Skip to content

When A Teen Goes Green

About an eco-positive lifestyle

Menu
  • Home
    • What is an eco-positive lifestyle?
    • New? Start here!
  • How to guides
  • Reducing negative impact
    • Veganism
    • Minimalism
    • Zero Waste
    • Sustainable Traveling
    • Sustainable and Fair Fashion
    • Intersectional Feminism
    • Circular Economy
    • The 9 Planetary Boundaries
  • Increasing positive impact
  • Inspiration
    • Recipes
    • Hotspots
    • Organizations and apps
    • Books, documentaries, films, series and podcasts
    • Books, Films and Series List
    • The Ultimate Zero Waste List
  • Personal
    • My Ideal World
    • About me and this blog
Menu

Zero Waste DIY Business Cards

Posted on October 22, 2018January 29, 2025

I think you’ve noticed by now: I am an entrepreneur! Wow. That sounds so fancy. And it is! I have started my own webshop for package free groceries in Enschede: Loose, to do something about our big problem with waste. It has been fun, exiting and scary at the same time. Currently I am working on promoting Loose some more, because it’s necessary to get more customers. One of the things I now do: hand out business cards! I’ve made them myself and in this blogpost I’ll show you how to make zero waste DIY business cards.

Why business cards?

I used to be against business cards, because I thought they were quite useless for my business. Loose is a webshop for package free groceries, so the idea is to create less waste. Why would I then hand out business cards which always end up as trash? That’s the way I thought. But, over the process of starting this business, I’ve realized they’re necessary. Especially now, when I’m still small and am looking for new customers. My webshop is online, so it’s not something people see easily, like regular stores in the city centre. An online shop really needs promotion to make this thing work. So, my opinion has changed and I do want business cards. In the end, it’s for the bigger picture (promoting the zero waste lifestyle).

Sustainable business cards?

Even though I wanted business cards, I didn’t how just yet. I don’t want to cut down trees for my business cards (which is usually the case). But then, I found out about how AwkwardDuckling is making her business cards on her blog. I was enthousiast right away! So, all the credits for this idea go to her! She even gave me some awesome tips in the process. As I said, this isn’t my own idea, but I did think it was so good I wanted to show you on here and share a blogpost on this.

Business cards out of trash

Tessa’s (from AwkwardDuckling) idea was to make business cards out of trash! And that is such an good idea I find. There’re two reasons for that. One. There is no new paper needed in the process, no need to cut down trees just for me! Two. I’ll give trash a new life! So, it does not go to the recycling bin just yet, it gets another life. Great! I’ve used cardboard trash from our household to make the cards. Most people have some cardboard paper waste, even if you live a zero waste lifestyle. And if you don’t, you can use someone else’s trash! Even better I think.

‘The 5 R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot’. Reuse comes before recycle.

How does it work?

Step 1: Cut out some cards out of cardboard trash. You can use a customer card, credit card or just your debit card. That size is exactly right for the cards.

Step 2: Design your own stamp to stamp your cards. I’ve used the program Canva for this.

Step 3: Order your personal stamp with the design you’ve made. Myself, I ordered the stamp at Drukbedrijf.nl, because it was the cheapest one, even thought I was very unhappy with their service. I chose a wooden stamp, to avoid plastic and make it long lasting.

Step 4: Order ink. With my stamp at Drukbedrijf came a ink box right away. It is in black plastic box. For now it is okay, because I needed the stamp in a hurry. But next time, I’ll go looking for ink that’s sustainable and not in a plastic box. If I’ll find one, I’ll post it here.

Step 5: Go stamp the cards! 

Zero Waste DIY Business Cards
Zero Waste DIY Business Cards
Zero Waste DIY Business Cards
Zero Waste DIY Business Cards

Tadaaa, there you go. Your own personal business cards! As you can see the back of the cards are very random, because they’re made out of old products. I am very happy with the result. Even though it wasn’t completely zero waste because of the stamp and ink, I think it was the best option. No new cardboard is needed and hopefully the stamp will last me forever. And if it doesn’t, it’s made out of wood, so that’s good. I am so happy with the result! I’m very ready to promote Loose.

What do you think of this method to make zero waste DIY business cards?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

13 thoughts on “Zero Waste DIY Business Cards”

  1. Anja says:
    October 22, 2018 at 9:20 am

    Heel mooi idee – en inderdaad super om het papier te hergebruiken! Je hebt trouwens ook van die stans-patronen waar je zo’n kaart mee uit kunt knippen in één slag – gaat een stuk sneller, denk ik. Voor als je er straks honderden moet doen 😉

    Reply
    1. Romee Hoeksma says:
      October 22, 2018 at 1:10 pm

      Oh dat klinkt wel heel handig ja! Ga ik naar kijken, voor nu combineer ik het knippen altijd met tv kijken hahaha, dan is het niet zo saai.

      Reply
  2. Linda - Zaailingen says:
    October 23, 2018 at 10:51 am

    Leuk! En gefeliciteerd 🙂
    Ik heb het stempelidee ook van Tessa gejat. Daarbij heb ik nu groeipapier, want zaadjes, zaailingen, ik moest wel! Dat is alleen niet superhandig, omdat het bobbelig is, dus misschien ga ik ook wel aan de mueslidozen als het papier op is. Of ze laten drukken als ik lui ben 😛

    Reply
    1. Romee Hoeksma says:
      October 24, 2018 at 8:15 pm

      Dankje! Samen stelen we van Tessa haha, maar ik vond haar idee ook zo goed! Groeipapier is ook gaaf inderdaad, ik heb je kaartje nog in huis geloof ik! Als er meerdere opties goed zijn, vind ik het altijd maar lastig. Beiden mooi!

      Reply
  3. Secondlovejoy says:
    October 23, 2018 at 6:56 pm

    Hi! I love your idea! I think i am going to buy a stamp and ink too and make my own cards:D

    Reply
    1. Romee Hoeksma says:
      October 24, 2018 at 8:11 pm

      Great you love the idea! I’d love to hear whether it worked out for you too and how they’ll turn out!

      Reply
  4. Pingback: Weekly diary #63: are flowers a zero waste gift? – When A Teen Goes Green
  5. Pingback: Weekly diary #72: decluttering and getting rid of stuff – When A Teen Goes Green
  6. Pingback: Weekly diary #74: Finishing my 7th semester! – When A Teen Goes Green
  7. Pingback: Weekly diary #63: are flowers a zero waste gift? - When A Teen Goes Green
  8. Pingback: Weekly diary #73: I was interviewed by a local tv and radio company! |
  9. Pingback: Sustainable and fun hotspots in Enschede, The Netherlands | When A Teen Goes Green
  10. Pingback: Vegan restaurants in Enschede | When A Teen Goes Green

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search for anything

Want to get an update every time I post something?

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 272 other subscribers.

ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee and I live an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle with more positive than negative impact on beautiful planet earth. Compared to most people, I live extremely sustainable. I don’t fly, eat meat or animal products, buy only secondhand clothing, etc. On the other hand, I try to help others as much as I can by donating a big chunk of my income, donating plasma, donating poop (yes!), volunteering, etc. On this blog you can read all about my lifestyle with only positive impact. I also have a Dutch Youtube channel (@duurzaamleven) and Dutch Instagram (@duurzaamlevenro). If you have specific questions for me, feel free to ask me anything.

Yours sincerely,
Romee (she/her)

Here’s what I posted most recently

  • Vegan restaurants in Enschede
  • Why my partner and I divide the household expenses equally
  • Why my partner and I divide the household work equally
  • All the secondhand clothing I bought in 2024
  • Life update: I moved to Utrecht!

Translate this site

Search for anything

MENU

  • Home
  • New? Start here!
  • How to guides
  • Veganism
  • Sustainable Traveling
  • Sustainable and Fair Fashion
  • Inspiration
    • Must listen
    • Organisations
    • Books, Films and Series List
  • Personal
    • What is an eco-positive lifestyle?
    • My Ideal World
  • Zero Waste
    • The Ultimate Zero Waste List
  • Intersectional Feminism
  • Hotspots
  • Recipes
  • About me and this blog
  • Minimalism
  • Circular Economy
  • The 9 Planetary Boundaries

Follow me on Instagram

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookies

Read my latest posts

  • Vegan restaurants in Enschede
  • Why my partner and I divide the household expenses equally
  • Why my partner and I divide the household work equally
  • All the secondhand clothing I bought in 2024
  • Life update: I moved to Utrecht!

Subscribe by e-mail

©2025 When A Teen Goes Green | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com