We're constantly working on ways to operate more efficiently, and this includes improving our energy efficiency and reducing our carbon footprint. It's so important that we all do our part for the health and future of our planet.

Packaging is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to waste. Have you ever stood in the aisle at Walmart and really looked at the packaging certain items come in? Gigantic plastic packages for teeny tiny products? Ugh! Now you've got to deal with throwing away this ridiculous packaging yourself.

We recently took a look at how we handle our own packaging here at Lisa Nelle. We were doing plenty of things right, but found there was room for improvement.

What we were doing right: A lot of the packaging you find in your box is reused. Our white tissue paper starts fresh in the studio as a layer of protection during our rhinestoning process. All of our garments are put through a heat press while still in flat pieces before sewing. The heat press does exactly what it sounds like -- it uses high heat to firmly press the rhinestones onto the fabric, melting the glue and setting the stones into place. Because melty glue is involved, we sandwich the garment between two layers of tissue paper when pressed. This keeps glue from spreading onto the equipment, and prevents it from spreading onto garments. Once the tissue has been used, it moves onto its second life as packaging. It fluffs up sleeves and wraps your garments perfectly. If you've bought from us, you may have noticed rhinestone imprints in interesting patterns on the tissue. Now you know why!

We also do a lot of online shopping around here. We do our best to place large orders at once, rather than a bunch of smaller orders that require multiple deliveries. We end up with a lot of packaging from these shopping sprees, and what do we do with all of it? We reuse it when fulfilling your orders. The cardboard inserts you find in your wrapped garment were cut from boxes we receive from online orders. If you find bubble wrap in your box, it's come to you on a long journey that began who knows where.

Cardboard inserts cut from old shipping boxes and a large bin of tissue paper ready to be reused. On a side note, check out my boots! We just can't get enough sparkle around here.

What we weren't doing so great at: The size of our boxes definitely needed some improvement. If you're a long time customer of ours, you've likely received packages from us with your little jacket surrounded by a bunch of useless space. While our boxes were great for multiple items, they really weren't ideal for a single item. Now, we've assessed the individual packaging needs of each item, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. So you should see an appropriately sized box with an appropriate amount of packaging. Woo hoo!

We also encourage you to find ways to reuse the packaging you receive from us. Perhaps the box can be saved to mail future Christmas presents? Maybe your cat wants to play in it? Tissue paper can be reused for crafts and decorations. Shredded paper can be turned into bedding for your chickens and even can be used as mulch! The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination.

While we all do our best as customers to purchase responsibly, as a business, it's up to us to reduce the waste before it enters your home. We'll continue to improve our process as time goes on so that we can do our part for the planet.