Giving New Life to Promotions

Giving New Life to Promotions
Environmentally friendly products provide a fresh way to grow a business

by Aminda Moore

Gro Line

What is one thing that is common among the 10 largest U.S. companies? From Wal-mart to Chrysler to Boeing--each has made a commitment to doing their part to conserve the environment. Whether it be implementing a recycling program, planting trees, or sponsoring trash clean ups, businesses today find it is in their best interest to position themselves as a friend of the Earth.

Mad River

Promotional products offer an ideal way to accomplish this. Nearly every product category offers an environmentally friendly alternative, from apparel to pens, mousepads, tote bags and awards. Manufactures that supply environmental promotional products have seen their business steadily growing over the past four years. Today, there are countless numbers of natural, recycled and organic products available.

shifting trends

Okina Sales

The American public has long expressed a commitment to the environment. Reports from the American Forestry Association suggest that the majority of shoppers have changed their buying habits or refused to make a purchase due to environmental considerations.

GaiaWorks, Inc., a Tokyo-based firm specializing in environmental issues, has performed market research studies on the changing attitudes of businesses towards the environment. GaiaWorks believes "that the Internet era will be closely followed by an era of sharply increased environmental awareness, involving people, governments and business in a much more positive, proactive approach to protecting our precious environmental resources."

Leeds

Right now, only one out of every 10,000 products on the market is designed to avoid damage to the environment, according to the non-profit organization Biothinking International. The trend is shifting as advanced technology is allowing more opportunities to reduce the 1,300 pounds of garbage the each American produces annually.

reduce, reuse, recycle

More and more manufacturers are discovering the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of recycling. Methods are being developed to recycle new materials, and standard recycled products are given innovative functions.

Page Seed

Mary Jarrett, founder of Amazing Recycled Products, has seen the recycling industry evolve in the 10 years since she began her business, which operates online at www.amazingrecycled.com. Jarrett's business manufactures a wide range of products from pencils to apparel. The website also serves as a clearinghouse for recycled products from other manufacturers. Amazing Recycled is a great example of the scope of recycled products that are available.

"We are a founder in this industry," says Jarrett. "We teach how to use recycled resins and we can custom mold and manufacture products."

The company features items such as plaques made out of corn waste, and an attractive clock that has the appearance of black marble, but is made of compressed soybeans and newspaper. Recycled glass awards have the brilliant color and appearance of the original material. The ability to effectively reuse such a variety of items is part of an annual company tradition.

Amazing Recycled Products

Each year, Amazing Recycled takes on the challenge of designing a new product out of a material that normally goes to waste. Three years ago, Jarrett tackled organic waste (such as wheat chaf or corn). Initially tested for use in making utensils, the awards have been a successful design and Jarrett continues to discover new ways to use the material.

During the past few years, Jarrett has seen the use of recycled products expand from in-house use only, to be included in marketing programs. Businesses that find new ways to use recycled products are seen as environmental leaders as others notice the benefits and follow their example.

starting early

It will be these environmental leaders that are going to be the choice of a new generation of employees as well. Generation Y, the age group that is currently in college or just finishing school and emerging as the next corporate workforce, is a generation raised to recycle, to "save the rainforests," and stop animal testing. By identifying with environmental issues, a business can immediately create common interest, a foundation for a relationship.

House of DooLittle

Littlearth, famed among trendsetters for creating the hippest recycled accessories available, is now poised to change the face of the promotional products market, since its partnership with Leeds Business Accessories this year.

Partnering with Leeds has exposed Littlearth products to more users than the company had even hoped for initially. One example is the way Littlearth's products are being used by a California film studio to package and promote new film technology. Already well recognized in Hollywood among the celebrity set, Littlearth products are moving beyond fashion to function.

"The response has been broader than expected, and we're finding fans of Littlearth in the most unexpected places," says Michael Bernstein, corporate vice president at Leeds. Given the demand so far, Leeds plans to keep expanding the Littlearth product base.

Littlearth began humbly in 1993 as founders Rob DeBrandegee and Ava DeMarco scoured Pittsburgh junkyards in search of street signs, license plates and hubcaps. Today, Littlearth annually recycles 70-100 tons of rubber and 2 million bottle caps, in addition to many other unique items used to create the products, such as bike chains. The philosophy has always centered on mixing fashion with positive social and environmental impact.

"You can bet that the product is going to be different than anything currently available in the promotional products marketplace," says Bernstein.

wear it's at

Trees for Tomorrow

Another fashionable way to express environmental and social concern is by choosing the right clothing. As consumers become increasingly aware of the conditions under which their garments are produced, they in turn become more willing to pay for that social conscience.

According to the Organic Trade Association, the textile industry is the sixth-most polluting industry in the world. Although conventionally grown cotton represents only 3 percent of the world's cultivated crops, 26 percent of the world's pesticides are used on cotton crops. It takes one-third of a pound of chemicals to grow enough conventional cotton for one T-shirt.

Realizing the potential repercussions of the damage to the globe's topsoil and drinking water, a number of manufacturers have made the switch from conventional to organic clothing. Environmental clothing producers attempt to be 100 percent committed to their cause by visiting farms and sewing plants, examining growing and harvesting techniques, and interviewing the farmers to determine the labor conditions and wages.

When an organization is working for an environmental cause, "they've got be really careful what they are putting their logo on," says Michelle Pothier, founder of the Ontario, Canada-based Mad River Clothing Co. "It's important for an organization to be above reproach."

Mad River uses organic cotton to create a full line of children's clothing, along with imprintable T-shirts and market bags.

In 1996, the popular sportswear manufacturer Patagonia committed to using only organic cotton in all cotton products. Patagonia's Beneficial T's line offers organic cotton T-shirts to the promotional products market.

Anna Ball from Beneficial T's says that right now most of the clothing line's customers are environmentally affiliated organizations. The popularity of the product has been almost overwhelming for the company, and it is working on expanding the line to include organic cotton hats and sweatshirts.

Although environmental clients are the foundation for the organic clothing business, each producer mentioned that they have a growing number of clients buying products simply because "they believe in cleaning up the environment," says Angela Jones, sales representative for Maggie's Organics. "They also believe that buying organic cotton for their business is going to make a difference."

Bena Burda, founder and president of Maggie's, adds, "I think that there is a recognition out there even by larger corporate clients, that there is a value-added component of this that really needs to be looked at."

Perfect for the corporate office are Maggie's classic Oxford button down shirts made from organic cotton. Shirts can be custom dyed, and the soft feel of organic cotton is incomparable to that of conventional cotton, Burda says.

A popular material for creating textiles such as jackets, tote bags and luggage has been EcoSpun, a 100 percent certified recycled polyester fiber. Mad River has a high demand for its EcoSpun polar fleece jackets. Pothier has noticed that recipients of these jackets love to talk about the product, to let others know that it has a past life.

EcoSpun can also be blended with cottons to create a softer material for T-shirts and hats.

The producer of EcoSpun--Wellman, Inc.--is an international Fortune 1,000 company that began recycling plastics in 1965. Today, Wellman reclaims almost 3 billion plastic bottles and containers in its four manufacturing facilities around the globe.

trees are tops

Maggie's Organics

Similar advances in technology have had a major impact on deforestation and paper manufacturing. Despite population growth and negative predictions, the American Forestry and Paper Association estimates that the amount of U.S. land that is covered by trees has not significantly decreased in the past 100 years. Because six trees are planted for every tree harvested annually, the United States actually has more trees than it did in the 1920's.

Today, technology allows every part of a tree to be used in manufacturing, so there is significantly less manufacturing waste. In addition, about 45 percent of the paper consumed in the country is recovered for recycling.

The extensive practice of paper recycling means a cost advantage for consumers. House of DooLittle has manufactured its line of calendars, planners and write-and-role mousepads using 100 percent recycled paper since 1989. Since the company has been able to maintain both price and quality, its products appeal to corporations of all sizes that are committed to buying recycled goods.

"Buying and selling recycled is the only way to truly close the loop," says Amy Svoboda, Sales and Marketing representative for House of DooLittle.

Okina Sales offers a fun and unique way to recycle paper--just plant it. Beautiful handmade cards, bookmarks and ornaments are designed using natural and biodegradable fibers and imbedded with seeds. The paper is easy to plant and will grow into herbs, flowers or vegetables. A company's logo can be imprinted on the card or bookmark, or a message can be inserted into the mailing envelope or polybag.

"People love to receive something handmade," says Laurie Sjoblom, vice president. "It's a world apart from something plastic."

living on

For a highly customized "growth" promotion, The Page Seed Company can do a custom four-color seed packet, containing one of more than 50 available varieties of vegetable or flower seeds.

"We imprint for every organization, every type of business that is out there from Realtors to schools, major corporations, anybody you can think of," says Bob Burlison, sales representative for Page Seed Co.

Another unique way of saying "thank you for growing with us" is by giving the gift of a live tree.

"A tree in a tube makes an absolutely beautiful gift," says Herbert Pillar, owner of Gro-Line, which also offers a variety of seeds and live plants with unique packaging options. Instead of promotional products that run out of ink or are thrown away, Pillar points out that a tree is going to last 100 years and grow to be around 120 feet tall--depending on the variety.

Well-placed trees can significantly cut the air conditioning costs in a home. Trees also recycle water, prevent soil erosion, collect air pollutants and generate oxygen.

Tree seedlings can be a great giveaway, as well as a popular way to commemorate an event. Mary Ghesquiere, representative for Trees for Tomorrow, says that her seedlings have been given out by real estate agents at the closing of a sale, as a lasting memory and something that will grow alongside an owner's life in his or her new home.

Growing a business is complicated, but environmental products can provide a way to get back to basics. The Earth is here to stay, and Earth-friendly promotional products are likely do the same.