Confectionery With Conscience

Established back in 2004, the world has changed a great deal since we launched Handy Candy Ltd! We have evolved too and we’re taking responsibility for our impact locally, nationally and globally.

We’re all too aware that we work in a sector that comes with challenges and issues, particularly around plastic packaging, but that doesn’t mean that we should pretend these problems aren’t there. We think as small business the challenge is on us to operate in the best, most socially responsible way we can for our customers, our employees, our suppliers, and for our planet. We need to consider the wider impact of what we do, especially regarding plastic and waste.

There are lots of things we've always done at HC…

THINGS THAT ARRIVE AT HC HQ

  • We recycle all our incoming plastic and cardboard waste
  • We often reuse supplier boxes... when we receive our own stock deliveries, we get lots of leftover boxes - we reuse many of these when we pack up our own orders
  • Use local UK-based suppliers for our packaging materials from the boxes to the flyers we include with our orders... supporting other small, local business and keeping miles to a minimum
  • Use primarily UK sweet makers, many of which, like Brays, Barnetts and Hannahs, are also small, British businesses like us

THINGS WE SEND FROM HC HQ

  • We use 100% recyclable brown mailer boxes... printed boxes often use nasty chemicals in their production process or have a finish which means they can’t be readily recycled
  • We use 100% recyclable and biodegradable paper-based packing tape instead of the plastic parcel tape
  • We use 100% compostable packing 'filler' (the squidgy stuff used to fill empty space in boxes and provide protection) – they dissolve in water and are made from sustainable raw materials in a low-energy way
  • We've revamped our best selling gifts & hampers to contain less plastic. We've switched to plastic free pouches and compostable bags across much of our gift range
  • We've switched from plastic sweet jars to smart, clip-top glass ones
  • We practise efficient packaging... we aim to box up our orders as efficiently as we can without compromising presentation and ensuring our sweets are well protected on their onward journey. This means you’ll find your sweets packed really cosily in their box, not rattling around in an over-sized mailer!
  • We use food-safe, biodegradable, disposable gloves for our order processing team that are made from plants, not plastic
  • Our delivery partners – Royal Mail and DPD – have their own environmental commitments in place. In fact DPD is a carbon neutral company! The scale of their infrastructures mean they make deliveries in the most efficient way possible without our parcels going all the way to a central depot miles away before being delivered down the road

NEW ‘CANDY WITH A CONSCIENCE’ RANGES

SUGAR FREE TREATS

  • Our Sugar Free Treats range is, as the name suggests, entirely sugar free
  • Our Sugar Free Treats come in cellulose-based, bio-film made from renewable sources. These brilliant bags are biodegradable and compostable
  • These bags are heat-sealed so no plastic tape
  • The Sugar Free Treats logo sticker is also compostable

KIND CANDY

  • Our Kind Candy range is 100% vegan, plastic-free & biodegradable
  • We donate 50p from every pouch sold to Oceans Generation, a UK organisation dedicated to restoring a sustainable relationship between humanity & the ocean. They are championing a global movement to tackle ocean threats, such as plastic pollution, through science, storytelling and education

There are many other changes we’ve made too…

  • We’ve switched to a renewable electricity provider
  • We don’t send lots of extra printed paper, like receipts, with our orders
  • We’ve stopped stocking many individually wrapped sweets that aren't in compostable cellophane wrappers. In fact we opt for unwrapped versions of sweets where we can
  • We no longer stock lollies, like Chupa Chups, with plastic sticks – in our eyes these are like plastic straws which have been banned
  • We’ve stopped delivering overseas – initially a response to the pandemic, this is now a change for good because the carbon footprint of sending via Airmail is too big to justify
  • If we have any short-dated sweets we avoid food waste by using OLIO or donating to local food banks
  • We keep challenging our suppliers and the big sweetie brands (Swizzels Matlow, Haribo, Cadbury’s Nestle, etc) about their plastic use and their work practices, asking what THEY are doing to change

Furthermore, we know we can’t just stop here. We may be a small business but we’re mighty! We believe small acts can make a big difference so we will keep challenging ourselves to do better.