Sustainable Merton is delighted to have Crown Lane Studio championing our #PlasticFreeMerton campaign. The studio, based in Morden, is a shining example of how businesses can make a difference in the fight against plastic pollution. Co-Director - John Merriman, tells us more about their efforts...
Sustainable Ethos
Our aim is for Crown Lane to make as little impact on the planet as possible, and for our client experience to be unaffected or even enhanced by the changes.
What changes have we made
Being “Plastic Free” is currently the environmental focus in the UK. We have been a sustainable studio for a number of years now, and this has many facets.
Here are ten changes we’ve made, specifically to become #PlasticFree:
We provide all artists with reusable water bottles that we keep in the fridge. Each lid is a different colour so musicians know which is theirs, and the bottles are aesthetically beautiful and feel great to drink from retap.com
Our hand soaps are all refillable and made from natural ingredients that don’t harm the oceans - ethicalsuperstore.com
Our instrument and microphone cables are assembled on-site, using all metal plugs, and the cables, although plastic based (there is currently no alternative), are made in the UK, and shipped carbon-neutrally from the warehouse next door to the factory canford.co.uk
Our gift packages are made from cardboard, and printed on sustainable paper and card - crownlanestudio.co.uk
Our guitar strings are sold in cardboard packaging, and we have a deposit box on site to recycle them - musicradar.com
We’ve replaced plastic pens with our own free Crown Lane pencils (which, incidentally are made from recycled CDs)!
Microphones are all plastic free, mainly by design, and our monitor speakers are made from 95% recycled aluminium - genelec.com
Our Liberty Drum Kit has a natural wax finish, rather than coated in plastic lacquer. This is a cost effective alternative to plastic coatings, and the wood looks absolutely stunning - libertydrums.com
Our waste bags are fully biodegradable so we know the waste that does end up in landfill won’t be trapped inside plastic, but will be able to rot naturally. ethicalsuperstore.com
Our complete projects are handed back to the client on lovely reclaimed timber USB memory drives. A lovely final touch! crownlanestudio.co.uk distributed by ecoincentives.com
What do we do in addition...
Communication:
If products arrive using plastic packaging, we will always make a point of letting the company know. We try to keep this positive, and open a conversation rather than point the finger. Yamaha for example recently gave us their plans for moving plastic free in their packaging over the next few years when I highlighted their excessive use in the packaging of an item we purchased recently. We also celebrate when companies do things well. Like K&M, who ensure their microphone stands are fully repairable, and the manufacturing process is as sustainable as possible, giving their hardware the title “Green Stand”.
Keep up-to-date with developments:
Some products remain unavailable other than in plastic, and some are in development. Others are just not good enough for us to use them as part of our infrastructure yet. Examples where they are not good enough yet would be guitar picks. There are plant based ones, though only available from the US, and only one thickness, and feedback hasn’t been all that positive from users. Currently drum heads are all synthetic, and there are no suitable sustainable alternatives (other than animal skin, which would be impossible to maintain and would be cost prohibitive).
Any further information, please contact:
John Merriman
e: john@crownlanestudio.co.uk
w: crownlanestudio.co.uk
t: 0208 540 5643
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