Our ethos: Taking Steps Towards A More Positive Future!
Challenging Times
If you are reading this page then you will likely be well aware of the effect that consumerism plays on the environment. Let's face it, things are pretty messed up and industry plays a huge role. One day I'm sure we will all look back and marvel at just how crazy it was that industries had very little accountability for their impact on the environment.
Until that day it seems to be down to individual consumers and business owners to make the positive changes.
With backgrounds in environmental education, nature connection & permaculture design, working towards the most sustainable outcome has been at the heart of Fat Fox Mushrooms since day one.
Below are some of the things that we at Fat Fox do in hope that it may shape a more positive future:
Steps Towards Sustainability
Where possible we strive to play a role in the closed loop economy. This is a model in which things are repaired, shared, reused and recycled. Where one industry waste product can be fed into another and treated as a valuable resource.
To put this into perspective at the consumer end let's discuss our main product - our mushroom growing kits. What turns up through our customers door is a box containing 2kg of colonised mushroom substrate housed in 200g of packaging.
Our mushrooms are grown on on carefully selected natural and organic substrates. We do not use peat in any of our substrate mixes. About 94% of our materials are derived from industry by-products, including PEFC-certified hardwood briquettes made from sawdust sourced from a single-site sawmill and organic wheat bran from UK grain harvests. PEFC is a globally recognised non-profit organisation that ensures transparency and sustainability in the wood-based product industry. Our kits also include UK grown organic wheat or rye grain.
When it comes to our packaging we have worked hard to make our growing kits as sustainable as possible. We are working towards offering grow kits that are 100% biodegradable ‘including all packaging’ and so far we have got it down to approximately 99% by weight.
The remaining 1% is a single 17g specialised polypropylene filter bag that houses the mycelium and keeps it separate from the box. Without it, the mycelium simply starts consuming the biodegradable packaging before the kit is complete. If the filter patch is removed and the bag is throughly washed these bags can be recycled with 'soft plastics' at Sainsbury's. While we continue to work towards a 100% biodegradable solution, it's worth noting that any undamaged bags that people wish to send back to us, can and will be used for a second time. If you wish to Include your name and contact details we will enter you into our fungi prize draw!
Send them to:
Fat Fox Mushrooms, Unit A/4 43-53 Markfield Road, London N15 4QA
The 99% That we have achieved.
Our boxes are fsc certified, hand printed by small business Walden Arts using biodegradable inks. We only use biodegradable gummed tapes, paper instructions made from 'low grade' (the greenest) post consumer waste. To save on unnecessary packaging we don't double box our products, but instead seal them in multi use compostable mailers. These mailers are designed to be used for shipping a second item before finally lining a compost caddy. When you're receive your parcel, try to remove the mailer carefully so that you don't tear it and If you look closely you will see that it has a second sticky strip built into it that will help you secure a delivery at a later date.
Delivery
All Fat Fox deliveries are sent using Royal Mail services. With a huge number of on-foot postal workers, Royal Mail has the Uk’s lowest reported parcel carbon footprint of any major UK delivery service (193g C02e).