Environment

At Next Day Blinds, we take our commitment to the environment seriously and are continually looking for ways to enhance our business practices in order to minimize any negative effects we may have on our surrounds. Below are some initiatives for environmentally friendly business practices:

The Factory

Recycling
Our production facility has gone to great lengths to recycle as much of scrap/waste material as possible. We sort through our waste to recycle cardboard, aluminum, steel, plastic, and paper. We have reduced our 'dumpster haul-away' numbers by almost half. We have located several companies that reuse our wooden pallets putting them to good use and keeping them out of landfills.

Scrap
Through the manufacturing process, there is always an amount of material that is not used to build the product. In an effort to maximize the material that we use on the factory floor, we developed software that minimizes waste. The software calculates the most optimal way to cut the fabrics/materials based on the width and length of the finished product.

The leftover material is used to make samples for our customers, stores and decorators.

Packaging
Of course, all of our product has to be housed in some sort of package whether it is for shipping purposes or placement on our own vans for installation. We have been aggressive in creating a sturdy shipping carton that is also recyclable. In addition, we have eliminated all foam elements and have substituted materials that are biodegradable.

The Fleet

Hybrid Vehicles
Currently, we have approximately 90 cars/vans/trucks in our fleet. In a company initiative to be more energy conscious we made the decision, where suitable for use, only high mileage hybrid vehicles would be considered. A total of 11 vehicles to date have been replaced with hybrids. In a short period of time all our vehicles will be energy-efficient hybrid vehicles.

Speed Monitoring
All of our installation vans have monitoring systems that report the average speed per driver. Using this tool allows us to manage the speed of our drivers while optimizing fuel consumption.

The Corporate Office

Laser Printer Toner Recycling
Next Day Blinds currently participates in a no-cost toner recycling program. On a weekly basis our used toner cartridges are returned to the manufacturer in exchange for refurbished cartridges.

Programmable Thermostats
In 2008 we mandated that all manual thermostats be replaced with programmable thermostats in order to conserve more energy.

Paper, bottles, cans & plastic recycling program
Next Day Blinds collects office paper, plastic and aluminum for recycling through a no-cost county government plan.