By Ceri Seal, Owner of Bare Cards ~ Naked and Free 

August 2023

Where are we now? 

It’s all too apparent now, why we need to look after our environment. From wildfires, to floods, to melting ice caps – climate change is at the forefront of everyone’s mind and it’s scary! 

But what are we actually doing about it? Not just in our homes, but in our valuable industry. 

The greetings card industry is even more important during these uncertain times. Sending messages of love and support on special occasions lifts our spirits and is paramount for our mental health. The good news is that people in Britain recognise that, with £1.7 billion still being spent on cards in 2020 (Ref PG Buzz GCA Conference & AGM 4.11.2020) 

But how eco-friendly are we as an industry? 

As a self-employed sales agent, my husband Derren Seal, was cautious about me writing this article – after all, we don’t want to bite the hand that feeds us! However, it was his concern at the waste he was seeing and the frustration of retailers that he was experiencing, that prompted him, during lockdown, to invent and patent a solution that might just make a difference. 

I applaud the efforts that have been made so far – the recyclable boards, the sustainable alternatives to glitter/flitter and foiling, the many innovative solutions to plastic cello-wrap and more!  

However, the cold hard truth is that we could still do more. 

We see it first-hand!   

What’s holding us back?  

 

                                             Cello-wrap: July 2023

There are still too many retailers who want to have their cards cello-wrapped. But why? Here’s a few of the reasons we’ve been told: 

• They want their valued customers to be able to browse through the cards, see the whole product and read the beautiful verses inside. 
• They want their racks to look neat, tidy and professional – not with envelopes and cards separated and sticking out 
• They don’t want to deal with frustrated customers who can’t find the right envelope to go with their card. 
• They don’t want to have to order additional envelopes from publishers because they’ve gone missing or been stolen.

Cello-wrap is a single use plastic, whether it’s bio-degradable or not. Our industry would be more sustainable without it. 

 How does the Bare Cards concept help? 

 Derren’s invention (and yes, he does like to be known as an inventor now 😊), takes the traditional way of sending a greetings card and ‘throws it out the window’! Instead of sending your card in a single-use paper envelope, the posting page is built into the card design itself. 

This immediately solves the retailers' problems of missing or stolen envelopes, consumers not being able to find the correct envelopes and messy racks. 

The consumer can view the whole product, including the beautiful inserts. And they’re not hunting around for the correct envelope to go with their card!

 

It not only solves most of the cello-wrap issues, but also saves on single-use paper waste. 

The envelope was thought to have been invented in 3500BC (Ref: goenvelope.com - The History of Envelopes) by the Chinese as a way of keeping royal communications secret. It has had an illustrious and useful career enabling billions of communications to be sent over these thousands of years – however it is a single-use paper product. A product that is simply thrown away on receipt – whether recycled or not. It’s a vessel for transportation and in this modern era many are replacing it with more sustainable alternatives. 

Consider the supermarket flyers that you receive through the post and the coupons from multi-billion-pound beauty companies; they are all moving away from the traditional envelope transportation to a peel open, print on all sides alternative. 

The Bare Cards concept is simply the greetings card version of this. 

Added bonus! 

 In addition to saving all this plastic and paper waste, the Bare Cards concept allows you to print on all 6 sides of the card – meaning you can have fully-illustrated posting pages – giving that extra WOW! Factor on receipt. Imagine what we’re going to do at Christmas! 

 Where are we now and what are the problems we are facing? 

 And back to my original question. 

The Bare Cards concept was launched in 2020 and, with Derren’s connections in the industry, is probably known to most publishers. So why aren’t more people using it?  

We are eternally grateful to those in the industry who have supported us: Kingfisher Cards, Progressive Greetings, Greetings Today and Products of Change. You have all helped to raise the profile and mission of the concept. 

But as a small business we are having to prove to consumers and publishers that this concept does work. Cards have always come with envelopes, and educating people that there is a more sustainable alternative is tricky to do with a two-person team! We don’t have the finances to properly research the best sticky-strip or the most sustainable boards and we definitely don’t have the advertising budget we need. We know that our products are not as professionally produced as others and we’re sure that some of Derren’s jokes and puns are questionable 😊. 

We’re doing it though!  

We’re now selling online via our website Bare Cards - Naked and Free. Reducing both paper and plastic waste – bare cards (bare-cards.co.uk), on social media and to trade and the cards are beginning to sell. It’s thanks to other small retail and printing businesses, who are willing to educate their customers and believe in a more sustainable future, that this will happen. 

I, for one, wholeheartedly believe in Derren’s idea to make his industry a more sustainable one and that’s why it’s going to work! 

We’ll see you at trade fairs and, if you see our cards in shops or online, you’ll now understand the mission behind the concept! 

Thank you for reading and here’s to a cello-free future for all! 😊