Our Sustainability Progress


We are always working to improve Miss Milly’s sustainability. Here’s some info on our progress and plans

Growing up wearing hand-me-downs from her older cousin and with a father who often asked why lights were on in unoccupied rooms, our founder, Sarah, has waste avoidance ingrained so the ongoing endeavour to make Miss Milly more sustainable is a positively accepted challenge.

We approach sustainability with a prioritised action list of reducing where we can, followed by reusing and finally, recycling. And we are sharing our actions with you in a format that shows what we have already introduced or actioned, what we are currently working on and, with full transparency, what we are struggling with.

In Spring 2022, Miss Milly proudly took part in the inaugural Small Business Britain ‘Sustainability Basics’ course working with Small99, Sustainable Pathways and Oxford Brookes University, and would heartily recommend it to all small businesses as a great resource and network for information and ideas.

We are proud and delighted to announce that as of July 2024 our fulfilment company, Tidal Fulfilment, has achieved B Corp certification and is one of the very first in the industry in the UK to do so. This prestigious recognition underscores Tidal’s commitment to the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, meeting rigorous standards in various areas, including employee welfare, environmental sustainability, community engagement and ethical business practices.

What have we done?

Reduce

  • We have reduced the number of manufacturers we work with to three and all of these are located in the same city so that we can consolidate logistics where possible.
  • We have halved the number of overseas trips we make by creating collections for two full seasons at once.
  • We import stock by sea rather than air whenever possible.
  • We have not used any polyester in our scarves for several years now.
  • We have moved to a new integrated website, ordering and bookkeeping system, which  greatly reduces the amount of paper and ink we use.
  • Majority of plastic jewellery packaging and scarf packaging was compostable. Having learned that home composting is only possible with a high heat source unavailable to most households, we have switched back to packaging that can be recycled with soft plastics at larger supermarkets as we feel this is more likely to happen.
  • We are proud to work with a fulfilment house that has achieved B Corp certification.
  • Replaced standard jiffy bags with FSC approved Jiffy Green ones.
  • Replaced standard grip seal bags with oxo-biodegradable ones.
  • Cycle to local meetings where possible instead of driving.
  • Office heating is turned down or off and extra layers encouraged.
  • Turning office sockets off at the wall overnight.
  • Calculated our digital footprint to help us see the impact of wasteful emails in particular.
  • All waste paper printed on one side is reused for notes.
  • All cardboard boxes are reused where possible.
  • Grip seal bags are reused until they are no longer fit for purpose.
  • The findings and chains from otherwise broken jewellery are kept to repair other broken pieces.
  • Some of our broken jewellery is returned to the supplier for repair or reuse.


Recycle

  • All paper and cardboard is recycled after being reused if possible.
  • All paper with confidential data is shredded and recycled.
  • We have changed gift packaging supplier to one that uses FSC certified paper with all products being recyclable after use.
  • We suggest that trade customers receiving faulty scarves (i.e., with a pull or snag) in their deliveries donate them to charity or sell cheaply rather than throwing them away.
  • Some broken jewellery is donated to our local primary school for art and craft projects.

What are we doing?

Reduce

  • The Covid 19 pandemic has reduced our overseas travel to zero since June 2019 and once we can travel again, we will be halving our trips to visit suppliers from twice a year to once.

Reuse

  • Dispatching all retail order jewellery in gift boxes with the hope that they will be kept for storing the jewellery and lengthening its life.


Recycle

  • Educating trade customers that most of our jewellery and scarf packaging is recyclable.
  • Replacing our grip seal bags with oxo biodegradable products.

 

Miss Milly is currently in carbon debt and working with Make It Wild to calculate our carbon emissions and offset these by planting trees in Yorkshire. We have no intention of greenwashing and recognise that offsetting is not a solution in itself but is a positive step that we are able to make whilst working on emission reduction.

We are also in the process of moving our payment provider to Stripe and will be looking at their Stripe Climate project, where users donate a percentage of sales to emerging carbon removal technologies.

What are we struggling with?

  • Getting information from most of our UK and overseas suppliers about their practices and sustainability data, and encouraging them to work more sustainably.
  • Getting information on more sustainable materials for our products that can be sourced by our suppliers, and that is before we even consider the cost impact.
  • Finding out how to sustainably dispose of compostable and biodegradable plastics in bulk.
  • The realisation that home compostable packaging requires high heat to biodegrade and therefore isn’t a great solution. It can also contaminate recyclable materials if disposed of with them. So we feel we’re back to square one with the product packaging and will continue to look for a replacement for plastic sleeves.

BE PART OF OUR JOURNEY

  • Are you a xanthophile? It’s somebody who loves the colour yellow 💛Easy to see why you could be when it represents sunshine, daffodils, a sandy beach and custard! And for us, if happiness was embodied in a colour it would be yellow.

It’s also a key colour for this season and we have a few pieces of yellow jewellery to reflect that trend including our popular heart necklace. In fact, this particular piece has been so popular it has sold out! But don’t worry, it’ll be back in early April ready for the glorious days of summer and fields of sunflowers.

So are you a xanthophile? And what is your favourite yellow thing?
  • Have you seen our gorgeous range of leather bags and purses? Handcrafted in India from recycled leather offcuts, they are bold and bright, a perfect addition to our colourful jewellery and scarves.

See all the designs on the website. Due to the nature of the recycled leather, the colours are random meaning no two products are the same. So they are sustainable, practical, beautiful and unique!
  • Did you miss out on seeing Miss Milly at @springautumnfair? Fear not, you can still get our colourful jewellery, soft scarves and Indian handcrafted leather bags and purses in your store. If you’re in an area covered by one of our lovely sales agents, drop a comment or DM and we’ll get you connected. 

Or contact Sarah at Head Office on 01905 622509 and she can help put together a starter order of best-sellers to suit your budget and requirements.

Let’s work together 😃
  • This is Sarah, an NEC friend, who is building up a colourful collection of Miss Milly heart necklaces 💚 

Last day of @springautumnfair today. It’s been incredible like the old buzzy show days of a decade and more ago.
  • Wow! We couldn’t make the awards do yesterday afternoon as we were still busy on the stand so missed out on a more pro photo 😉 Over the moon today to find out that we’ve won the Spring Fair Award of Excellence for Fashion Accessories 🏆 with our Red Robin Magnetic Brooch. 

Chuffed? As mustard! 🤩

If you’re at @springautumnfair tomorrow or Wednesday, do come and say hello on stand 3F11. We’ve got colourful jewellery, scarves and leather bags and purses. Excellent value prices, low minimum order and no MOQs. Definitely award worthy!

Thank you so much, I'll absolutely be recommending you. These are gifts but I'll be back for myself soon too.
Happy Customer
Absolutely thrilled to bits, the necklace is the perfect match to a dress I bought recently. Can't wait to wear it!
Happy Customer
Where have I been all your life! My brooch is amazing; every bit as good as the internet photo and then some!
Happy Customer
The contents of my beautifully wrapped parcel are absolutely gorgeous and the speed of service was outstanding!
Happy Customer
Just to say thank you not only for a beautiful product but outstanding service. Will recommend and return.
Happy Customer

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