Ethical Sourcing: Our Consumers Care More than Ever
People are shifting their purchasing decisions towards sustainable products. Learn how to demand more ethical behavior from your favorite brands, and discover some great kitchen products created through responsible ethical sourcing.
Do consumers care about ethical sourcing? The answer is a resounding yes.
Customers are more “aware of where their products are sourced from, the treatment and living conditions of workers who grow the products”. Consumer attitude hinges on ethical products, sustainable sourcing and fair working conditions.
Customers care about responsible sourcing and sustainable products more than ever. It’s the main reason why Minimal takes such pride in the environmental impact of its products. Our ethical consumers want to know they’re making purchasing decisions with a positive impact on the planet.
It’s a crucial time for us to respect our planet. We must take personal care to live with sustainability in mind. At Minimal, we consider it our corporate social responsibility.
So how do we live our ethical sourcing values on a daily basis? Here’s a look inside Minimal’s commitment to ethical sourcing — from supply chain to design strategy and transparency with our customers.
Minimal Uses Ideal Ethical Sourcing Practices
A strong sustainable business model starts with an ethical supply chain. Minimal works exclusively with supply partners that meet a high standard of sustainable sourcing. We ensure these suppliers deliver on the promise of environmental responsibility and ethical sourcing strategies.
Our commitment to supply chain transparency requires action. We meet our suppliers personally to observe their fair working conditions and material sourcing procedures. We’re so proud of the ethical brands we work with for their dedication to health and happiness.
Tracing the Origins of Our Products
You deserve to know where the products you buy came from. You ought to know that the brands you support engage in fair trade, work with eco-friendly suppliers, and have high ethical standards.
Every Minimal product is clearly labeled with its country of origin. This allows us to maintain a transparent supply chain that lets you trace our products’ roots. If you’re purchasing a customized product, we create it ourselves in Toronto, Canada.
We provide innovative kitchen products that are both functional and ethical. It’s great to know our materials are the result of responsible sourcing.
But to be a truly ethical brand, we can’t just source materials well. We have to use them to create innovative, functional products that meet the same standard.
That’s why we take pride in the sustainability of our designs.
An Ethical Brand = Sustainable Design
You care about your impact on the planet. It’s important to feel confident you’re supporting companies that feel the same way.
Minimal products are designed to meet consumer demand for sustainable products. A truly great product design considers the long-term impact that item will have on the environment and the people using it.
The way you eat and drink isn’t just about what you put in your body. It’s about what you put your food and drinks into — the storage containers, bottles and food prep devices you use every day. These things need to be sustainably sourced and created as well.
Let’s look at ways you can add sustainable design to your everyday kitchen.
Eliminating Paper Waste in Food Products
The amount of paper wasted by poor food product design is staggering. In all, nearly 4 billion trees are cut down every year to make paper products — nearly 40% of which ends up in landfills.
Paper waste isn’t just about cutting down trees. It takes over 3 gallons of water to make a single sheet of paper. Now, add up all the coffee filters, paper packaging and receipts in the food product industry! We have a social responsibility to address the problem.
At Minimal, we believe the solution to paper waste starts with sustainable design and ethical sourcing strategies.
For example, it’s awful how much paper is wasted every year on coffee filters. The Minimal stainless steel pour over coffee maker is sleek and precise, and never requires a paper filter. If you make just one cup of coffee per day with it, you’re saving 365 paper coffee filters a year.
What an amazing way to feel great about your morning coffee!
Recycling Natural Fiber Reduces Carbon Emissions
The choice to purchase natural fiber food storage containers is great for the environment. Rather than flood landfills with cardboard and hard plastic, the decision to invest in recycled natural fiber has a positive ecological impact.
Minimal makes its natural fiber bento boxes from rice husks. When these husks are recycled instead of burned, we save millions of tons of carbon emissions. The natural fiber created is incredibly durable, and both chip and crack resistant.
(And hey — even though your bento box is built to last, it’s great to know that it’s easily compostable as well.)
It’s no wonder that this natural fiber bento box won NY NOW’s Eco Choice award!
Natural fiber isn’t the only way to avoid single-use plastic in the kitchen. Food-grade silicone is another buying decision that’s far more sustainable.
The Food-Grade Silicone Solution
75% of global consumers want single-use plastics banned, and for good reason. Plastic clogs our landfills, destroys our oceans, and is terrible for animal welfare.
It’s imperative we begin to phase plastic out of our lives. Minimal believes in the use of food-grade silicone in place of plastic for food storage and containers. Our silicone contains no petroleum, no latex and no PVC and is designed to last for years (unlike many single-use plastic containers).
Silicone has a much more positive effect on our oceans and water supply than plastic. Unlike plastic, it doesn’t break down into tiny particles that can easily leech into our water and food. Nobody wants plastic becoming a surprise ingredient in the food they store!
Products like the Minimal silicone bento box provide long-lasting, non-toxic food storage solutions that help eliminate plastic from your kitchen. They’re a beautiful blend of function and sustainability.
We love providing an inside look into how we create innovative and sustainable products. It’s part of our promise to remain transparent with customers like you.
Transparency With Our Customers
How can you be sure the brand you’re supporting is acting ethically and sustainably? The only way to ensure a company truly “walks the walk” is by demanding transparency.
A commitment to ethical sourcing is a commitment to honesty. We know how much care you take in every buying decision. You have the right to supply chain transparency, sustainable practice guarantees, and full accountability from the brands you choose.
Your buying decision becomes so much easier when you don’t have to ask for that transparency. We believe it should be given to you. After all, knowing the products you purchase are made responsibly allows you to truly enjoy them.
Ethical Consumption is Your Right
The right brand doesn’t just provide a great product. It provides peace of mind. The peace of knowing the product you’re using is responsibly made by people who care about your well-being and the good of the planet.
Ethical consumption is a right, not a privilege. You deserve to pick up a bento box, coffee maker or insulated bottle and know it’s ethically sourced.
Minimal’s commitment to these beliefs isn’t just about consumer demand. Human rights, environmental protection and fair trade mean so much more than “supply and demand”. They mean a better future for the people we love.
Choosing to be an ethical brand isn’t about sales. It’s about social responsibility. Won’t you join us?
