Eco-Friendly Greetings Cards (recycled or reusable!)

Although FSC-certified card is from ‘sustainable forests’, this still means old growth trees are cut down to make way for fast-growing plantations that use pesticides and don’t give food or shelter to birds and wildlife.

This pack of eco-friendly Scandi art greetings cards is sold in sets of 5, 10 or 20. Printed on recycled card, and sent in plastic-free eco-friendly packaging.

Only send plantable cards to pet-free homes, as many contain toxic herbs and wildflowers. Also most companies use non-native seeds, which are not good for local birds and wildlife. 

Use with zero waste gift wrap. Also read up on keeping pets safe at Christmas (many plants including holly, mistletoe and poinsetta are unsafe).

Beautiful bird eco greetings cards

This peaceful bird eco greetings card is printed on recycled paper, and sent in an eco-friendly Kraft envelope.

This swift eco greetings card is printed on recycled card, and sent in an eco-friendly Kraft envelope. Swifts are endangered, and yet are amazing birds that spend most of their life on the wing (even sleeping while flying!) We need to provide more habitats like swift boxes and swift bricks (Scotland has now mandated them in new buildings, but England’s government won’t as yet).

This blue jay eco greetings card is printed on recycled paper, and sent in an eco-friendly Kraft envelope. Jays are some of England’s most unique birds, with their bright blue wings. They are very forgetful, so when they bury acorns, they forget where they are, and this helps them to grow into new oak trees!

Keep pets, horses and livestock away from acorns, conkers and oak trees.

This starling eco greetings card is printed on recycled card, and sent in an eco-friendly Kraft envelope. Starlings are some of England’s most beautiful birds. You likely best know them for their amazing starling murmurations in the sky, when thousands of them do an aerial dance that mesmerises!

Eco-friendly shorebird greetings cards

These beautifully illustrated sets of greetings cards are all by a US artist, a best-seller on Etsy. Choose your favourites, then stock up so you always have an inspiring card to send, which also supports a local artist, and helps to get the word out on the wonder of birds! Packed in handsome brown kraft paper gift boxes.

Choose from:

Shorebirds (sandpiper & whelk, herring gull, Arctic tern, ruddy turnstone and piping plover).

Winter Birds are blank inside. Each bird is labelled on the back: a mourning dove, mountain bluebird, dark-eyed junco, red-breasted nuthatch and barn owl (the last two local!)

How to protect England’s coastal birds

• It’s also important to keep yourself and dogs away from coastal birds (flying away uses up energy they need to feed), especially at nesting season (when many birds hide chicks in the sand dunes). Read more on keeping dogs safe at the seaside.
• Always keep to designated footpaths and take litter home (report any injured birds to your local wildlife rescue).
• Sometimes pirri-pirri burrs stick to your clothing (or a dog’s fur). If seen, remove them and bin securely, to avoid them choking coastal chicks (same on country walks).
• If you sail a boat, keep at least 100m away from nesting or resting birds (particularly on shingle islands and spits) and turn off your engine if nearby. Likewise, take any litter with you.

Little Difference (greetings cards on recycled paper)

Little Difference is a fantastic company that produces greetings cards on recycled card (the company is co-founded by an artist from Isle of Wight). Although now based in New Zealand, the cards for UK shipping addresses are printed in Kent, to save on air miles.

Instead, this company uses profits to help fund tree-planting projects in deforestation-risk countries like Madagascar, home to more unique species than anywhere else on earth.

You can shop by occasion (including Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, any occasion (!), sympathy, new baby, new home, children, father’s day, weddings and thank you cards. Multi-packs are also sold, to stock up!

All are designed by our Isle of Wight native, and all the ‘boring stuff’ is done her husband (accounts etc). Another couple have also come on board, so this is a real ambitious project, to change the plastic-wrapped, tree-chopping-down, not-doing-much-but-make-profits greetings card industry (which often includes glitter that can’t be recycled and contains microplastics).

Wholesale orders are also available, so cards printed in Kent can be sold in independent shops. It can also offer custom designs and wedding stationery on request.

Little Difference also offers lovely calendars and fun art prints for children’s walls (both printed on recycled card and sent in compostable packaging).

Plus there are standard recycled cards (not reusable) but still use up waste paper.

Greentings (reusable cards from post-consumer waste)

Greentings is a wonderful company that produces pretty reusable greetings cards. All are made with post-consumer waste (to save trees) and come with removable inserts and envelopes, so the cards can be reused to send again!

When you normally receive a card, you have to throw it away or recycle it, due to the person sending it having written a message. Now you just remove that part, pop in a new insert and send it to someone else. You can even use the card passport to follow the card’s journey around the world! 

Made in England, a tree is planted for each card bought. Run by a small family business, postage is just 50p (no matter how many cards you buy). Corporate accounts are available.