Waste/Materials Consumption

• The blister material we use is 100% recycled PET (35% post consumer). So unlike the virgin plastic used in buckets, SmartPaks are already on their second life.
• We have replaced the cardboard shipping box for SmartPaks (which was prone to tearing) with an ultrathin shrink wrap. This change reduces the amount of packaging by over 85% on average.
• All our order paperwork is printed on recycled paper.

Lighting & Electrical Conservation

• We have replaced older warehouse lighting with modern, efficient lighting and removed incandescent lighting.
• We have installed occupancy sensors in all private offices, bathrooms, and conference rooms.
• We operate our heavy industrial machines off 480 volt power, which is more efficient than 208.
• We have replaced old fashioned computer monitors with flat panel displays, which use much less power and generates less heat.

Heating & Cooling

• To reduce air conditioning load, we cover our skylights in the summer and draw the blinds on very hot days. We also use outside air for cooling needs when the temperature is cool enough.
• We’ve purchased energy saving software to turn our AC and heat on/off at exactly the right time of day to get the office to a comfortable temperature (starting earlier on very hot or cold days and just in time on milder days).
• In conjunction with our facility expansion, we installed a heat exchanger system to recapture otherwise lost heat/air conditioning as we draw fresh air into the facility.

Fuel Savings

• The "Barn Buddies" program contributes to significant fuel savings. When the UPS driver drops off 10 packages in that one stop, that half mile of travel by UPS compares to 20 individual trips to the tack store in 20 vehicles. If the tack store is 10 miles away, on average, that's 400 miles of round trip driving vs. the half mile traveled by the UPS driver.
• We take delivery of most of our supplements in large, reusable bulk totes. We also have a very efficient supply chain. We buy in large quantities, which allow full pallets shipped point to point avoiding inefficiencies.

Catalog & Office

• We’ve used Quad Graphics as our printer for the past four years, and we are proud of that association. We chose Quad in part based on their excellent environmental track record. Quad was the first printer to use soy based inks. They have strong energy conservation and environmental policies.
• Because we have so many customers who use our website for most of their ordering, we circulate our catalogs on a less frequent cycle than many of our competitors.
• In the office, we have moved most of our processes to paperless systems. All customer orders other than fax orders and prescriptions are processed with paperless systems. We recently put our purchase order system over to a paperless fax board system.
• We have an aggressive recycling program in the office: we separate all recyclables into paper, glass, plastic, and garbage.