Rugged’s 12 Days of Evergreen Christmas

The 12 days of Christmas. Is it a carol? (Yes.) Is it the period that runs from 25^th December to 6^th January? (Yes again.) In more modern times, most companies and brands also run their own ’12 days’ usually from 1^st December. And we’re no different. This year, we decided to dedicate our 12 days of Christmas to being green!

Green is the new black (and we hope it stays that way). We want our partners and customer to feel good about buying from Rugged, and be safe in the knowledge that for every purchase they make, they’re not having a negative impact on the environment. So here we have it - 12 things we are doing with a little help from our customers and friends to reduce our carbon footprint and be kinder to our environment.

You purchase, we plant. In October this year, we launched our plant a tree initiative, where for every product purchased, we plant trees to offset the carbon created during manufacturing. Trees are planted in Cornwall, UK near to our HQ. Click here to read more about it.

Pallets make the world go round… We ship our products all over the world, which means lots of pallets! To reduce waste, we use recycled plastic pallets for deliveries to regular customers so that we can collect them and re-use again. We also reuse any wooden pallets sent to us from our suppliers.

Waste not, want not. Lightpods are included in over 50% of Rugged products. Old lightpods are returned to us so that some elements can be refurbished. All other parts, including the PCBs, are recycled at WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). Modern electronics contain rare and expensive resources, which WEEE help to reuse and recycle. Click here to learn more about WEEE.

West is Best! All of our products are manufactured to order in Bodmin, Cornwall. 75% of major parts included in our products are all sourced from companies in the Southwest of the UK – which helps reduce emissions from travel, and supports local businesses.

I like to ride my bicycle… We’re proud to have a cycle to work scheme where we help contribute to the payment of bikes for our employees. We believe 2 wheels are better than 4 or more, so we encourage the use of bikes where possible. Here’s one of our team’s pre 6am commute from Summer….

Going groupage. For over 95% of our shipments to customers, we use groupage shipping which limits individual trips, and means one hub is used to distribute products out to their final destination. Groupage shipments help lower carbon emissions, keeping our air that little bit fresher.

Peachy beachy. With our HQ so close to the sea, we feel it’s time to make sure that the beaches we know and love are as spotless as they can be. From 2022, we’ll be carrying out team beach cleans to remove rubbish and ensure any children/wildlife playing here don’t get caught up in plastic waste or crisp wrappers.

Don’t waste the ocean. Our mouldings that form the base of many of our products, including CardioWalls and DodgeAttack targets, are made up of 30% recycled plastic from ocean waste. So next time you see a bottle on the beach… if you drop it in the recycling bin, it might end up in one of our products. What a thought!

Together in electric dreams! We have electric car points installed at both of our offices in the Southwest to ensure that there’s somewhere to fill up on juice whatever vehicle you’re driving. You won’t find our Founder, Simon, at petrol stations… he’s already gone fully electric. More of the Rugged team are soon to follow!

Old but gold! Our old plastic mouldings from products such as PowrPlay targets and SelfieCam are sent off to be recycled and are made into new products such as water tanks. We don’t like waste, we’re more a fan of the reuse and recycle – it’s amazing what old things can be turned into!

Magic metal. Unwanted electric wires and circuit boards from our products are recycled for metal including copper, tin and gold. Who knows, your can of baked beans might once have been a cable in a CardioWall!

Move over Monet. For items that aren’t widely recycled, we send them off to the Cornwall Scrap Store and to local schools, where they’ll use our unwanted parts in their art and science projects. Recently, an old printer of ours was made into a giant robot sculpture! Click here to find out more here.

There’s always more that big brands, small companies and your average Joe can do to look after our planet. At Rugged, we’re very conscious of the impact we have on our environment and try to do all we can to keep our footprint to a minimum. We love new glorious green ideas, so if you happen to have one that you think we could get involved with… drop it into our stocking (mailbox will do) this year.