NEW LOCAL BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP – SUPPORT AND SHOP LOCAL
WHERE YOU CAN
We are committed to becoming more sustainable as we know this is the future, with increasing numbers of visitors looking for businesses that are playing their part in sustainability practices. Our good practices, which we have in place both at home and in the business, gained us our Green Tourism ‘Gold’ award this year. We have our published ‘Environmental & Sustainability’ policy available on the dedicated ‘Green Tourism’ page on our website. We created this page and the policy to give viewers insight to our sustainability practices.
We always try to support local where we can and for years now we have worked in partnership with many local businesses, organisations, charities and fundraising events which we speak about regularly here on social media. We are great believers in sourcing everything we need for the business locally where we can. Let us tell you more about one of two new partnerships assisting us on our green journey to become a more sustainable business. Our second new partnership will follow in the days ahead as well as another new addition to the business.
As our business involves the great Shetland outdoors, we need to keep warm and cozy during our busy season and as part of our green journey to becoming a more sustainable business, we have ensured that our full crew kit clothing range for the 2024 season and beyond is as sustainable as possible. Our online shop clothing products and 2023 crew hoodies are 100% organic cotton but this year we wanted to the full crew attire to be more sustainable, also very smart too as appearance is very important.
Our mission over the Winter months was to find a clothing range that is more sustainable and can stand all weathers. We wanted to stay local to buy our new look as this is more sustainable and with the help of our local company called ‘LHD Ltd’, we have successfully started a new partnership with them. All the products we have ordered to fully kit us out for the season are made from a mix of organic cotton & recycled materials. All products are also PFC-FREE, meaning they have no release of chemical compound that is harmful to our environment or health when worn or washed. The company works with a particular supplier who has a mission to make their clothing products as sustainable as possible. We look forward to trialling their products and putting them to the test in our mix of Shetland weather.
Any of our previous crew clothing will go to local clothing recycling bins and is collected by The Salvation Army for sorting and recycling, this in return supports a local charity.
We are currently in the process of getting our logo applied by the LHD custom clothing shop, who do a fantastic job, and once our tours start into April, we will be able to do a little promotion for them with us wearing our new range and the stunning Noss cliffs as a backdrop. Until such time, here’s the 100% organic cotton range we have for sale on our online shop which is beautifully modelled by Laurie Goodlad Pottinger who runs her own business called ‘Shetland With Laurie’. Also modelling is her cute wee Daughter. Laurie is also one of our relief crew members and will be standing in for Marie when we head to Blackpool in May to attend the UK finals of the Small Business Federation Awards.
When coming to Shetland do plan ahead, we all hope this is going to be a good Summer after it being such a bad Winter. For anyone that has been on holiday to Shetland in the past, you will know that we can get very mixed weather…sometimes 4 seasons within the space of an hour. Our advice is to pack a good mix and do bring a warm jacket along with a lighter one, we always recommend waterproof clothing for our tours. If you do forget to pack anything then worry not as we can 100% recommend LHD Ltd located on Commercial Street in Lerwick, just a short walk from where our tours depart from on Victoria Pier. They provide everything from waterproof trousers, jackets, hats, hoodies/jumpers, gloves, scarfs,warm cozy socks, footwear and much more.
Even if you have plenty of layers on and are still not warm enough…fear not as we have the added convenience of our indoor, heated cabin. There you will find further seating, enough for all 12 passengers with viewing windows all around so that you don’t miss a thing. Our friendly skipper will keep you entertained and as another added bonus, if our dedicated guide, Marie, is out on deck doing her ‘live’ commentary, you will still hear everything being said as you have your own individual headset, and of course the warmth inside the cabin.
Shop Local where you can – we have provided a link to the LHD Ltd online shop which advertises some of the clothing you will find but not their full range. Their shop on Commercial Street is extremely well stocked for all your outdoor clothing needs and reasonably priced: https://shop.lhdlimited.co.uk/