In 2015, the UK committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including a commitment to ensure sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12). 

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. 

The philosophy behind creating Lamina Animal™ was strongly guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and although we are just one small business, it is our hope that the example that we set will lead the way for other businesses to set people and planet before profit and remember that there is no planet B!

The goals that we focus on (even though they are all important) are:

• Quality Education (SDG 4)
• Gender Equality (SDG 5)
• Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9)
• Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10)
• Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11)
• Responsible Production and Consumption (SDG 12)
• Climate Action (SDG 13)
• Life Below Water (SDG 14)
• Life on Land (SDG 15)
• Partnership for the Goals (SDG 17)

Plan

To demonstrate our commitment to these goals, we strive to be as open about our supply chain as possible, only working with suppliers whose values align with ours, and by only using ethically sourced, sustainable materials in the manufacture of our products.

By having an open supply chain Lamina Animal™ directly contributes to reducing inequality and as we grow and employ people we will pay more than the living wage and ensure fair pay and working conditions are maintained and re-examined annually to adjust for inflation. 

Measurable Commitments

• We will support SDG 4 by providing links on our website to ways that you can be more active in partnering with the goals, living sustainably, and blog posts about eco friendly living,
• we will support SDG 8 by ensuring that 100% of our suppliers pay a living wage by 2021 to their workers,
• we will support SDG 11 by collaborating with local business and communities and supporting initiatives that empower those that inhabit them,
• we will support SDG 12 by ensuring that we make perishable stock in small quantities and where practicable only make to order to reduce dead stock and contribution to landfill,
• we will support SDG 14 by ensuring that we completely eliminate the use of plastic in all of our products and continue to use low impact dyes and fabrics that are ecowashed (as opposed to eco bleached) in our products, and;
• we will support SDG 15 by using One Tree Planted to engage in reforestation efforts through the sales of our products and will become members of B1G1 by 2021.

Progress

In developing our products so far, we have eliminated the use of plastic from 95% of the products that we manufacture, and we are committed to finding a way of increasing this to 100% by the year 2021.

We have partnered with One Tree Planted to aid in their reforestation programs in an effort to tackle Climate Change, The Crop Club in an effort to support local charity, and Ecovibe (who supply the compostable waste bags for our gift boxes) to support local business and continue to provide products that are free of plastic in all of our products.

By being guided by this in setting up Lamina Animal™, it meant that as a minimum we strive at all times to have:

• Sustainable, ethical and open sourcing,
• resource efficiency of products,
• materials that are compostable or recyclable,
• ethical procurement practices; and
• clear supply chains and product information, as well as honest labelling.

 
Each of our products’ constituent parts can be easily separated and either reused without further processing, or easily composted or recycled.

The use of GOTS and OEKO-Tex certified materials means that we are able to significantly reduce waste by composting trimmed thread and fabric and ensure that any unavoidable waste is utilised to the fullest degree, and as we grow, we also plan to implement analysis tools to track our environmental footprint to appropriately display our sustainability.