We know that international shipping represents 87% of total CO2 emissions from ships and planes each year. If treated as a country, it would be the sixth largest emitter worldwide. So as we worked towards making Seed available globally, we developed our Sustainable Transport Program. After a customer’s first month, they have a choice of continuing with standard monthly refills shipped $10 USD flat rate, or enrolling in our Sustainable Transport Program (90-day refills, billed every 3 months, shipped free—saving international customers $120 USD / year). Together, we can reduce shipment frequency and refill, not land-fill.
As we continue to expand and evolve, we are continuously innovating across our supply chain, packaging, and shipping to lessen the impact on our planet (and with initiatives like SeedLabs, where we may also contribute to solutions).
How challenging has it been to maintain your eco principles?
Our eco principles are simply a reflection of our first principles. If you accept the frameworks given, you will always have challenges. If you rethink the framework, you have more freedom. We simply see our efforts iteratively—we are always evolving and never stagnant. Of course, in the near term, our sustainability work (especially with packaging) has higher up-front costs and we often find incredible materials that aren’t quite ready to scale or that take more time. We believe this is the price of innovation, building a moat and adhering to the integrity of what Seed stands for.