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At Enter Gallery we understand the responsibility we have as a business to reduce our carbon footprint by taking the steps where possible to become more sustainable and reduce any negative impact we might have on the environment. We are not perfect, but we are making small changes every day to improve our processes and hope to be a fully sustainable business in the very near future.

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly” – Anne Marie Bonneau

 

What we already do;

We now offer a rewarding, recycling service where if customers bring back the packaging their artwork came in, they can receive a £10 voucher for their next order (£25 for multiple artworks). That includes any cardboard tubes, foam corners, bubble wrap and paper.

The packaging we use is reused as much as possible until it is no longer fit for purpose. At this point we recycle our packaging using Brighton Paper Round. www.paper-round.co.uk.

Last year we recycled 4,360kg and saved 6,140kg of CO2.

All the energy we use is from renewable sources: Squeaky cleaned us up and Opus gave us solar power!

We partner with sustainable printers: Generation Press were awarded Environmental/Sustainability company of the year at the Digital Printer Awards

The frames we use are made from FSC wood - The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo on a wood or wood-based product is an assurance that it is made with, or contains, wood that comes from FSC certified forests or from post-consumer waste.

We go paperless as much as we can - Payslips are emailed to our employees rather than printed and we use our laptops during meetings to avoid printing any documents unnecessarily. Any paper that we do use we make sure we recycle.

Who gives a crap? We do! We made the switch to a 100% recycled toilet paper company who donate 50% of their profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.

We signed up to the Refill scheme – Enter Gallery is now one of the locations you can top up your reusable water bottle!

 

 

What we are planning to do:

• Switch our bubble wrap to a recycled plastic alternative bubble wrap.
• Create a carbon offset for the emissions created by our delivery van.
• Use our influence to encourage the use of sustainable printing methods where possible.
• Improve the recycling and management of waste from the frame production process.
• Continue to find ways of making small changes within the business to become more sustainable.

Art is Eco-friendly

Over the years we have become a disposable society and lost the art of buying for life. More people are rejecting this throwaway mindset and making more considered purchases that have more longevity. The purchase of art is environmentally friendly, energy efficient and easy to maintain. It is not something that needs to be regular serviced like your car or your home, so the initial investment has no extra upcoming costs to consider.

It is not another commodity that outlives it usefulness with an expiring shelf life. In fact, art gets better with time - Often increasing in value it is a more worthwhile investment than buying an abundance of plastic items which you will soon lose their charm and end up in landfill.

You are also investing in a person. With each purchase the artist can continue to create and bring joy to more people through their talent. The world needs artists and this is something that has been recognised by the Own Art scheme which is a 0% loan initiative supported by the gallery. Own Art is helps support the artists of today by encouraging sales of their work to new buyers.

 

Our top tips for a sustainable trip to Brighton;

Adopt the ‘Take 3 for the Sea’ policy – Every time you visit a beach pick up 3 pieces of litter. If every person did this when visiting the beach it will make a huge impact in cleaning up our beaches and reducing sea pollution endangering the sea life.

Have your ice cream in a cone rather than a single-use tub. Less waste and more to eat!

Run out of water? Don’t buy another plastic bottle. Bring your refillable bottle to the gallery and we will refill for you as part of refill Brighton.

Make more considered purchases on your shopping trip. Marking a seaside getaway with a tacky souvenir may feel light-hearted and harmless but think twice about the longevity of such products and how much use you will get out of them. Will they continue to be of use to you and valued after a year, a month or even a week?

The purchase of art is undoubtedly more substantial. You are buying the skill involved in making that piece, the inspiration behind it and the emotion it evokes in you. Many see the art they own as an extension of themselves – a way to capture part of their personality or an experience they have had. A new print can be a meaningful way to capture the memory of weekend that will last a lifetime and stir that memory every time you see the piece hanging in your home!