SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH
TOG Knives was launched in 2013 by industrial designer Bert Beagley-Brown. Before that, in 2004, Bert co-founded a product design consultancy that was focussed on analysing the environmental impacts of products and creating new low-impact innovations.
At TOG we have always been cautious about making too many general claims about “Sustainability”. It feels to us like the world is changing so fast that very little is actually “sustainable”. So here, rather than making grand and empty claims like “Sustainability is at the core of our brand” or “We are an environmentally friendly company”, you will find some specific things TOG Knives has done to try to improve our impact on the world.
PRODUCTS
• Our kitchen knives blades are made from 95% recycled steel and always have been.
• Our kitchen knife handles are made from Kebony maple, a treated version of maple wood that lasts longer, is produced by sustainable forestry and has the Swan Eco-label.
• Our chopping boards are made by hand in smallbatches using wood sourced from sustainably managed forests.
• Offcuts from making our chopping boards are usedto make our strops and knife racks (shown), reducing waste and material consumption.
• We partner with Billy Tannery and use upcycled leather that would otherwise be waste from the meat industry, or waste from culling parkland deer. Our strop and knife block products use this leather.
• Our Blade Guards are made from recycled ABS plastic and manufactured in the UK (all other blade guards we have seen are made in China from virgin plastic).
ENERGY USE
• TOG HQ is 100% heated by a biomass (wood pellet) boiler (shown) and controlled by an efficient NEST intelligent thermostat.
• TOG HQ electricity comes from our own solarpanels, topped up by 100% renewable energy supplied by Good Energy.
• All TOG lighting is LED.
TRANSPORTATION
• Our primary courier is DPD, chosen partly because of their environmental initiatives including 34% of their fleet being Electric and having offset all delivery emissions since 2013.
• Where we have used other couriers we have endeavoured to offset emissions every time we have been offered the opportunity.
• Our blade guards, chopping boards, gin, boardbalm, knife racks and knife blocks are made in the UK to reduce transportation impacts and support the British economy.
PACKAGING
• We have eliminated almost all plastic in our packaging. The only plastic remaining is thin bags that our Higonokami pocket knives are packaged in (they are sent from Japan in these) and our transparent protective kitchen knife sleeves that we are phasing out in 2024. The sleeves are being replaced by reusable and recycled ABS Blade Guards.
• In most cases we use unprinted and unbleached cardboard to package and ship our products.
• All of our packaging is 100% recyclable.
• Our whetstones come in wooden boxes rather than plastic because this is natural and biodegradable. They are supplied with 100% recycled non-slip mats.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, REPAIR
• We encourage people to buy less ‘stuff’ but higher quality, more durable goods.
• We encourage and empower people to look after and repair their products rather than disposing of and replacing them.
• Since the formation of the business, TOG HQ has recycled absolutely everything that North Somerset will collect from us to recycle.
• We keep and reuse cardboard boxes and packing material as much as possible.
Partnerships
• Since 2019, every year we have partnered with charities to run twin Black Friday campaigns in November. We have raised £2350 for FareShare and £2312 for The Mazi Project, both fighting food poverty. Fareshare also fights food waste.
• We have chosen Michelin Star chef ambassadors Josh Eggleton and Nathan Outlaw, both known for leading their field in sustainability practice.
WEBSITE HOSTING
• Since the start of the business in 2013, ourwebsite has been hosted on Green Geeks, Kinsta and then Shopify, all of which run on 100% renewable energy.
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