A couple of weeks ago I ran across a printer at an expo in Florida that was not only an environmentally friendly (green) printer, but taking the concept to the next level. I was so impressed with what they were doing that I thought I would mention it so other printers and companies could get ideas of how to really incorporate green into your marketing and operations.
The printer, Aloma Printing, was deemed a non-hazardous waste producer by the EPA for recycling chemicals and products that are harmful to the environment. They also use soy and vegetable inks with low VOCs, environmentally friendly (green) paper, etc. Very impressive, though I know other printers are doing the same thing.
Here is where the real difference is:
They not only use an incredibly green paper, New Leaf Paper©, but also will print an environmental benefits statement on the back of every document they print for you.
Here is what I mean: They will show you the benefit of using this post-consumer waste paper versus other virgin fibers. For example, the benefits of using this paper would be: 2 fully grown trees, 639 gallons of water, 1 million BTU's of energy, 71 pounds of solid waste, and 139 pounds of greenhouse gases. They even make sure you know that these calculations were not off the top of their heads, but based on research by the Environmental Defense and other members of the Paper Task Force.
Now I do not know if this is an initiative of the paper company or just one of the printing companies. The printer implied it was their initiative. I was just impressed on how smart they were to show people exactly what it meant to use green paper when printing.
Demonstrate the full benefit.
Think about ways you can do this with your business. Thinking outside your cube in this case will get you more customers who want to align themselves with a vendor who really gets what it means to be green. I know I’m going to be keeping them in mind.
Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends
Colette Chandler
