Sustainability:
Today and Beyond

At Bicycle Glass, caring for the environment is at the heart of what we do. Creating beautiful glasswork while minimizing our impact is one of our top priorities. From the start, we’ve focused on sustainability, like handcrafting each shade using 100% recycled glass, and we’re always looking ahead. Keep exploring this page to see the many ways we’re growing a more sustainable business.

Recycled Glass

We handcraft all of our shades from 100% pre- and post-consumer recycled glass. Our glass is sourced from our local recycling facility as cullet, which is shown in the photo above, and given to our Minnesota artisans so they are able to transform it into our timeless shades.

Packing Materials

From our largest orders to our sample orders, we do our best to package in recycled, recyclable, or compostable packaging. Our shades are wrapped in Geami Paper, which is a plastic-free alternative to bubble wrap. We also reuse old boxes by turning them into a corrugated cardboard lining to keep our shades safe on their journey to you!

Pollinators

Check out our upstairs office, "Beecycle Glass." We have decided to install two bee hives onto our roof to help pollinate our area! Our next step is to plant some native prairie around the property to make sure our new friends are happy as can bee. Our goal is to encourage pollinators and protect our ecosystem!

LED Bulbs

Our fixtures are sold with with LED bulbs, which use much less electricity and last longer than standard incandescent bulbs. Not only will you save money on your electric bill, but you'll save the planet while you're at it!

Newspapers

This just in! Bicycle Glass uses their local library's recycled newspaper to help mold hot glass. Using wet newspaper allows the glass to slide on a layer of steam, which helps avoid marks being left on the glass shades from the molding process.⁠

Wind Credits

We are enrolled in the Windsource Energy Credits Program through Xcel Energy! This program allows us to offset our electric energy usage with wind energy created by Minnesota-based wind farms. ⁠

Composting

Our team worked together to help build a designated compost area in our backyard. We will take leftover food from our breakroom, as well as compostable materials from our day to day operations, and use that compost to fuel our future native prairie.

Adopt-A-Highway

Starting in October 2024, our team proudly joined the Adopt-a-Highway program, taking on a stretch of road just north of our studio. With twice-a-year cleanups, we’re excited to keep our little part of our city clean and green!

Conveyor Kiln

We restored and rebuilt a large industrial kiln to help make our glassmaking process more efficient and sustainable. This kiln allows us to cool the glass more evenly and quickly, reducing stress on the material while using less energy per piece. It also helps us increase our output without compromising the handmade quality we’re known for!

What's Up Next:

Native Prairie

We are planning on investing in planting native prairie grasses and flowers behind our building to help provide our bee friends enough plants to pollinate and interact with as they get settled into their new home. We would use only plants native to Minnesota, so we can help our local ecosystem thrive. We also want to increase habitat to encourage biodiversity in the area!⁠

Water Recycling System

We're working reducing our water consumption in the Cold Shop. We currently use our normal water line to supply water to the grinding wheels that help shape the glass and buff out any rough edges on the top and bottom holes of the shade. Our goal is to create a water cycling system in our building that would allow the water that goes down the drain in the Cold Shop, to be cycled right back into the faucets of the Cold Shop and reused!⁠

Solar Panels

Another of our larger investments for the future is putting in Solar panels to help power the office side of our studio, and eventually help power our production as well! We want to use as much renewable energy as possible in our work, so we are able to reduce our overall carbon footprint and maintain a more sustainable business model.