bringing it out when we have a worthwhile load to move rather than making unnecessary trips.

Two of our storage facilities currently use solar-powered lighting, and we’re continuing to investigate ways of increasing our use of solar energy as technology develops.

We’ve also planted 60 trees on our own land in Normandy, including an orchard containing more than 30 varieties of apples, pears, plums and cherries, alongside additional trees that complement an established area of woodland.

We’ve now run out of room for our own tree planting, which is one of the reasons our Ecologi partnership is particularly useful. Through Ecologi, our customers and EVE can continue supporting tree planting and ecological projects in different parts of the world.

We also participate in Etsy’s carbon-offset programme, which covers the carbon emissions associated with delivery and packaging on eligible Etsy orders.

We’re not perfect. We’re trying to improve.

Running an international online business will always have an environmental footprint. We source items, travel to find them, store them, package them and send them around the world.

We don’t think pretending otherwise is helpful.

Instead, we’re looking at the things we can change and trying to improve them over time.

We can reuse a box rather than buy a new one.

We can choose compostable packing materials where they work.

We can reduce unnecessary packaging.

We can use solar energy.

We can drive electric for local journeys.

We can plant trees.

And we can keep looking for better ideas.

Small changes won’t solve everything, but doing nothing won’t solve anything either.

That’s the approach we’re taking at EVE.

You can find out more about our work with ecologi by clicking here.

So far with our customers and ecologis help we have planted:

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Old Greek proverb