Sustainability
We choose different.
Being bold and choosing different is at the heart of our company. For us, it’s not just about selling eye-catching designs. Choosing different is about making choices that lead us to more sustainable business operations and prepare us for a greener future. Join us in our journey to choose different.
We don’t like long stories full of bla-bla. Hence, you can read our sustainability efforts all on one page. No 100-page report, clogged with foggy claims, but total honesty.
We’ve come
a long way
Seriously.
We started Fresh ‘n Rebel in 2013 and little did we know about our impact on the world. We sold our Rockbox Cube speaker in a hard plastic box. Which, obviously, looked cool, but oh-la-la, total waste of plastic… We’ve come a long way and are now working hard on building our way to a more sustainable future. Instead of considering looks only, we first consider how we can keep our footprint as small as possible. Because, we know, there’s work to be done.
Small steps, big impact
Quality: Check, check, double check
We get it, when you’ve finally found your favourite mobile must-have, you want to use it for ever and ever! We’ve got your back. Delivering quality is our number 1 priority. Our quality team in Asia monitors our factories to make sure all our products are top-notch. All items are cleverly designed and manufactured from high-quality materials and components only to give them the longest possible lifespan. Check out our speakers, for example, which are fitted with an extra strong body and a bumper-like construction to survive a bumpy ride.
To test the quality of our products, every shipment is checked and assessed according to international standards. Did you know we test our products by dropping them on the floor? Yes, literally! The so-called drop test makes sure our product lives up to its promise.
Packaging/transport:
Ticking all the boxes
We’re proud to say that our packaging is ticking all the boxes! In order to achieve this, we radically redesigned our packaging, inside and out. Since 2019 all our newly introduced packaging are up to 50% smaller. This means: less waste and less space for transport. Win-win!
Besides reducing the size of our packaging, we also built our way to remove plastic. We’ve removed all plastics that could be replaced by a paper inlay and rice paper. Fun fact: all our Clam headphones, Twins earbuds and Bold speakers packaging are made from paper or cardboard. Here’s to many more!
And that’s not even all. The Clam and Code Junior are the first products that have FSC certified packaging. From those products onwards you can spot the FSC logo on all packaging (including re-orders). By using FSC certified paper we make sure that all materials come from responsibly managed forests. This means zero deforestation, a fair wage and work environment, respecting local communities in and around the forest and protecting plant and animal species. This way we help conserve global forests.
To wrap things up nicely, our direct webshop orders are first scanned for dimensions. After scanning, the packing machine automatically folds the smallest possible shipping package around your purchase. A bumper fold is used, so we don’t have to waste filler material. And, this packaging is FSC-certified too. Small box, big impact!
Working conditions:
Behind the scenes
Our factories are members of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). Sounds difficult, we know. Yet, it makes ensuring fair working conditions a lot easier for us! BSCI is an initiative that supports companies to improve working conditions in their supply chain. They check if factories, for example, don’t use forced or child labour and pay their workers a fair wage. This is presented in an audit, which includes a score. We get insight in the provided information and make sure we don’t do business with factories that get a low score. We also do our own factory audits, to verify the factories are up to our standard. Unreliable factories are a no go!
Besides that, we are member of Amfori, the organisation behind BSCI. Amfori helps us by giving us tips and tricks on how to improve our supply chain. Because, knowledge is power.
Customer care: Helping hand
Our customer care heroes work hard to help you every day. They are your helping hand when it comes to making the right decision and make sure the best solution is found. In case something breaks (down), we send our customers refurbished eartips or charging cases. Read more about ‘No Case, No Waste’ here. Products that are returned broken are being recycled by our partner Scrap Sims Mirec. Mirec recovers raw materials from electronic devices by recycling and processing WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). This way, the materials can be used again.
There’s no time to sit down and wait. We must take action!
That’s why we’re working hard on our future plans.
In the upcoming years, we’re going to:
Stop using oil-based ink and switch to non-mineral oils. We’re also researching soy ink as substitution.
Keep doing research into how to use recycled materials in our products.
Got any fresh ideas?
Do you have a question or thoughts on how to improve! Contact us at: [email protected]