How we MAKEIT – Our Sustainability Manifesto

At MOO, we believe that great design should be available to all. We started by disrupting the print industry, democratizing access to beautiful designs and high-quality products. ‘Great design for everyone’ remains our North Star today, but we want this to mean and achieve much more.

Our vision is to make great design more sustainable and accessible for everyone, creating long-term value for all stakeholders, from the environment we impact to the people we work with and the communities we operate in.

Our Sustainability Manifesto? That is the start of our journey. We are laying down some big goals in three main areas of impact. Read on to discover what we are working towards. 

Our commitments

At MOO, sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. We’ve established policies and accountability measures to integrate this approach into decision-making, with strict governance for transparency and reporting.

1. Product

Our goal is to design the most sustainable products on the market and we don’t rest until our customers are delighted with our products.

We believe in pushing the boundaries of innovation, design, quality, and service to create not just beautiful and functional products, but ones that are also sustainable. Our products are meticulously crafted with both people and the planet in mind.

Innovating for sustainability

Our new design process addresses all the challenges of designing out waste and creating end-of-life solutions. All our new products will be driven by, and follow our sustainability goals: reducing impact, increasing recycling, length of life and end-of-life solutions, circularity, and purposeful choices.

We’re committed to conducting a lifecycle analysis on a minimum of two products (Water Bottles and a paper product) in the next 12–18 months. This will deepen our understanding of the impact our products have, and highlight areas of improvement. Additionally, we will develop a sustainability matrix for all new products, leveraging environmental analysis data to guide our product development efforts.

Reducing the impact of materials used

We’re committed to reducing our environmental impact by eliminating single-use plastic, using recycled or renewable materials, designing products for extended life, and simplifying production for easy recycling.

In April 2022, we launched our new packaging. It’s plastic-free, 100% recyclable, made with over 60% recycled material and is chlorine-free.

Furthermore, we partnered with a US packaging vendor Hub, based locally to our US warehouse. This has enabled each packaging item to travel 8,000 miles less when shipped from our US warehouse. 

These changes, allowed us to reduce excess packaging by 50%, reduce carbon footprint by 80%, and cut paper usage by 75% compared to a 2019 baseline.

We’re also thrilled to announce the recent launch of our new Eco Paper range, currently available exclusively in the US. 

Strengthening our supply chain

But it’s not just about products. We’re also dedicated to strengthening our supply chain. By mapping it out and implementing a Code of Conduct for our suppliers across environmental, social, and governmental areas, we’re ensuring accountability and sustainability. We’re teaming up with new suppliers who share our commitment to making a positive impact.

Nick Ruotolo, Chief Operating Officer at MOO, expanded on this commitment; “We’re committed to working with our suppliers to make sure the people in our supply chain are working under safe conditions and treated with respect and dignity. This goes beyond legal requirements. We have high standards for our suppliers. We will continue to inject accountability in our supply chain and operations by only working with suppliers who adhere to our values and standards to respect people and the planet.”

2. People

Our people make us who we are, so we want to do our best for them. And that includes everyone. From the wonderful people who work at MOO – our “MOOsters” – to our customers, community stakeholders and partners.

One of our team members, Noha Ghazouani, shared her experience; “The culture at MOO has allowed me to develop and thrive in my career. Soon after I started at MOO, I joined the Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) team because I wanted to help make a difference and ensure that my colleagues felt represented. The JEDI team has been a great platform for my colleagues and me to meet and discuss the issues that matter to us. JEDI is doing lots of great work, and having the backing of the Senior Leadership Team means that our voices are heard.”

Within MOO, our goal is to offer an inclusive, safe, and affirming environment where we all feel valued and empowered. Over the past year, we’ve developed our vision for the new world of work at MOO – we call it Work 2.0. It’s our transformation program to build a responsible and empowering culture.

3. Planet

Our aim is to be a net zero company with a regenerative focus. Today, climate change and rapid biodiversity loss are two of the most defining features of our planet’s environment. We all have a part to play in reducing emissions and minimizing our impact.

With our sixth value, “Make it sustainable”, we take responsibility for assessing and managing our environmental footprint. We hold ourselves accountable and strive to be industry leaders. Our goal is to leave the world a greener place than when we started. And that’s why we are committing to: 

Reducing our carbon emissions 

We’re undertaking our first carbon footprint, measuring our carbon emissions to determine a baseline and set ourselves targets. 

We’re already working to reduce our emissions across our value chain. From our new packaging and switching to renewable energy at sites where we have operational control, to transitioning to local suppliers wherever possible, and nearshore suppliers where impossible. 

But that’s not all. We’re taking a closer look at our manufacturing sites to see how much waste and water we’re using, and finding innovative ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. And we’re not just committed to our own actions. We’ll only work with supply partners who have carbon targets or who are working on setting them.

Protecting forests and biodiversity 

We’re exploring ways of protecting and conserving trees in the UK and the US. This involves pursuing independent verification from the appropriate providers (e.g. PEFC and FSC) for our paper and print products and increasing the proportion of our paper products from regenerative forestry.

“We are proud to be part of MOO’s supply chain. We understand how important it is to be part of an ethical supply chain built on mutual trust. We are in regular contact with the team at MOO, and we are confident that when we have any issues, we can reach out to them and resolve them very easily.”

Mary Ann Geers (GPA)

Leading by example 

We’re using our communication channels to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. We want to offer our customers sustainable choices with clear and transparent information. 

What’s next?

Our Sustainability Manifesto sets out a path to achieving our new vision for our products, culture, and business. We began by setting out our approach to environmental best practices, equity, and business transparency. And this is just the beginning. We’re working on a more detailed and comprehensive plan that we hope to publish in 2025.

Want to discover more? Take a look at our Sustainability Manifesto here. Or get in touch with a member of our team if you want to chat through your next project with us.