Packaging

Presentation is important. Hell, the argument could be made that clothing is nothing more than a means of presentation. Every day we wear clothing that acts as an extension of who we are. We package ourselves in clothing every day in an effort to protect and present ourselves.

At CHNGE, we create clothing with a conscious. Our clothing is about more than style, it’s about a movement to build a better planet, by making products ethically, and allocating profits from those products to things more important than fashion. We want every purchase you make from CHNGE to contribute to the world, not detract from it.

CHNGE leads by example. We scrutinize every part of a product’s lifecycle; from the way the cotton is harvested, to trucks that deliver it to your door, and one thing that keeps us up at night is the nature of our packaging, and product packaging in general.

E-commerce gives us the chance to have a Christmas-morning experience whenever we want. It feels good to come home from work and see a box outside our door containing a purchase we’ve been anticipating all week. Tearing open that box gives us a little shot of dopamine reminiscent of our first Nintendo.

How important is the packaging to this experience?

There’s a reason we wrap gifts, there’s a reason why expensive items typically have more intricate boxes, bags, and bows. Packaging means something, but it’s largely superficial. In much the same way we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, we shouldn’t judge a purchase by its packaging. The box is an element of the experience that only lasts a few seconds. Herein lies the question—how much does this fleeting pleasure cost the world?

Answer—a fuck ton.

Packaging, which often has no utility, accounts for almost 1/3 of what we throw away including what we recycle.

One of the biggest hurdles to achieving sustainability across every industry will be the packaging. The good news is that alternatives already exist, and CHNGE wants to help establish them as universal standards, not just warm-and-fuzzy luxuries reserved for boutique brands.

The packaging at CHNGE is made from 90% recycled paper. This means at some point a package was received, recycled, and reused to eventually contain a CHNGE product, breathing new life into materials that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. Our packaging is brown, the color inherent to its recycled nature and it’s never bleached, while our logo is printed using water based inks. Within this package our product is wrapped in 100% recycled poly bags.

This is by no means perfect, and we are determined to stay at the forefront of sustainability technology to ensure everything we do has as little impact on the environment as possible. Ideally, we wouldn’t use packaging at all, but we need to make sure you get your purchases with the quality intact.

Everyday, CHNGE is committed to exploring new ways to run our business in a way we can stand behind. We strive to create informed consumers who consider the true cost of everything they buy. When consumers understand the sourcing of materials as well as the environmental and social impact of that sourcing, they are empowered to use their purchases to support ethical companies. Every purchase is a vote, and by supporting righteous companies, consumers can alter the course of the world.

So join us in our quest to build a better tomorrow, by demanding recycled packaging from your favorite brands, and making sure you do your part by recycling every material possible. Check out RecycleNation for resources in your own community to help you recycle.