Single-use plastics have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they persist in the environment for hundreds of years. As a result, single-use plastic packaging accounts for nearly half the plastic waste found in nature. Despite only 9% of all plastic waste being recycled, plastic production is expected to double over the next two decades.
The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) standards represent the world’s strongest system for guiding responsible forest management. Verification through the supply chain in accordance with FSC® Chain of Custody standards ensures that Vela bags are made with materials sourced from FSC® certified forests, recycled material, or controlled wood. This effort ensures these forests continue to provide habitat for wildlife, purify drinking water, prevent soil erosion, and mitigate the effects of climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When it comes to forest-based products, FSC® certification is the sustainable choice you can trust to deliver better outcomes for forests, people, and markets – today and for future generations
To learn more about FSC® click here
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A circular economy represents a collective economic effort to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. This is done by extracting maximum value from a product, then recovering and regenerating materials at the end of its life-cycle.
Paper is made from pulp fibers which shorten each time the material is recycled. Paper products can generally be recycled 4-6 times, meaning our Vela products can be transformed into many different products serving unique purposes within a circular economy.
A renewable resource is an asset that can be replenished again and again by nature. Because trees are continuously grown, a sustainable supply of fiber is readily available to make paper. Renewable resources, like paper, are essential to a circular economy as are products that contribute to or are made from post-consumer recycled materials.
We have partnered with South Pole — a global market leader in sustainability solutions, products, and services — to calculate the carbon footprint of Vela bags and compensate for their unavoidable emissions by purchasing carbon offset credits. With these carbon credits, we have offsetting options available upon request, by supporting forest conservation projects in Brazil and Canada that remove the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. These projects reduce emissions while bringing a host of other positive benefits; they support multiple Sustainable Development Goals through improving community wellbeing, wildlife, livelihoods. To learn more about Carbon Offsetting click Here
We identify and measure emissions from cradle to factory gate. This includes all the impacts of the extraction of resources through the manufacturing facility gates.
Identify and reduce impact by substituting fossil fuels with energy from biomass, utilize renewable materials, and plan energy efficiency upgrades.
Purchase carbon offsets for the carbon emissions we weren't yet able to eliminate.
The Darkwoods project sustains and protects almost 55,000 hectares of incredibly diverse forest in British Columbia. This area includes rare, old-growth inland temperate rainforests that form a carbon sink which has prevented the emission of over 3,500,000 million tCO2e to date. It's also home to at-risk wildlife such as endangered mountain caribou.
The Envira project in Brazil’s Amazon basin protects 39,300 ha of tropical forest from logging and encroaching cattle ranches. On average each year this region mitigates the release of over 1,250,000 million tCO2e while also preserving rich biodiversity. The project creates economic opportunities for local communities through sustainable farming and the sale of açaí berries and other medicinal plants. Health services and educational courses relating to environmental stewardship are also provided.
Created to date, a number which is growing
built, improving local community health and increasing life expectancies
mitigated on average annually
and community meetings are run out of the project’s headquarters
of deforestation avoided to date, protecting habitat for 3 IUCN Red List species and 15 significant species at risk
for açai berry and medicinal plant sales established by the project and run by local community members
of land protected from commercial logging to sequester carbon
mitigated on average annually by the project
of tropical rainforests are protected from deforestation and biodiversity monitoring has been set up
