At AMD we talk a lot about detoxification and getting back to, or maintaining, a clean internal environment inside your body. When you use the IonCleanse by AMD detox foot bath consistently, you give your body the best opportunity to eliminate the toxicants that it could not get rid of on its own. We believe that a clean internal environment is a key metric in a healthy lifestyle.
Similarly, we believe in maintaining a clean external environment as well. You have undoubtedly heard of “clean eating” and “clean living.” At AMD we practice clean shipping! Shipping processes can have a devastating impact on the health and cleanliness of the environment. We use lots of tape, cardboard, and of course packing materials, to help protect the IonCleanse by AMD ionic foot bath and its related accessories during transport. So how do we “keep it clean?”
Polystyrene foam, or packing peanuts as it is usually called, is widely used by many companies to protect their products when they ship. However, as you have probably guessed, this type of foam is a long-chain hydrocarbon, or plastic. This means several things: 1) it takes a reeeaaaaalllllllly long time to decompose — like 500 years (or more), 2) it’s toxic to humans and animals, and 3) it creates harmful air pollutants which contaminate landfills and deplete the ozone layer. Sounds to us like this really isn’t a good thing, so we don’t use it!
There are biodegradable options, and we use one from Uline that’s made with organic starch. Ironically, the biodegradable option is currently even cheaper than the toxic, synthetic, ever-long-lasting, ozone-depleting hydrocarbon peanuts. There is a lot in favor of organic starch peanuts: they do not float around and stick to you like polystyrene foam (does anyone love rolling around in styrofoam?); they are not toxic to children and pets if ingested; they can dissolve in water, and can be used in compost piles.
Every once in a while, you may receive an order from us that has the dreaded polystyrene packing materials. This is because we received the plastic peanuts from a shipment, and we are reusing them. It’s not a common occurrence, but it does happen. Years and years ago, we contacted our major suppliers and asked them to use the biodegradable peanuts. When we made that request, the eco-friendly starchy peanuts were more expensive. All of the vendors agreed, and while some absorbed the cost, others asked us to pay for the added expense. We felt the extra cost was worth it, since we reused them for our shipments, anyway. Double bonus!
AMD also automatically selects “Carbon Neutral” for all shipments. Carbon Neutral is a program offered by UPS. We pay a little more per package to support renewable energy programs. Over the course of a year, this little contribution adds up big time!
At AMD we do our absolute best to align our votes and dollars with our philosophy. If we tout clean living and avoiding toxicants whenever possible, it just makes sense to ensure our business practices line up with what we preach. As for the rest of our shipping and warehouse operations, we have a large recycling dumpster right behind our warehouse that we fill each week. Any cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminum products get recycled. Anytime we can reuse, we do. We pay attention to the details. We aim to have a successful business without sacrificing the health and well being of our environment.
While we do still use plastic bubble wrap (we are in the process of testing biodegradable bubble wraps to see if they can offer the same protection), we try our best to limit our footprint on the environment. Clean shipping, clean eating, clean living…it is all part of our daily lives at AMD. While our business is centered around the IonCleanse by AMD detox foot bath, there is always a larger picture to take into account. And we consistently strive to make our footprint as minimal as possible. As the adage goes: be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
