#4 Crafting a Sustainable and Profitable Handmade Business
In this episode I share actionable strategies to make your handmade business more sustainable and profitable. From recycling materials to repurposing packaging, we'll explore practical methods to reduce your environmental footprint. Find out more about the importance of knowing your supply chain and make choices that not only benefit the planet but also attract a loyal customer base. You'll walk away with insights on how adopting these sustainable practices can lead to increased profitability and a stronger connection with your customers.
I draw from personal experiences to offer tips on setting up eco-conscious studios and workflows. This episode focuses on the importance of the natural world as an inspiration and how our craft can honour it. Tune in to gain valuable insights and motivation to enhance the environmental value of your work, inspiring others to follow in your footsteps.
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Transcript:
Sarah: 0:00
Hello, in today's episode, I am talking all about sustainability and how you can incorporate sustainable practices into your craft workflow and into your handmade business. So, wherever you're listening and however you're listening, I hope you enjoy.
Sarah: 1:31
In this episode, we are looking at sustainability in craft and how, as crafters and makers, we have the opportunity and also kind of an obligation really to make a positive impact on the environment and incorporate sustainable practices into our workflow, into our studios. A lot of creatives, myself included, are inspired by the natural world. We take enjoyment and inspiration from nature and from the world around us, and so I think it's really important that we are also making a positive impact on the environment and being able to work in a sustainable way to honour that inspiration and to honour that resource that is inspiring us. So by making conscious choices about the materials we use and the way that we produce our products and our work, we can help reduce our own environmental impact and protect natural resources. Customers that we have, whether that's online or face-to-face, are also becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues and are actively seeking out products that align with their values. So by adopting sustainable practices as makers, we can also attract environmentally conscious customers who are willing to support businesses that prioritise sustainability as well as beautiful handmade work.
Sarah: 3:02
The benefits of sustainability in our workflow, in our studios extends beyond just environmental. They also have tangible advantages for us as makers and to our customers. For us as makers, incorporating sustainable practices can lead to cost savings in the long run as well. By reducing waste or optimising resources and reusing and recycling where we can as well. This can lower production costs and therefore increase profitability for us as well. For example, you can recycle your scrap. You can reuse your materials. Reuse metals, fabrics, clay, wax or wood. Whatever discipline you're working in, you will have scrap that you may be able to incorporate, recycle and reuse again or incorporate into new pieces of work. So reusing and repurposing packaging is also another element where we can incorporate sustainability into our workflow.
Sarah: 4:10
If you're anything like me, you are more than likely receiving materials in the post or equipment in the post, and it will come in its own packaging and you can repurpose this as well. I receive an awful lot of as a jeweller. I receive a lot of materials in padded envelopes, and so these can get repurposed and recycled and reused again. You don't need to be buying new envelopes, so you will have your own brand packaging, but maybe the postal packaging can be repurposed and recycled as well.
Sarah: 4:49
And also think about where you're sourcing your materials from. Are you using environmentally friendly suppliers? Do you have suppliers? Do your suppliers have an environmental policy? What is it? Have you looked at it recently? I know sometimes they can hide it away and sometimes they're very proud of it and they can put it front and centre. So don't be afraid to ask questions of your suppliers about their own supply chains and their own ethical values. So you have confidence if a customer asks you about the origin of the materials, that you know where they've come from and you know the supply chains and the environmental impact or the sustainability behind it. And I think, although we are sole traders and we are small businesses and crafters and makers we do have as a collective we have we can have a very positive impact on the natural world and on also on the people in the communities that help provide the materials that we use as well.
Sarah: 5:55
And for our customers, choosing products from eco-conscious makers also offers them peace of mind, and if you can talk openly about the way you work and your sustainable practices, this builds trust as well and builds loyalty. If your customers know that they're purchasing something that's aligned to their values, you can then pass that story on. They build loyalty with you. They have confidence in you as a maker as well, and often sustainable products are often perceived as having a higher quality and more ethical and making them more desirable as well to especially, to conscious consumers and being genuine about the story behind your work, being genuine about the materials and the work that you're doing to incorporate sustainable practices into your workflow. This makes for a winning combination. People can get behind you and see how your business is growing in the right direction, and be genuine when you tell your story of your work and your materials and where they're sourced from. Employing more sustainable and eco-conscious practices in your work is always something that you can work on. It's something that is not going to happen overnight. It's something that you just consciously think about and work towards and work on improving throughout your business.
Sarah: 7:30
Whether it's recycling more of your materials, making a conscious effort to have a look at what you've already got and reusing that rather than buying new materials, setting up a more environmentally friendly workspace or studio, whether that's using less chemicals in your practices, or whether it's changing the light bulbs. As a jeweler, obviously, a lot of the metals I use are mine, so I look to only use either recycled or fair trade metals and I use a. I don't use gas, traditional gas canisters. I use what's called an aquaflame, so that the only the only substance that's released after burning is a water vapor, so obviously there is. There is electricity used in that as well, but it is a much more environmentally friendly and also safer burner than using gas canisters. So these are just a few things that I do. I recycle as much as I can and I encourage my clients to bring me old jewellery to repurpose as well for new pieces, so we can speak to our customers and involve them in the process of being more sustainable as well. We can allow them to be part of your journey as a maker, and they will love being involved in that way. They will love knowing that they are part of your journey, whatever it might be.
Sarah: 9:10
So speak openly about the sustainable, environmental, environmentally conscious practices that you're working on, and take little steps. Remember it is something that is a work in progress. Even putting plants in your studio space helps clean the air as well. So whatever way you can Take one step to making your workflow more sustainable and embrace more eco-conscious practices in your workflow, this can only be a good thing. So by embracing sustainability in your craft, you're not only making a positive impact on the environment, you're also building a more ethical and resilient business. Being able to repurpose and reuse materials makes you more resilient in the long run, makes you more adaptable to supply chain issues, and as makers, we have the power to create change and lead by example in our communities. So let's commit to crafting a sustainable future and one that's ethical and environmentally conscious.
Sarah: 10:19
Um, we had so many people coming through into the areas of craft that you're working in, and they're looking to people already in the industry to teach them and show them methods of working and how to set up a studio, what the workflow is like, and so, as somebody already in the business, use your voice to teach those looking at your business for inspiration or for purchasing.
Sarah: 10:54
Show them ways in which your craft is sustainable and your craft is of value to the environment as well. So I hope that's given you some food for thought, and I hope that you can embrace some kind of sustainability practice in your workflow, if you're not already and I'm sure you are already doing that, I think, as, as crafters and makers, we are acutely aware of the natural world and looking after it, because it is part of what inspires so many of us and it provides us with so many of the materials that we use to make the beautiful work that you are making. So it was just something that I wanted to mention today and I think it's really important. So if you can take on board something and put it into practice and tell other people about it so they can do the same thing. So this was just a short episode. I wanted to hope it's going to use some food for thought about incorporating sustainability and, um eco-conscious decisions into your business, and I will be up with another episode soon. Speak to you then, bye, thank you.