At RUSSH we're more than a little excited about new sustainability initiatives. We love looking for ways to buy less and invest more. Discovering small swaps to make life more sustainable and understanding how we can build a more environmentally-friendly future are things that are very important to us.

So, we are ready to embrace the latest initiative by THE ICONIC with open arms.

As of May 26, THE ICONIC will be transitioning from its current black parcel packaging to white delivery satchels made from 100% recycled plastic.

This is a sustainability first from a major ANZ retailer.

Made from 100% recycled plastic, and debuting an updated white aesthetic, the new satchels are certified under the GECA’s (Good Environmental Choice Australia) Recycled Products Standard. And good news, these satchels can still be recycled through the REDcycle bins (because soft plastic can't be put in your normal recycling bin at home) at your local supermarket - ensuring the recycle wheel keeps turning.

According to data from THE ICONIC, an estimated 5.5 million tonnes of packaging material is produced in Australia every year.

When you consider the recent surge in online shopping, it's never been more important for all of us to make conscious decisions about how to responsibly consume.

This initiative is such an important step for Australia. There's a problem with recycling: it's only an environmentally-friendly practice if the recycled plastic is actually used. It's all well and good to put your waste into a recycling bin, but you'll often find that if recycling facilities can't sell the materials, it all just ends up in landfill anyway. Australia produces so much recyclable waste that many facilities can't keep up with the supply - for example, just last year 780 trucks of recyclable material was sent to landfill in one week in Victoria.

For recycling to make sense, we need companies to be there to buy the recycled material. So, hats off to THE ICONIC for helping to turn this important part of the recycling wheel.

But, recycling is just one piece of the puzzle.

We need to reuse and ultimately reduce what we consume in order to build a more sustainable future. One of the other key sustainability initiatives from THE ICONIC was its introduction of the Considered section which only includes brands that have ethical or sustainable practices, like Veja, Nobody Denim and KITX.

You can read more about THE ICONIC and its broader sustainability initiatives.