Ethical Easter cards on plantable paper

image: Karen Rollinson

I first started making ethical stationary in 2015, while a full-time nurse. This was the same year that Pope Francis published his encyclical Laudato Si', where he called on all Catholics to work in order to protect our 'common home'. My husband and I had however cared for the environment long before the Pope's mandate. For many years we had 'reduced', 're-used', and 'recycled', avoided plastic, and boycotted fast fashion, while also trying to protect the creatures with whom we share this Earth. Goodness knows this has never been made easy by the governments. But I wanted to do more.

In 2015 I was asked to make some bespoke wedding invitations. I was shocked at the price and most unhappy with the amount of plastic (glitter, wrapping, and laminate) used in greetings cards. I was also dismayed by how much of it was bleached paper from unsustainable forests. Sadly, the market has not improved since then.

So, I decided to fight against this. I sourced ethical paper, used only natural or recycled materials, and avoided all plastics. Every part of the stationary was to be biodegradable and compostable. I also sourced locally to reduce transport emissions and to support small artisans. I then expanded this to create stationary from plantable papers - paper which after use could be deposited on the soil and from which wildflowers would grow, thus enriching floral biodiversity but also helping bees and other insects.

The ethical wedding invitations proved popular, particularly the plantable seed papers and more natural designs. I enjoyed my work because I felt that with each card sold I was doing my bit to help protect 'our common home', and importantly enabling other people to do the same. I also felt that I was fighting back against the commercial world which is driving ecological destruction. Offering a bespoke service I could provide high quality and everything was handmade. But as I expanded my business, I found a much deeper satisfaction: it concerns the feel of the products and handling the materials. There is nothing plasticy or greasy. It is like working with Nature.

Weddings have had to be restricted or postponed over the last year, but other types of eco-friendly stationary are proving increasingly popular. I sell plantable Mother's Day cards in currently six different options; I sell gift tags, 'thank you' cards, seed favours, gift wrapping sets, memorial seed packets, business cards, birthday cards, and Father's Day cards, all on paper containing wildflower and bee friendly seeds.

My new range this year is Easter cards, which enable me to show my Catholic faith, and as they are on plantable paper containing wildflower seeds they embody the Easter message of resurrection and new life.

Blushful Earth Handmade stationary can be ordered from: www.blushfulearth.co.uk/handmade

and www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Blushfulearth