About
OVERVIEW
Founder's story
Tread Light Gifts was started in September 2008 by Tracy Oklander Anderson. My mother-owned and run business was started after I was searching for a gift to send to a friend in Washington, DC. I had been looking for a gift basket to send for a job promotion that was not only beautiful, urban, and chic but also reflected my values of environmental responsibility and my personal style. During my search for this gift, I keep running into the same items – big baskets with not much thought to the environment or baskets with eco-friendly products but not a reflection of my urban and chic style. At this point, I decided to take the matter into my own hands and create a product(s) that was eco-friendly, organic, natural, stylish and that other people like myself would be proud of giving. The creation of Tread Light Gifts also filled a personal need of creating a job opportunity that allowed me to be an active part of my children’s lives and to work for something bigger than myself – in this case, giving back to the environment.
Our mission
Tread Light Gifts (TLG) mission is to provide eco-friendly yet eco-chic gifts that people will be proud of giving to friends, family, colleagues, and even themselves. We believe that you don't have to sacrifice style in order to live a life that is earth conscious. At Tread Light Gifts, we have worked hard to find the best and most beautiful products that are have one or more of the following characteristics:
• Organic – this means to us products grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.
• Recycled or Sustainable – At TLG, we look for products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health, welfare, and environment over their full commercial cycle. In some case, these are products that are repurposed to make new items such as our recycled LP coasters or are made from earth-friendly materials and invite customers to reuse or dispose of them in an earth-friendly manner such as our plantable gift tags.
• Fair-Trade – TLG supports companies that practice the payment of a "fair price" as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of their goods.
• Manufactured by companies who contribute back to the earth and or their communities. – TLG is always looking to support and sell products from companies that are doing their part to make this world/planet a better place. Key indicators of contributions include donating a % of revenue to non-profit, recycling, company volunteering projects.
Our philosophy
The types of products we sell
Where the producers live and work
Projects we support
How we select what we sell
What makes us unique
TLG’s signature product is our eco-friendly gift kits (gift baskets) which are packaged in 100% organic cotton bags. Unlike, traditional gift baskets which use straw, wood, or plastic baskets, Tread Light gift recipients receive their gift kits in a tote that they can reuse at the store, gym, or even the beach. We like to think of it as the gift that gives twice - to the recipient and to the earth. All our gift kits come with a no-waste, plantable gift tag. Once the gift has been received, the gift recipient can plant the tag in the ground, water, and wait for beautiful wildflowers to appear. TLG even thinks about the environment in our shipping and packaging. Our goal is to ship out all products with recyclable, biodegradable, or re-used packaging. In lieu of traditional packing peanuts or bubble wrap, we are proud to package our gifts in biodegradable peanuts and eco-friendly bubble-like wraps.
More information about us
We donate 1% of our annual net revenues to environmental and social justice organizations worldwide. We take pride in knowing that as a company we are helping the earth become a better and safer place to live.
In our office and business, we employ eco-friendly practices by using recycled, recyclable, biodegradable, post-consumer, and/or all-natural materials, and using efficient energy, and minimal toxic chemicals whenever possible.
Tread Light Gifts is committed to supporting the development of environmentally responsible, renewable energy and to stopping global warming. We purchase carbon offsets for each order placed making each shopping experience even greener.
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