The Cotswold Co closes loop on cardboard packaging

The Cotswold Co, a quality furniture company trading for 25 years, is collaborating with DS Smith to create a longer-term roadmap as part of their commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.

The Challenge

The Cotswold Co build their products with sustainability and longevity in mind. All their timber is responsibly sourced and fully traceable to its forest of origin, and they are on track to ensure that they are using 100% FSC-certified engineered wood by the end of 2022.

Whilst the company want to ensure their packaging helps their products reach customers in perfect condition, they were concerned about the amount of plastic still being used in their packaging. 

The Solution

By partnering with DS Smith, The Cotswold Co has taken a step nearer to its’ sustainability goals, by making better use of the resources it has.

Customers can now take advantage of the Packing Removal Service whereby all cardboard packaging is taken from the customers home upon delivery.  This material is returned to the  distribution centre, where it is baled and collected by DS Smith Recycling.  The baled cardboard is delivered to a DS Smith paper mill for pulping, including our flagship Kemsley Paper Mill in Kent, the largest recovered paper mill in the UK, which produces around 840,000 tonnes of finished paper each year.  This finished paper is converted back into corrugated double wall cardboard packaging for customers receiving items from The Cotswold Co.

The Benefits

Working across our Packaging, Recycling and Paper divisions we can achieve a ‘Box to Box in 14 days’. The cardboard collected from customers can be processed for recycling, made into new paper and, converted into corrugated cardboard packaging - all within 14 days.

This approach not only improves recycling rates but supports the company’s environmental roadmap. It also ensures that customers are receiving a more sustainable offering, and the company is now striving for closed loop certification from DS Smith for all of its cardboard packaging. 

Jacquie continued ''Being firm believers in longevity, we are always striving to create furniture and homeware that is timeless, effortless and thoughtful. We want to ensure we are taking this same care and consideration at every point of the sourcing journey too – from the materials we choose for each piece to the relationships we build with our factories and suppliers. We also know that our customers are keen to play a part and expect the same commitment of us. While we have been working hard to improve our footprint behind the scenes, we have also taken time to reflect and to consider how we can be doing more. This is just the beginning of a journey for us.''