My “Greening Your Business: What Can You Expect?” article appeared on page 72 in the Greening Your Business segment of The Business Ledger’s 2010 Book of Lists. That segment featured companies who are involved in the green arena including recycling, waste handling, and environmental consulting. Thanks Business Ledger for including me!
EcoFriendly Promotional Products – 4 Greener Decorating Options
You’ve selected an ecofriendly promotional product that’s recycled, biodegradable, recyclable, or at least reusable. But doesn’t the imprinting process use petroleum-based inks which are bad for the environment? Yes, that may be true. So to make your choice greener all the way around, inquire whether any of these greener decorating options might be available:
Example of Laser Engraving
Laser Etching – This inkless laser process etches your logo into the surface of a product. Basically the top layer of the surface is etched away, leaving the base surface to show through in the shape of your logo. Depending of the top and base surface colors, this may leave a very visible or a very subtle imprint. For example, if the top surface is a blue painted coating and the base surface is a silvery metallic, it will leave a silvery and very visible logo. However, if the surface is an unpainted metal, it may leave a logo that is substantially the same color as the product, but with a slightly different texture. Laser etching is generally done on metals and glass. Produces a sophisticated look with high imprint durability.
Example of Debossing
Debossing – Another inkless option, debossing uses heat to impress your logo into the surface of an item. Like laser etching, this will leave a subtle and sophisticated tone-on-tone look. Generally debossing is available on thicker surfaces that would respond to heat. Padded writing portfolios would be a prime example. It is also being used on recycled cardboard and leather surfaces. Offers high imprint durability.
Embroidery – While some of the dyes used in embroidery threads may or may not be totally green or organic, it is another option that does not employ application of petroleum-based inks.
Water-Based Inks – Particularly for promotional T-shirts, water-based inks are now available. This has not yet gained a foothold for other types of products.
Click Here to Email a Request for Quote on Featured Products
Ready, Set, Green – Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living Book Review
I’ve got to admit that I am usually skeptical about books that show you how to go green. Sometimes the suggestions are so bizarre that you can just about guarantee that no one will be taking them seriously. So you can imagine that I was pleasantly surprised that the book, Ready, Set Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living by Graham Hill and Meaghan O’Neill of Treehugger provided many usable suggestions for the greener lifestyle.
The “Save the Planet in 30 Minutes or Less” lists of suggestions, followed by “So You Want to Do More” lists, are extremely user-friendly which can help gain buy in from readers. Symbols are also used to indicate benefits to gain from the efforts. And the benefits aren’t just green. They include saving money, saving time, and improving health, too. Brilliant and missing from many other works of the green genre.
The ecofriendly factoid and myth buster box items highlight interesting and useful information. Background data is presented in an informative and less judgmental manner than I have seen in other works. As well, the focus on how it impacts the reader helps drive the points home.
There were really only two issues I had with the book.
First, there was the obligatory ride your bike suggestion. As I am writing this review, it is now 8 degrees Fahrenheit with a predicted high of 14 tomorrow here in Chicago. This one (and walking) usually falls on deaf ears, except in warmer seasons, in climates like this. Additionally, urban sprawl with high speed highways and no bike lanes often makes it a dangerous endeavor, especially in early morning or evening. These types of efforts will require entire community and governmental support to become workable.
Second, many of the products suggested are obscure brands that you will not find at your local Target or grocery store. So if I have to order them and incur shipping costs, both financial and environmental, have we made progress? The limited availability of more earth friendly and socially conscious product choices in highly frequented retail outlets is one of the major challenges to the green consumer movement.
Because of its incredibly user-friendly format and clearly presented and useful information, Ready, Set Green is a must-read for those who want to learn some real world ways to go green.
Click Here to Buy Ready, Set, Green or Download to Your Amazon Kindle
Going Green – What to Do When You Are and They Aren’t
In my house, I’m the greenest family member. Not as green as I want to be or could be. But I’m trying to go as green as possible by buying more earth-friendly and socially-conscious products, reducing my overall consumption, reusing, recycling… all of that.
So you can imagine that I get a little irked when recycling waste isn’t properly separated, lights are left on, or nasty cleaning products still get used. However, I have almost 100 percent household compliance on using reusable shopping bags. Go figure. I guess I’m happy for the progress.
Actually, celebrating the progress achieved is one of the keys to helping those important people in your life – family, friends, co-workers, bosses, and employees–make greener lifestyle choices at home, on the go, or at work.
But it all starts with you. If you’re the most ecofriendly conscious person in your crowd, here are some things to remember that can help you overcome the frustration.
Realize that Everyone is Somewhere on the Green Path – In his outstanding book, Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything, Daniel Goleman notes that “green” is a verb in that we are all in the process of “greening” ourselves. You may just be farther along that path than those in your sphere. They may not even be on the path. Stay on your path and lead by example. One day they may realize why they should join you.
Don’t Be a Green Snob – It’s easy to slip into snob mode. Unfortunately, this just sets up a you versus them situation, making it even more unlikely they will want to become more ecofriendly.
Take It Easy, Make It Easy – Patience is a virtue here, too. Getting those around you to go green will take time because it is a change in mindset. One of the biggest hurdles is that many people feel that being more ecofriendly is difficult. Sometimes it is. But often if you make it easy for people to participate in an effort, you achieve your desired outcome. Sometimes it’s as simple as making a recycling bin available in a convenient spot.
Celebrate the Progress – Don’t make a big deal about it. Just a casual positive remark will help reinforce a desired behavior such as, “Wow, glad we don’t have all those plastic bags piling up anymore.” If obvious praise seems appropriate, use it. But be careful using it, especially with fellow adults, since they may feel that you are doling out praise because you feel superior. Sometimes it’s just enough to recognize inwardly that progress has been made toward making this a greener world.
3 Exit Strategies to Green Up Your Tradeshow
Ah, the irony! While a presentation drones on about the evils of plastic water bottles and what should be done about it, attendees at a green new product showcase search for a place to pitch their now empty plastic water bottles. A showcase host replies, “You know, we hadn’t thought about that. Just throw them in the regular trash.”
In case you’re wondering, yes, this really happened.
Making your tradeshow or event greener is a start-to-finish affair. What we’ll be looking at here are “exit strategies” you can use to make sure your green efforts don’t go walking out the door when your event ends.
1. Bins for Used Lanyards and Name Badges at Exit – Unless the lanyard is super-cool or your event is attended by those who need them for their security badges, it is unlikely that event attendees will ever use them again in the future. Same goes for the plastic badge holders. Why not collect them at the event exit and reuse them for next time? This will not only help the earth, but will save you money since you can buy less for the next event.
2. Bins for Plastic, Paper, and Aluminum Waste at Exit – The amount of these waste materials generated at events can be huge. With still low recycling rates at the individual level, chances are the pile of paper, plastic containers, and cans will promptly be pitched into the straight-to-landfill waste stream in a hurry once they leave the building. Tap in to people’s desire to unload unnecessary weight at the end of an event and provide separated recycling bins at the exit. Unless you plan to haul it away yourself, this effort will have to be coordinated with the event facility for pick-up.
3. Recycle or Ship Back Show Materials – It’s the last few hours of an event and what do you see? Booth personnel scrambling to get rid of show materials so they don’t have to pack, ship or drag them back home. What a waste on multiple levels! If you are stuffing brochures or promotional products into the hands of unwilling show visitors, where do you think those items will end up? Of course, in the trash, likely as soon as they leave the show. These materials will also likely end up in the landfill-bound trash, not recycling bin. If you unnecessarily hand out show materials, you will probably have to reorder or reprint them for another event. So you have increased costs for the earth and your marketing budget. Plan in advance how you will handle the return or recycling of unused show materials and advise your booth personnel of procedures.
How to Start an EcoFriendly Casual Friday
Organic polos are available for your EcoFriendly Casual Friday from Thorne Communications. Click image for Organic Apparel Buying Guide.
By now, Casual Fridays are a standard business practice in many companies. But what if you could take that concept one step further and encourage ecofriendly values by creating Ecofriendly Casual Fridays?
An Ecofriendly Casual Friday would still allow the business casual dress code of a standard Casual Friday. However, employees would be encouraged to wear at least one piece of ecofriendly apparel. Ecofriendly apparel options would include items that are made with organic, sustainable, biodegradable or recycled materials. You might also want to add social consciousness categories to this list such as fair trade, USA made, and union made.
Sounds easy enough. But once you start looking for the ecofriendly (or fair trade) label in many popular clothing retailers, you’ll find that items qualifying for one or more of these categories are scarce. What’s more is that it is often impossible to determine if an item qualifies while shopping in the store. You would have to do some significant supply chain research to determine many items’ qualifications.
With the retail arena scenario as it presently is, you might want to provide a way for employees to share why the item they chose to wear is ecofriendly and where they purchased the item. That way they can assist fellow employees in finding good ecofriendly sources and make it an educational exercise as well.
What would employees gain from this exercise? First, employees would become aware of how non-ecofriendly many of their everyday purchases are. The goal would be to encourage them to vote with their wallets by redirecting spending to those items and retailers that are aligned with these values.
There may be some resistance by employees to participate because they may not share ecofriendly values. So whatever you do, do not turn this into a battleground. Just make it a fun program to participate in. You might even want to start a contest to reward those who wear either the greatest number of ecofriendly clothing items on a given day or those who wear the most ecofriendly items (i.e. 100% organic, post-consumer recycled, etc.). A gift card to an ecofriendly clothing retailer would be an appropriate prize.
To jumpstart the program, why not consider imprinting some ecofriendly promotional T-shirts with your company name to distribute to your staff? That way those who may not be very interested in expending effort or money to find their own ecofriendly clothing can at least participate by wearing the company-provided T-shirt.
If your business is already in the ecofriendly arena or instituting green initiatives, establishing an Ecofriendly Casual Friday would be a way to help bolster these values in your company and, through your employees, to the community at large.
