Purple Turtle Co Reviews 

Reply from Purple Turtle Co

Feb 13, 2023

Hi Liza,

Thanks for the feedback, hopefully this reply will provide some insights into why we are completely different from a standard wholesaler such as Aliexpress, and why the term Greenwashing is something that we agree is a huge problem but is far away from what we stand for.

Firstly, we pride ourselves on only offering products that meet our high level of sustainability across our supply chain, and consistently benchmark ourselves against the leading retailers in this space. We work with a combination of both UK and international suppliers, and we have strict rules with who we work with and the standards we expect our suppliers to adhere to. All the suppliers we work with in our network are 100% plastic-free, this includes both the product and the packing used during transit. For all our packaging we only use UK based suppliers, and for all our international partners we have developed shipping practices which mean our carbon footprint is the lowest it can be, is plastic-free and zero-waste goes to landfill.

We spend a lot of time sourcing and maintaining our supplier relationships, with sustainable practices for incoming materials, and for recycling and reusing all our waste. Even when it comes to small things such as tape used on shipping boxes, we only work with suppliers who use FSC certified paper tape. When international suppliers are used, we only use a combination of vessels and trains as they are the most efficient methods of transport for keeping a low carbon footprint internationally.

Far beyond the product itself, behind the scenes we invest a lot of our profits into projects including creating our own educational content and news across our digital platforms, which you'll see are kept solely for educational content only. We also contribute to tree planting and ocean cleaning projects, and constantly support social project fundraisers in the UK too.

We understand at a glance it can sometimes look questionable if you find similar looking products online from less reputable vendors, but we are proud to say there is a lot more work that goes into the end product of a Purple Turtle Co gift than just what it looks like. You can most probably find similar products to what we sell through international wholesalers, but with confidence, the level of waste and carbon footprint from our practices are far cleaner than the alternatives of buying from a wholesaler, who generally will ship by unsustainable transport methods and in unsustainable packaging.

We are always looking for new ways to become more sustainable and by no means the best in the world when it comes to online retail, however our whole existence as an organisation is built around our values, and we continue to stand by this. Our goal is to provide people with gifts which are as environmentally friendly as possible, but also reasonably affordable so people from all different socio-economic backgrounds have the opportunity to opt-in to shopping sustainability, rather than it being a luxury that only those wealthy enough can afford.

Thanks again for your feedback and we hope this gives you some confidence on how we operate and what we stand for.