Pricing

 

A note from Lydia the founder of Thoughtful Ways;

'I wanted to have a discussion about pricing as it is something that plays on my mind a lot and I knew it was important to have the conversation around it. When you order vegan, plastic free or sustainable products a lot of people tend to comment on how expensive it is. I do understand that, as some of the products may come at a higher price. As someone who comes from a working class background and as a family that has struggled with money I understand that the slightly higher prices may be too much for some and I am privileged to be able to make these choices.

When you buy an ethical product you are paying for the sustainable ingredients, the sustainable packaging, the time the maker has taken to make it, the equipment that is required to make said product, ethical living wage and the small business bills that have to be paid in order to be able to make your product. Then if we look at what your money might go towards when you buy from a 'high street' store, this may consist of unethical ingredients, plastic packaging and very low wages for oversees workers. Some workers may experience rough, overcrowded and dirty warehouses doing extremely hard work for very little wages. Workers may be beaten if they do not complete a certain number of tasks a day. This is without mentioning that the environment suffers as a direct result of the plastic used in many products on the 'high street'  whether is just a tiny plastic seal label to the whole product being plastic, its still plastic and not good for our environment. Animals can also suffer when products are tested on animals, although there are animal free alternatives out there.

Many people don't realise that plastic free materials like paper, cardboard, tin, glass and compostable materials are much more expensive to buy than plastic alternatives and that's because plastic is more popular and commonly used meaning its price is lower. Whereas with plastic free materials the cost is much higher due to a much smaller demand from many businesses using the material. Hopefully in the future more and more mainstream companies will use plastic free alternatives meaning the average price of these materials will decrease. 

I try to have sale/competition opportunities as often as I can where financially possible, enabling people who may not be able to afford any of my products at the original price a chance at a discounted price. 

One thing to mention is that some products may seem expensive at the start but either last longer than their average 'high street' alternative or they work out cheaper in the long run. For example the Zero Waste Club safety razors are priced at £25 each and come with 10 spare blades. If we take an average 'men's high street razor' priced at £17.99 which comes with 3 blades and say your replacing the blades twice a month. For a 4 pack replacement blade it is £11.99. Throughout the year at 2 blades a month you will need 24 blades. Altogether with the razor and the years supply of blades you would be spending £89.93. At Thoughtful Ways our replacement blades are £1.50 for a pack of 5. If you used the same amount of blades, 2 a month for a year you would be paying in total over the year £32.50. That's a total saving yearly at £57.43 and over 5 years £287.15. With any products that may be slightly higher priced to what you may normally pay, this would cover its extra cost. This is all without saying that our safety razor is made from 100% recycled brass, made ethically and sustainably, plastic free, sustainable for everyone and close shaves with a tree planted with each order. I think that speaks for itself. 

I hope this gives you a bit more of an insight into pricing. I do only sell products on my website that I generally love and are passionate about. Remember, if you choose ethical products you are really making a difference, helping change the way for a brighter more ethical future, I thank you for that.

A couple of my favorite quotes about buying from small businesses;

'When you buy from a small business, your not helping a CEO buy a 3rd holiday home, your helping a little girl get swimming lessons, a little boy his most desired book and a Mom and Dads dinner on the table.'

'If each of us spent £100 a year more on local businesses instead of chain stores, it would put an extra £3 million a year into our economy, not only that but it would create thousands more jobs every year.'

Thank you for supporting Thoughtful Ways.'