Choosing Better Materials for our Print and Merch

We're working towards taking our customer documentation fully digital, so that everything you need lives in the Macs Adventure app rather than in a printed pack. That's a big project and it'll take time - so in the meantime, we've gone back through every piece of paper and merchandise we send out and looked at what it's made of and where it comes from.

What We Changed

Ciara, one of our Adventure Operations Specialists, and Emma, our Graphic Designer, took on the job of re-sourcing the materials behind our customer documents, brochures and branded merch. Here's how they went about it:

"We started by researching suppliers, ordering samples, and ruling options out on delivery times, quality, and price. We ended up sourcing most of our materials from UK-based companies. We also went through the customer info packs — the booklets you get once you've booked, with your need-to-know details and a Macs luggage tag — and looked at what those were printed on." — Ciara, Adventure Operations Specialist

Our mailing bags are now made from corn starch instead of plastic – biodegradable and recyclable. The luggage tags each of our adventurers receive are now mostly made from cork which breaks down completely and can be recycled or repurposed. And in the interim, while we develop our digital documentation, we’ve removed matte laminate coatings from our customer documentation packs. The glue we use no longer prevents the folders from being recyclable. They’re also FSC-approved, which means they’re made with materials that support responsible and sustainable forestry.  

Additionally, our recent brochures and holiday cards are printed on FSC mixed material. 

Reducing single-use plastic with Water to Go  

Our customers and staff can help with our initiative by taking a Water-to-Go filtration bottle with them on their adventures. We‘ve partnered with Water-to-Go, a company that has created a water filter bottle that eliminates up to 99.9999% of all microbiological contaminants including viruses, bacteria, chemicals, and heavy metals from any non-saltwater source in the world, providing safe drinking water anywhere. Not only will this help reduce single-use plastic, but it also means our staff and customers can adventure at ease knowing they don’t have to ration their water!  

Office Recycling 

We’ve improved our office recycling by expanding the recycling bin options we have on the office premises to accommodate a large variety of materials, as well as providing clear labelling to prevent cross-contamination. Every single piece of waste that leaves the Skypark estate – where our office is located - is recycled in one way or another. And our US office in Denver has clearly labelled compost, recycling, and regular waste bins.