Sustainability

Our Environment

Commitment to the Environment

Wine Country Gift Baskets has been actively working to reduce our carbon footprint and we are committed to working with our partners to minimize our environmental impact. A few of our most recent initiatives include:

• Reducing all packaging materials used and actively switching to those suppliers that use 100% recycled materials.
• • Our new bubble wrap is made from 40% recycled material and is 100% recyclable.
  • Our new corrugated boxes are made from at least 60% recycled material. Many are now made from 100% recycled material board; we hope to have all boxes here soon.
  • Our new protective cushioning material (air bag) is 100% recyclable. Many are now bio-degradable; we hope to have all airbags here soon.
• Reducing the amount of transportation used to transport supplies and baskets which has lowered our emissions and fuel use.
• Consistently using internal recycling programs for plastics and corrugate to recycle more than 95% of all used packaging materials.
• Sending less printed catalogs and increasing more efficient electronic communications.
• Printing on catalog paper from U.S. mills that operate under some of the best environmental specifications in the U.S: nearly 84% of the energy used to make paper at these mills comes from carbon-neutral, renewable biomass; over 73% of the wood fiber procured by the mill comes from sources certified to one of the credible, third-party certification programs in North America. Only 10% of global forests are certified to credible, third-party programs; these certification programs promote responsible forestry management practices and help confirm that they are indeed sourcing a renewable resource, wood fiber from sustainably managed forests.
• Printing all of our catalogs in the USA by an EPA partner in the Climate Leaders, Energy Star and SmartWay Transport Programs with ink that contains 27% renewable content.

CA Transparency in Supply Chains

California Transparency in Supply Chains Act - SB 657 (Human Trafficking and Anti-Slavery)

On January 1, 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB657) went into effect. Retailers and manufactures over a certain size and doing business in California are required to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking within their supply chain. The law is designed to educate consumers to help them make informed decisions on the products they buy and the companies they choose to support. Wine Country Gift Baskets / Houdini Inc works to maintain an ethical supply chain and audits our suppliers to ensure our products are ethically produced.

Supplier Assessments:

Houdini Inc. compliance, sourcing and purchasing departments work together with our U.S. and International staff to communicate, evaluate and assess the risks of each new vendor before bringing them into our supply chain. Houdini requires our suppliers to refrain from using any form of forced labor, human trafficking or child labor and we work with them to make continuous improvements in worker safety and conditions.

Auditing:

Houdini Inc. utilizes both our own U.S. and International staff and approved third-party auditing firms specializing in social auditing and code of conduct auditing through the use of factory audits and evaluations. Identified issues and recommendations to rectify any violations observed are reviewed and documented with the factory upon completion of the audit. The factory is expected to address and correct all issues noted and corrections are verified through inspections and follow-up audits.