Greening Our Internet Business

The Greening Of An Internet Business

WinchuckRiverStore.com is going Green. Utilizing our position, we try to target as wide an audience as possible to share the good, Green word.
We've been working towards this for sometime now and are growing closer in meeting our goals of zero waste. We recognize and value the impact that we have on the world. We work at all times to utilize 100% sustainable practices in our operations whenever possible and when not, seek to reduce our negative contributions to as close to zero as we can. We believe that as a business, it is our social obligation to do so, as well as to help spread a sustainable, eco-friendly message to enhance ones awareness in life and business, as much as possible.

Our Motivation

There are many reasons to start and become, "Green" or eco-conscious. Here are some of our motivations:
1. Keep the Earth beautiful, it's such an amazing gift to us all, why not just help the planet?

2. Think beyond yourself and the present: what kind of world will we be leaving behind if our children have got to watch some Flash animation or YouTube video footage to experience the flight of some great bird of prey, go to a zoo, park or even plug into some virtual reality like Second Life to experience nature?

3. Reduce and reuse your energy and material goods consumption and save money while reducing your ecological footprint.

With the continued explosion of interest and activity from virtually every industry, most notably Al Gore's winning an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth, it is clearly evident that the threat of global warming has moved beyond threatening to imminent crisis. And when Inc.com runs an article on the 50 most intriguing Green businesses, you know this is all serious business.

Going Green Steps

So what are we doing here at Winchuck River Store. to reduce our eco-print? Well, we've developed a number of initiatives including:

1. Previously our damaged, and other miscellaneous pieces would either be thrown out, given away to friends and family or just cluttering up space in our warehouse. Now, we sell them off at nearly, exactly at, or somewhere just below our cost which further enhances our product selection and satisfies many customers need for just the right piece at just the right price.

2. Carbon Offsetting - There are are numerous vendors to choose from when purchasing your credits including CarbonFund.org, NativeEnergy.com and BeGreenNow.com, to name a few.
Together we have been looking into the use of installing solar panels on our roof. We also limit the use of our main lighting as much as possible too and installed custom wiring and switches to further control this.

3. Green office supplies - when it comes to supply, we've found TheGreenOffice.com to be the leading source. With greater bulk ordering you can not only reduce your supply expense but you can also minimize your emissions from having to commute to your local office supply store, who often times doesn't even have what you set out for, resulting in a counter-productive trip. Office Depot also has a growing selection of more sustainable supplies (though currently it's mostly found in their paper selection).

4. Packaging disposal - all of our cardboard and plastic waste is recycled. We also reuse nearly 99% of packing materials in some order fulfillment, whenever possible. All of our office waste: paper, cans, glass, plastic, etc. are also recycled; toner/laser printer cartridges are stored for recycling or reuse.

5. Company transportation - We minimize driving as much as possible. Our main travel is to the Post Office. We make an effort to get our mail ready in time to request a pickup from our mail delivery person. This saves us 18 miles of driving each time.

A Greener Future

These are just some of the steps we've taken, so stay tuned for more!
There's no doubt that there's a bit of a curve to get yourself, your household or your company up to speed with fundamental Green principles but it is well worth the time and effort. This is just the beginning for us and we will be posting more information as new developments occur, with the aid of the Green Gurus.

Latest News

For the latest updates on our progress, be sure to check out our Winchuck River Store Policy Page here.