Privacy Policy

BACKGROUND:

We understand that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits our website, https://plasticfreethings.com/, and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.

By using this website in any way, you accept and agree with the contents of this Privacy Policy. Please read it carefully and ensure that you understand it.

1. Definitions and Interpretation

In this Policy the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Account”

means an account required to access and/or use certain areas and features of Our Site;

“Cookie”

means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts or when you use certain features of Our Site. Details of the Cookies used are set out in Part 14, below; and

“Cookie Law”

means the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003;



2. Information About Us

Our Site is owned and operated by PlasticFreeThings.com, Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA, United Kingdom.

Any concerns regarding data protection may be emailed to contact@plasticfreethings.com.

We are regulated by The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

3. What Does This Policy Cover?

This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Site. Our Site may contain links to other websites and 3rd party sellers. Please note that we have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and/or sellers and we advise you to check the privacy policies and terms of any such websites and/or sellers before providing any data to them.

4. What Is Personal Data?

Personal data is defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.

Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.

5. What Are My Rights?

Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:

a) The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Policy should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions using the details in Part 15.

b) The right to access the personal data we hold about you. Part 13 will tell you how to do this.

c) The right to have your personal data rectified if any of your personal data held by us is inaccurate or incomplete. Please contact us using the details in Part 15 to find out more.

d) The right to be forgotten, i.e. the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold. Please contact us using the details in Part 15 to request this.

e) The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data.

f) The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.

g) The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if we are relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.

h) The right to data portability. This means that, if you have provided personal data to us directly, we are using it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in many cases.

i) Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal data in this way.

For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the details provided in Part 15.

It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date. If any of the personal data we hold about you changes, please keep us informed as long as we have that data.

Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns ourselves however, so please contact us first, using the details in Part 15.

6. What Data Do We Collect, How and Why?

Depending upon your use of Our Site, we may collect and hold some or all of the personal and non-personal data set out in the table below, using the methods also set out in the table. Please also see Part 14 for more information about our use of Cookies and similar technologies.

Data Collected and How We Collect It

Why We Collect It

Identity and Contact Information including, but not limited to, name, addresses, email addresses, phone number.
Collected when registering for an account, making a purchase, sending us a message, sending us a completed web form, adding/updating your account information, sending a buyer or seller a message, sending a recipient an e-gift card and submitting a product review.

· So that you can make full use of our website’s features such as wish lists, messaging service and viewing/managing your orders.

· So that we and our sellers can assist you.

· So that our sellers can prepare and send your order to you.

· So that we can send recipients e-gift cards that you have purchased for them.

· So that we can send you notifications such as order updates.

· To let you know about new products and promotions. You will be able to opt out of receiving this information. See clause 15.

Payment information. Collected when you enter your card details when making a purchase. We do not store your card details, this is done by our 3rd party service provider Stripe.

· So that you can make purchases.

· To receive refunds if necessary.

· To pay our Sellers.

Information about your device, including your IP address, browser, location (if you choose to share this) and type of device being used.
Collected when using our website, even if you are just browsing.

· To provide you with the best user experience on our site.

· To help us improve our site.

· For security measures.

Purchase history i.e. what you have bought and your saved items in your Wish List.

· So that our Sellers and we can provide you with customer support.

· So that you can save items for future purchases.

· To find out what you like and enhance/tailor our service to you.

Contact history with us e.g. messages sent through our site, emails, messages via social media or instant chat.

· To provide you with customer support.

· For reference if a dispute should occur.

· To help in improving our service to you.

7. How Do You Use My Personal Data?

We use your personal data for the following:

· Registering you on our site

· Providing you with access to our site

· Providing you with an account

· Personalising your user experience

· Administering and improving our business

· Supplying products to you

· Managing payments

· Communicating with you

· Supplying you with information which you can opt out of any time. See below for more information on Marketing Messages.

We will only use your personal data for the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected unless we reasonably believe that another purpose is compatible with that or those original purpose(s) and need to use your personal data for that purpose. If we do use your personal data in this way and you wish us to explain how the new purpose is compatible with the original, please contact us using the details in Part 15.

If we need to use your personal data for a purpose that is unrelated to, or incompatible with, the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected, we will inform you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

In some circumstances, where permitted or required by law, we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent. This will only be done within the bounds of the Data Protection Legislation and your legal rights.

Sellers' Use of My Data

Sellers also collect, hold, and process Buyers’ personal information in the course of transactions (for example, buyers’ names, email addresses, and postal addresses). Sellers are, therefore, also considered data controllers under the GDPR and will be responsible for complying with your legal obligations and protecting Buyers’ rights under the GDPR. Sellers must only use the personal data of other Users (whether they are Buyers or Sellers) to the extent necessary to complete a transaction, to communicate about a specific transaction, to communicate via our marketplace, and/or to respond to messages from them.

Marketing Messages

If you create an account with us, make a purchase, or subscribe to our marketing emails, we may send you marketing messages to let you know about any news that we think will interest you (new products and how to find them, offers, competitions, what we’re doing to try to help the environment, and so on).

We will not send you spam. We will not disclose your personal data to 3rd parties for marketing purposes without your opt-in or written consent. We will offer you a way out of receiving our marketing messages either by clicking on the Unsubscribe button in emails or by contacting us.


8. How Long Will You Keep My Personal Data?

We will keep your information for as long as you have an account with us, or as long as necessary to provide you with products and services as described in Clauses 6 and 7. We will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected.

9. How and Where Do You Store or Transfer My Personal Data?

We only store your personal data within the UK on a datacentre serviced by a 3rd party hosting company. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.

The security of your personal data is essential to us, and to protect your data, we take a number of important measures, including the following:

· limiting access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality;

· procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so.

10. Do You Share My Personal Data?

We will not share any of your personal data with any third parties for any purposes, subject to the following exceptions:

· We contract with a 3rd party hosting company who service the server on which your data is stored. This is based in the UK;

· If we sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party;

· In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.

11. How Can I Control My Personal Data?

When you submit personal data via Our Site, you may be given options to restrict our use of your personal data. In particular, we aim to give you strong controls on our use of your data for direct marketing purposes (including the ability to opt-out of receiving emails from us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in our emails.

12. Can I Withhold Information?

You may access certain areas of Our Site without providing any personal data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Site you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.

You may restrict our use of Cookies. For more information, see Part 14.

13. How Can I Access My Personal Data?

If you want to know what personal data we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.

All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown in Part 15.

There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.

We will respond to your subject access request within 28 days of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.

14. How Do You Use Cookies?

A Cookie is a small text file which is downloaded and stored on your computer or mobile device by websites that you visit. The information stored by a Cookie can only be accessed by the website that created it. Cookies only communicate the information that you have disclosed to the site in order to provide you with a personalised experience with that website (such as remembering your username and what’s in your shopping cart).

Please note: your computer, tablet or mobile phone will need to be set up to accept Cookies to make full use of Our Site and to benefit from certain personalised features.

Our Site may place and access certain first-party Cookies on your computer or device. First-party Cookies are those placed directly by us and are used only by us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve our products and services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.

By using Our Site, you may also receive certain third-party Cookies on your computer or device. Third-party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than us. Third-party Cookies are used on Our Site for collecting data to understand our shoppers’ preferences, advertising your products and using social media platforms to share and discuss products. For more details, please refer to the table below.

If we publish any content written by Third Parties, they may use third-party Cookies. Please note that we do not control and are not liable for the activities of such third parties, nor the data that they collect and use themselves. We advise you to check the privacy policies of any such third parties.

Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a pop-up requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Site may not function fully or as intended.

The following Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

Party

Purpose

1st Party - Us

We use Cookies to enable features allowing you to browse and shop on Our Site. This information is only used for this purpose.

3rd Party – Google Analytics

Google Analytics uses Cookies to collect and analyse anonymous data on how Our Site is being used. We use this data to improve our products/services. The data collected by these Cookies is not specific to individuals and poses no risk to your privacy.

3rd Party – Google AdWords

Google AdWords uses Cookies to monitor our own paid advertising activity with Google. We use this information to determine whereabouts online our advertising is most effective.

3rd Party – Social Media Plugins

Social plugins such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram use Cookies to allow the sharing and discussing of products from Our Site.

You can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all Cookies or only third-party Cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies, but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser.

You can choose to delete Cookies from your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.

It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.

15. How Do I Contact You?

To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, please use the contact form on our website under Contact Us. Alternatively, you may write to:

PlasticFreeThings.com, Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.

Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.