A SMALL print company is looking to give back to nature by supporting an innovative tree-planting scheme.

The Plastic Card People which launched in 2011 initially focused on providing plastic cards but has since branched out into a wide range of products.

The 15-strong team diversified their product line further to include eco-friendly, sustainable wood and metal cards.

The Plastic Card People’s environmentally-friendly and waste-free cards have seen a year-on-year increase of 30 per cent since the products were launched in 2018.

They hope to increase the range shortly by unveiling a new range of plastic-free fibre cards which have similar functionality as a traditional plastic card but are made from paper.

The team has now been inspired to do even more for the environment.

After planting trees behind their office in Stillington near York, they partnered with the non-profit organisation, Ecologi, and planted nearly 2,000 trees in five months through The Eden Reforestation Project.

Through the scheme, when a customer places an order, a number of trees are planted.

Projects they are supporting include reforesting Marataola in Madagascar and Dalry near Glasgow where they are improving 430 acres of land to provide a home to native Scottish wildlife.

Gary Taylor, one of the directors, said: “We are known for being at the forefront of the industry in terms of offering alternatives to traditional plastic cards.

"We are very lucky to have a young and dynamic team who care about the environment and introduced us to Ecologi’s initiative.

"The platform makes planting trees really easy and is great fun as we can see our forest growing online. We’re firm believers that actions speak louder than words and it’s great to see our tree-planting project grow, but we are not stopping there we have lots more exciting projects in the pipeline.”

Gary added: “We are all guilty of not being aware of our surroundings and how something as simple as a tree can make such a huge difference. I am no wildlife expert, but I am aware that trees can offer a home to insects which in turn provides wildlife, such as hedgehogs with the food they need to keep thriving. Just making small changes can make such a difference not just to wildlife but also to your own overall wellbeing.

“We are really excited to see just how many trees we can plant by the end of the year and beyond.

"We’ve set ourselves the ambitious target of 20,000 trees in the next 12 months and I’m sure we will smash this.”