HooRai Balloons' Values
HooRai balloons would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Gumbaynggirr elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise that the land in which we operate always was and always will be Aboriginal land, and that Sovereignty was never ceded.
Since 2019 HooRai Balloons has had the goal of being environmentally sustainable, ethically responsible and socially inclusive.
HooRai Balloons achieves this in several ways.
Environmental Sustainability.
HooRai Balloons is a member of the Pro Environment Balloon Alliance. https://www.peba.com.au/
HooRai Balloons is very selective in the balloons they use. Choosing only to use plant-based latex balloons manufactured by reputable suppliers who are either Rainforest Alliance Certified https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/ or certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
We avoid the use of plastic balloons and any single use plastic in any of our creations. For eg when we use helium balloons all helium balloons are attached to biodegradable paper raffia ribbon and then they are attached to handmade non plastic weights.
Helium Balloons are never ever sold for release. Even though they’re plant-based latex, they are not biodegradable and they will take some time to break down.
HooRai Balloons recycles used plant-based latex balloons through TerraCycles ZERO Waste boxes. https://zerowasteboxes.terracycle.com.au/ TerraCycle then powders the latex balloons and repurposes it into things like the rubber matting that is found in childrens playgrounds.
Ethically Responsible.
We ensure that all of our materials are ethically sourced. We support local wherever possible and we make sure that there is no slave labour in the production of any of the materials used.
Socially Inclusive
Rai was formally diagnosed Autistic in 2019. Her entire family is neurodiverse. She and 3 of her children are on the LGBTQI+ spectrum and as such Rai has a passion for providing employment opportunities for Neurodiverse young people. Currently there are 3 neurodiverse young people who work for HooRai Balloons on a casual basis.
Combining Environmentally Sustainability, Ethical Responsibility and Social Inclusivity.
After an event, the balloons that are left over get redelivered to a local schools support unit or other group of children for a sensory experience. Children enjoy a magical experience of having a sculpture delivered to them and then they get to pop all of the balloons. Neurodiverse children get to enjoy constructive destruction of all the balloons. Children with sensory processing challenges get to enjoy popping the balloons, as old balloons tend to pop with a soft ‘poof’ rather than the loud ‘bang’ of fresh balloons.
After the balloons have been popped they are collected again and recycled through TerraCycles ZERO Waste boxes.
The children are provided with education about recycling and looking after the environment.