Sustainability at Shaws
The word ‘sustainability’ gets thrown around a lot these days, but what does it actually mean? The definition of sustainability is the practice of something that can maintain a condition or practice without harming the environment.
At Shaws our mission is to achieve success by consistently meeting our customers’ expectations through the retailing of branded products in a modern and service-orientated retail environment. This includes offering our customers sustainable options and implementing eco-friendly strategies within the business where possible. We are at the early stages of implementing this, but we are committed to placing sustainability at the heart of how we work, and in what we buy and sell.
Sustainable Brands – Our Top Picks
The Home Eco range by Shaws is ethically produced, using sustainable cotton and recycled materials. It is environmentally friendly and responsibly long-lasting. All items are packed inside a 100% recyclable box. Shop The Home Eco now.
We display sustainable products and local Irish designs. Such as Woolow an Irish wool pillow, that has been developed by an Irish farmer from County Galway. The Woolow is not a throwaway, ‘fast fashion’ product. It has a lifespan of 6 years after which time the wool and the cotton can be recycled into other durable forms of textiles. The pillows are completely organic, sustainable, hypo-allergenic, and chemical-free. Find out more.
We can talk about sustainable brands at Shaws without mentioning the Oeko-Tex Standard.
- What is the OEKO-TEX® standard?
In recent years, consumers have become more aware of how their products are made. This has led manufacturers to adopt cleaner, more environmentally friendly, more ethical and socially conscious production practices. OEKO-TEX® offers companies in the textile industry various certificates and services with the aim of verifying the safety of products and their production processes for health and for the environment. The OEKO-TEX® label offers consumers a way of shopping more responsibly and sustainably.
- Why is OEKO-TEX® important?
The OEKO-TEX® label is safe for people and the planet, the label helps you make safer and more sustainable decisions. You can find the OEKO-TEX® label on many brands at Shaws, like Bianca Fine Linens and Catherine Lansfield. Which is ethically sourced overseas and made to strict eco-friendly quality and human-ecological safety standards.
Sustainable Beauty
At Shaws we care about the quality and standard of our products, providing our customers with only the best products on the market. With a wide variety of beauty products, it can be difficult to decipher what clean beauty products are worth the hype. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our top picks. One of our top picks for sustainable beauty is EcoTools. It is a great beauty brand that we stock here at Shaws. They are vegan-friendly, cruelty-free and made with recycled and renewable materials. Shop EcoTools now.
Shop other ecological consciousness beauty brands, like:
Sculpted by Aimee
Skingredients
Pestle & Mortar
Green Angel
Garnier Whole Blends
Faith In Nature
Packaging 
Sustainability is now at the forefront of so many conversations in our day-to-day lives. We're all attempting to live more sustainably, and recycling is a great place to start. Recycling helps reduce the amount of waste we produced. At Shaws, we have removed all unnecessary plastic, making our packaging fully recyclable.
All our online orders are packed using fully recyclable materials. As well as in-store, all our carrier bags are made from 100% recyclable paper. To help make your online shopping greener, we have broken down how to recycle packaging from online shopping:
Cardboard
Regardless of whether your delivery comes in a cardboard box or sleeve, you’re free to recycle any cardboard in your household recycling bin.
Bubble wrap
If you’re ordering a fragile product, your delivery will arrive with bubble wrap to provide extra padding for your item and to help prevent damages. The good news is that bubble wrap is recyclable. All soft plastics can now be put in household recycling bins in Ireland.
Paper
There are a few types of paper which may be included in your online deliveries. Such as brown wrapping paper and tissue paper; both are recyclable at home, just put them in your household recycling. Or re-use the paper the next time you’re giving someone a gift, as it’s a great alternative to non-recyclable wrapping paper!
Plastic
Some of our products may come wrapped in plastic, this is fully recycled plastic, and it can be recycled in household recycling bins in Ireland.
Implementing Eco-Friendly Changes Within the Business
In the last couple of years, Shaws Department Stores have made the change to LED lighting across most stores. This energy-efficient lighting reduces carbon emissions, LED lighting uses less than 80% of energy compared to the standard incandescent bulb. This alone will help reduce our carbon footprint due to the small number of fossil fuels being burned to produce it.
Naturally, the less energy they require, the more positive the effect on the environment.
The environmental benefits of LED lighting also extend to their manufacturing process. Many traditional lighting sources, like fluorescent lighting and mercury vapour lights, use mercury internally as part of their construction. Because of this, when they reach the end of their lifespans, they require special handling to dispose of this type of lighting. This is not an issue with LED lights. Shaws Department Stores plans on having LED lighting in all stores by 2024. This is just one of the steps Shaws is taking to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly business model.
We have also introduced Solar Panels in four of our Shaw’s stores, solar panels are the leading source of renewable energy for our homes and businesses. We plan on introducing this to more stores, this is in the pipeline for 2023. Solar power systems import clean, pure energy from the sun. There are no emissions, and it is a renewable form of energy. Solar energy has an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Installing solar panels, help combat greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Solar energy can also improve air quality and reduce water use from energy production.
We believe introducing these changes to the business is the key to a sustainable future for Ireland.
Here at Shaws, we strive for a sustainable future for our customers. Shop our sustainable collection below:
May Update: As of May 2023 20% of our stores are partly powered by solar, rising to 40% in July. Our recycle rate has improved immensely and 80% of our stores are using LED lightening.
It’s the little things that make a big difference.
