About itto & Our Products
What’s in the Name?
Ever wondered how brands come up with their names? Our story is not too complicated, it is very simple in fact. We like the story and meaning behind our name and we thought that you would like it too.
The Inspiration
Meet Tito. We love tortoises, don’t you?
Tito has been with Lily's family since 2004. He gets fresh vegetables every day and strolls around the yard freely.
We didn’t want a boring name, so why not get some inspiration from a pet tortoise?
Why "Tito" to "itto"?
We discovered that itto is a Japanese name with a meaning which truly resonates with our values.
It means “Choose your own path”.
This reflects every one of you here, choosing your path to do what you think is best for our planet. You chose to care.
Everything we do here in itto reflects this as well. We do what we can, within our means, to ensure every element of the itto business takes into account its impact on the planet and the environment. We do what we can to help - understanding that some solutions are not available now, we consider what we could do in the future.
Our Purpose
Here at itto, we choose to care by focusing on three things:
1. Ensuring our products do not just end up in a landfill.
Our plantable cards can be planted in your garden, giving it a second life - one that's full of fresh blooms.
For instructions on growing your plantable cards, click the button below!
Our Shells are home-compostable and commercially compostable. The Shells can also disintegrate in soil without composting (although it will take a few years longer). We understand that home-composting compostable plastic might not always work well (due to many many factors), we encourage for you to send the Shells back to us through our Shells Come Home Program, where we will take care of their end of life.
To learn more about our compostable Shells, and how to deal with your Shell at its end of life, please scroll down to “The Shells” to read more (or click on the button below, provided for your convenience *winks*).
To learn more about our Shells Come Home Program, click the button below!
2. Giving back to charities and non-profits that reflect our values.
Want to know more about the charities or non-profit organisations you can contribute to as well? Hop on to our Helping Hands page by clicking the button below:
3. Raising awareness around wastes, sustainability and our beautiful Mother Earth.
We know that there are plenty of people out there who do care for the planet, however, are not equipped with the right knowledge or information.
Follow us on our Facebook or Instagram page, to receive bite-size facts of our beautiful Mother Nature, and on wastes and sustainability.
The Cards
Why plantable?
Have you ever received cards on Christmas or Birthdays that you have no idea what to do with? Should it go on the fridge or into the trash?
Billions of greeting cards are purchased each year. Now, don't get me wrong, I simply love cards or a good handwritten letter. The tradition of giving greeting cards is meaningful and heartfelt, but can also be wasteful. At itto, we value sustainable gifting.
Our cards are made of 100% recycled paper. They are designed and handmade in Sydney. Plantable cards are embedded with seeds - soak them, place them in soil and gift your cards a very beautiful second life.
The Shells
Why compostable cases?
In 2015 alone, the world has produced around 381 million tonnes of plastics - try carrying 4,500 million kangaroos! More than 268,950 tonnes of plastics (3 million kangaroos) are floating on the surface of our oceans - bear in mind that this does not include any plastics deep in the ocean or lying on the seabed.
Phone cases contribute to this issue, with most phone cases being thrown away around every two years.
We know that reducing plastic waste is difficult. On the bright side, we can help with that - itto Shells can be composted and broken down into organic materials, which means that you are able to reduce plastic waste AND the composted Shells provide nutrients back to the earth!
| Biodegradable vs Compostable - What is the difference? |
|
Biodegradable plastics” is a generally coined term for plastics that will degrade to little or nothing over time. There are many types of biodegradable plastics - they require different conditions to break down, and may break down in different amounts of time, into different forms. Good biodegradable plastics are designed to break down in landfills releasing little or no toxic; however, certain biodegradable plastics may also degrade into microplastics, which is worse off for the environment! Compostable plastics are a subset of biodegradable plastics. Compostable plastics must be placed under specific conditions dependent on factors such as wind, sunlight, moisture, and temperature, to break down into organics. The conditions to break down compostable plastics are more stringent, however if processed properly, the end result is compost. |
What are the Shells made of?
The Shells are made of a mix of bamboo fibre, PBAT and PLA. What are PBAT and PLA? Read our blogpost to learn more about them.
Why commercial compostable cases? Are the Shells home-compostable?
The Shells can be home-composted, however could take around 2-3 years and require specific environment and temperature (i.e. 50-60C for most efficient composting) to break down fully. Also, not everyone has a home-compost! We want to make sure that everyone who cares gets to play his or her part for the planet.
Do not fret and leave the composting to us so they can be turned into compost as quickly as possible. As thank you for the effort, we will throw in a 20% discount for your new Shell.
Once your Shell has reached its end of life, reach out to us at and we will make sure it is properly broken down into compost.
To kick off the process, please click below: