For any of you that know me reasonably well. I do make the effort and pound the pavement or jog through the woods, in an attempt to stay reasonably fit in body and mind. The one thing which has struck an accord in the last week is the number of abandoned, discarded face masks. No matter where I am, walking Finn or out on a run, or even blowing around the car park outside the business, they are everywhere.

We’ve started to see them washing up on beaches, ending up in the canals we are getting consumed by these necessary but evil waste generating item. It is fair to say, as a business, my ethics lead the way for the tone of what we do. I use cloth masks, which are washable, instantly cutting down the waste mountain. It seems like naivety or arrogance leads the way, through least cost, quick win, the disposable culture we have bread ourselves into.

The commercial rush of Covid-19 has brought about some real nasties, in our lack of environmentally conscious solutions. The commercial quick win, make a quick buck culture, as seen grossly overpriced items, see some of the latest news which the government was stung with for the NHS. Equally, I’ve watched businesses in certain hygiene sectors, use the hype as a way of inflating prices (I’m privileged to see some of the supply chains), morality has dropped as the pandemic has edged into commercial greed.

I can reassure you, we still, use plastics only where needed/required, ensuring when they are used, they are for a long lifespan. We actively recycle, with our user to waste conversion taking place as locally as is possible. We encourage our customers and associates to be environmentally conscious and aware of what they are doing, with the best solutions to fit their needs.

Our banner pricing remains competitive and any solutions we prepare for Covid-19 measures enforcement match previous pricing policy where possible. We are aware of stock issues on certain garment lines, such as head tube scarfs/hats, but we will endeavour to do what we can, as responsibly as we can. 

It seems a very bazaar paradox, that the planet recovered slightly whilst we had less on the roads and aircraft in the skies, that we are now polluting the planet with facemasks.

Stay safe, be responsible, and we will all will catch up face to face soon.