大象传媒

send:eco is the brainchild of Nottingham's Nathan Crawley. It's premise is simple - to cut down on the amount of waste produced by people sending cards.

"A couple of years ago I was sat on Christmas Day looking at the pile of rubbish and envelopes that had come through," says Nathan.

"I was amazed. I thought there must be something that can be done to change all this."

How it works

Like many families, Nathan part recycled his old Christmas cards by turning them into gift tags. He soon came to the conclusion he could go further.

"I realised the front of the card I'd torn off was perfect postcard size and the next Christmas I sent it out as a postcard.

"The thing is people still like to display a card that goes on the shelf or mantle piece. By putting a crease in a regular postcard format and printing the address upside down you can fold the card when it's received and it still looks like a regular card, you just cut out the wasted envelope."

Helping others

With every pack bought there's a donation to charity - the Sumatran Orangutan Society.

It's dedicated to the conservation of Sumatran orangutans and their forest home through raising money for conservation projects and to raise awareness.

The future

If the Christmas postcards sell well then Nathan hopes he'll be able to expand.

"We can use them for invites and other ranges. We've spoken to a few (companies) and they're all interested."