Pay It Forward - Go Green

PAY IT FORWARD

- GO GREEN

How can one ordinary person -- you or me -- make a positive impact in this world? One way is the practice of "paying it forward." While the concept may seem simple, the outcome could change the world. Practicing the "pay it forward" principle will make you alert to unexpected kindness from strangers towards you. You may find yourself becoming more grateful for everyday kindness and consideration from people you don't even know and that unexpected feeling of goodness will lighten your step and put a smile on your face!

At the CHOCOLATE TULIP part of our philosophy is to practice the Pay it Forward movement.

One of the things we hear is that people have vases, baskets or ceramics from flowers they have received piling up in their basements, in closets and they feel guilty just throwing them out.

Due to the nature of the containers many of them cannot be placed in the recycling bins, so what do we do with these items that are in good order?

We have initiated a program at the Chocolate Tulip that will help people de-clutter their homes, reduce waste and benefit someone in need. We ask that they bring in their unwanted vases and containers that are in good order and donate them to our Pay it Forward collection.

What do we do with these vases? When a charity places an order, if we have a suitable vase from the donated collection, we will combine it with our donated labour, charging only for the flowers thus helping those in need. If the vases or containers we receive are too ornate to be used in arrangements, we will donate them to local charity stores for resale.

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

To reduce our footprint without limiting diverse selections we allocate a proportionate share of our purchases to locally grown product in support of the Pick Ontario program. A program designed to practice the philosophy of supporting local growers and local economy within the 100-mile diet movement that was founded in BC.

Our in store policy is to produce as little waste as possible for landfill, with the least amount of impact on the environment. With that in mind all of the Chocolate Tulip's organic waste is composted, and our recyclables our separated for the blue bin. Our shipping boxes used at events etc. are meticulously collected and reused and we encourage our clients to bring back any boxes or water tubes they have for recycling. In addition we use biodegradable cellophane and/or bags in addition to paper bags produced from recycled material.

In an effort to further reduce waste, we have implemented our MYSTERY BAG for a dollar program. Ever wonder what happens to all those flowering bulbs used in the store as decoration? Well once we have accumulated enough bulbs we place them in a grab bag. For $1.00 purchase a Mystery Bag of bulbs. Even we don't know what combination is in the bag. Half the fun is finding out what grew out of the Mystery Bag!