The creating of Eco Party Box began in early 2011 and required gathering products from the most ethical sources while making sure they were as eco friendly as possible. It is an ever evolving process as we continue to come across products which set the bar ever higher. Ultimately our focus is on sourcing the most eco friendly party supplies around including biodegradable plates, cups and cutlery. Eco friendly decorations, party bag fillers, party stationery and wedding supplies.
Our goal is to play our role in healing the planet - that is helping our customers to plan and prepare an eco friendly party.
We also recognise that our customers want transparency from us too - so that they know their purchase is made in full awareness of the decisions that we have made to make the planet self-sustainable. Our emphasis is on providing wholesome, simple and natural party products.
We prefer to supply products that are fair trade, hand-made and locally-made wherever possible. We favour FSC-certification and certified compostable products.
All our disposable tableware is either suitable for the home compost or the commercial compost and/or is suitable for the recycle bin. See the product descriptions for details on which waste stream is appropriate. At this moment in time however there is no production of compostable disposable tableware within Australia - this is something we hope to change in the future.
Below is a list of the eco party supplies we stock and products we use in packaging. We have listed what is used to make them and in what country they are made in.
Our Products
Areca Palm Leaf Tableware: Made from the naturally-shed fallen outer sheath of the Areca palm tree (AKA the Betel Nut tree). Areca Palm Leaf Plates are 100% home compostable and support rural developments in India.
Bamboo Pulp Tableware: Made from bamboo pulp. Our preference is to carry unbleached products (a natural light brown colour). They comply with ASTM D6868 and EN13432 reports for compostability. Recyclable (if clean). Made in China.
Sugarcane Tableware: Made from sugarcane (bagasse) fibre that is 100% home compostable. They comply with AS5810 for Home Compostability and AS4736 for Commercial Compostability. Bleached with oxygen. Recyclable (if clean). Made in China
Paper Cups: Our paper cups comply with the European standard EN13432 for commercial compostability. They are made from FSC-certified paper and are lined with PLA, a corn-based resin. They differ from normal paper cups which are lined with polyethylene, a petroleum-based plastic lining. They can be put in the most recycling bins (see if your council is on the list here) as well as the green bin - if your council allows for commercial composting of these products (give them a call to find out!). Made in Taiwan.
Clear PLA Cups: Our clear cups comply with the Australian standard AS4736 for commercial compostability. Made from Ingeo™ PLA - a plant-based plastic. Made in Taiwan. They are NOT recyclable and are commercially compostable only, which means they can go in the green bin for many council areas (call yours to check first or click here for more info). For more information on the compostability of our cups click HERE.
Wooden Cutlery: Made from plantation birch. They comply with ASTM D6868 and EN13432 reports for compostability. Home compostable. Made in China.
Corn Starch Cutlery: Forks, Spoons and Knives made from PLA and CPLA. CPLA stands for Crystalized Poly Lactic Acid and is the name of a bioplastic made from non-GMO corn starch. They comply with EN13432 reports for commercial compostability. *It is more eco friendly than PSM corn starch cutlery which contains 12% plastic. They are NOT recyclable and are commercially compostable only, which means they can go in the green bin for many council areas (call yours to check first or click here for more info). Made in Taiwan.
Napkins: We stock various types of napkins - sugarcane/bamboo mix - made from 80% sugarcane fibre and 20% virgin fibre; 2-ply paper napkins - FSC-certified pulp and are certifed carbon neutral. Recycled paper napkins - made from 100% recycled fiber. All are 100% home compostable. Made in China.
Beeswax Birthday and Number Candles: Our birthday and number candles are made in America from 100% pure beeswax. Our Birthday and number candles are made in America by Big Dipper Wax Works. Beeswax is natural and renewable. It actually improves air quality as it removes pollutants and allergens from the air when lit.
Paper Straws: We offer recyclable and home and commercially compostable straws in packs of 25 and 50. They are also recyclable. Made in China.
Party Bags: Our paper bag selection uses paper from renewable sources. Made in Australia by Paper-Pak.
Home Compostable Disposable Bag: Made using a corn starch-based plastic which is an environmental alternative to polyethylene-based plastics. Our Bags are made from a synthetic biodegradable bioplastic combined with plant-starch – Ecopond. These bags are certified to the Australian Commercially Compostable Standard AS4736 and Home Compostable standard AS5810.
Cards, Invitations and Wrapping Paper: From Earth Greetings, a South Australian company which designs & prints its cards and invitations carbon neutral in Australia with vegetable-based ink on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Made in Australia.
Envelopes: our envelopes from Ecocern which are made from 100% post consumer content. Made in Australia.
Grow Your Own Garden - Party Favour Packs: these packs consist of small compostable jiffy pots made from peat and wood fibre as well as a packet of organic seeds from Greenpatch Organic Seeds. Grown in Australia.
Bunting: Our hand-made fabric bunting is made in China.
Tumbled Gemstones: Our tumbled gemstones are cut and tumbled in South America.
Other Party Favours: We source party favours from other locations including Nepal and Indonesia to help disadvantaged communities.
Fabric Party Bags: Our bags are made from new off cut materials destined for landfill. They come from Adelaide not-for-profit Three Birds One Stone and help a community of disadvantaged women in Cambodia.
Boxes: Our boxes are made from 100% recycled cardboard. Made in Australia.
As a golden rule when our orders require a larger box than our 100% recycled content party boxes we use pre-used recyclable boxes and bags sourced locally. Occasionally we may use the non-bubble-wrap-lined Australia Post expandable tough bag (made from thick paper).
We choose never to use the plastic or degradable post-it bags which offer over night delivery.
String: Eco friendly brown twine.
Printer Ink: As there is no home-based printer that uses vegetable-based ink we are always mindful to use as little ink as possible.
Paper Bags: We use Cast Away or Paper-Pak brown paper bags.
Packaging Paper: Marbig Enviro Kraft Paper Roll - our party boxes are all beautifully wrapped in eco brown paper and tied up with string (sing it "rainbows on roses and whiskers on kittens ..."). We use as little wrapping as possible while ensuring your products are packaged safely and hygienically.
*Many of our tableware items they currently come wrapped in plastic. These can be disposed of at any RedCycle bin out the front of Coles and Woolworths stores.
Delivery: We choose Sendle and Australia Post for our deliveries. Sendle is Australia’s first 100% carbon-neutral delivery service (and a B Corp). Australia Post are a member of the Green Fleet Project (www.greenfleet.com.au) a not-for-profit organisation that plants trees on behalf of companies to offset their vehicle emissions.
Bookkeeping: We use www.xero.com.au and send our invoices to www.receiptbank.com.au to limit paper use. We recycle all our paper we know longer need.