2009-06-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

We admit it - we're idealists. A sustainable lifestyle and a happier, safer planet seem like quite good ideas...

So, as mentioned in other areas of this website, we try not to use or promote businesses involved in certain activities. It’s difficult to tip-toe through life avoiding all of them but generally, Acoustic Wave prefers to celebrate simple pleasure & positive ideals, which means focusing on areas which make us all feel good; beautiful music, delicious food, inspiring words, good company & natural beauty...

See below more details on our ethical and environmental policy.

You'll also find some links on this page which you may find interesting or thought-provoking.

ENVIRONMENT & HUMAN RIGHTS

Advertising, Promotion, Products & Services

We all make our own choices about what and how much we consume and we each have our own views about what is "ethical". Our voice artist is involved in countless projects - her favourites include promotion of music, arts, local produce, education, renewables, health & wellbeing, social initiatives and so on. However, we will avoid promoting some products and projects - eg. nuclear, oil industry, non-earth friendly disposables & those which we believe pose a serious threat to environment or human rights.

Military & Arms Trade

We don't work on projects with the military or the arms industry - for example we wouldn't provide our voice artist for an ad campaign - and we'll avoid corporations which we know to be profiting from the arms trade. Aside from the usual debates about war & what it's good for, we feel that advertising which highlights exciting incentives (career, travel) for joining the military is misleading because it gives little focus to the harsh realities of war. We also opposed some of our government's recent foreign policies and military activities, so it would seem hypocritical to earn money from these types of projects.

FSC certified or Recycled Paper

If we must use paper, wherever possible, we use recycled & FSC certfied - eg posters for recent events like The Acoustic Wave Café, postcards for our voice artist's recent promo mail-shots and our new Elemental Kitchen business cards. Our exception to this rule is when printing our greetings cards - created by snapfish & hp. They state that their papers are ethically sourced and they offer us a short run print option, which we believe is preferable to over-using resources to print more than we need.

Produce & Packaging

When providing our private dining service - The Elemental Kitchen - we suggest locally-sourced produce wherever possible. We promote the use of tap water and re-usable bottles, rather than single-use bottles of mineral water. When we go to the supermarket, we avoid over-packaged, plastic packed items. If possible, we'll also opt for organic and fair-trade. We take reusable shopping boxes to the supermarket to avoid using plastic bags and we recycle everything where the facilities exist. At home, we try to follow through on the above principles too. Sometimes we are riddled with indecision about which options are most earth-friendly – as our research continues, we hope to find the best answers...

Trains, Planes & Automobiles

We use all kinds of transport. For voice over jobs in the city and solo trips, Vicky jumps on the bus or train. For local business, we often take our bike or walk. We own a retro mini which is used for the occasional jaunt. On bespoke hospitality assignments we now hire a modern, fuel efficient car for the journey. However, we're fortunate that most of the time, we're able to work from home.

Foreign Travel

Air travel is sometimes our only realistic option for foreign business. The best we can do to help offset the negative environmental impact of flights - which research suggests is the most polluting form of transport - is to make a donation to an environmental initiative. Many charities fund projects in developing countries which help to reduce the overall impact of air pollution. However, this is far from being an ideal solution - and some believe it is a distraction from the real need to reduce emissions - so if possible, we prefer using alternatives to air travel. Mostly, we like to travel in Europe by train, ferries or campervan - it’s usually more of an adventure...

ETHICS & ENVIRONMENT