Sustainability is part of our life.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

One of the first steps we took as a company was to adopt an environmental policy guiding our current and future trade activities. For example, our Laval warehouse is FSC certified for paper. 
Our policy can be summarized in six points: 

1. Promoting the purchase of products containing recycled materials and demanding full information from manufacturers on this subject ;
2. Promoting these products in our annual catalogs and flyers; 
3. Adopting green practices and promoting their implementation in our network ; 
4. Marketing Offix branded products that are recycled;
5. Printing our catalogues and flyers on paper meeting recognized environmental certification ;
6. Replacing gradually the plastic shopping bags by reusable ones.

Re-use of Boxes in Merchandise Delivery

• 25% of boxes used by Suppliers to send us goods are re-used to deliver our own orders. This represents an average of nearly 1,600 boxes per day.
• Boxes that cannot be re-used that way are recycled using a compactor from a specialized company. 
• We only use completely recycled paper to fill boxes for delivery. 
• We only use boxes that are made entirely from recycled cardboard and that are recyclable after use.
• Our computerized Warehouse Management System (WMS) allows us to determine the suitable size of the box to use for each order, according to the volume of each item and their quantity.
• Working in collaboration with Manufacturers: for example, we have reduced considerably the cardboard and plastic used by the manufacturer Global when delivering furniture products.

At Hamster, no box goes to a landfill.

Optimization of Transport

• Try to eliminate the number of additional shipments needed when articles ordered are missing. 
• Our five warehouses (Laval, Lasalle, Markham, Calgary and Halifax) allow us to optimize our delivery service as well as to serve Customers faster. 
• We encourage direct shipments between our Dealers and Manufacturers to avoid an additional transport stage. Similarly, we have a program for direct delivery of goods from our head office to our merchants’ clients (CPC sales).

These measures allowed us to optimize our delivery service and, therefore, reduce the number of trucks needed. The most significant impact of this initiative is the reduction of both sound and atmospheric pollution created by our commercial activities.

RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS

Green Products

• All our green products are clearly identified on all our publications (web, catalog, newsletters…)*; 


• We have more than 2,000 products of different national brands designated as ecological, representing a proportion of nearly 10% of all products we offer.


• Green products sold by our company must be made of recycled materials or must have a known environmental certification. 

Responsible Procurement

• We require all suppliers to provide a letter of compliance for their environmental mandate and green commitment.


• We visit the Manufacturers producing our private brand label products periodically to insure they respect working norms similar as those set down by ILO.

MIRA FOUNDATION

EMPTY CARTRIDGE RECOVERY PROGRAM

When we talk about small details that change everything ... the MIRA foundation trains guide dogs for the blind or disabled and children with autism spectrum disorder. How can you help? You simply print, and when the cartridge is empty, you contact MIRA, who will retrieve it. Rather simple, no? This small gesture, however, can help many people.

Last year alone, Hamster was able to recover 100,000 empty ink cartridges in the country, which paid for more than 8 additional dogs. Not bad right?

Do you want to add your business to the list of contributors? Visit hamster.ca/en/mira.

MAMAN DION FOUNDATION

Before the beginning of every school year, we prepare more than 2,000 packages of various school supplies, which families in need can pick up from their nearest Hamster store. This is our way of supporting the Maman Dion Foundation, whose mission is to provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds with the school materials, glasses and clothing they need to start the school year, to give them an equal chance to succeed and a sense of pride, and self-confidence. 

And judging by the smiles of the children, we can definitely say "mission accomplished"!