Green Really Does Matter

Kraft's New Redesigned Greener Salad Dressing Uses almost 20% less plastic

After reading Denis Salazaar’s article Sustainable Packaging, the Housewares Show, and the 5 Stages of Grief I had to shake my head and chuckle in exasperation at some of the companies he described. As a species, we are truly amazing in our resistance to change, no matter if it’s better or not. I wonder if medieval citizens struggled to embrace sanitation when it was first introduced, it was probably hard to break them from their habit of tossing waste out their window onto the street despite the incredible benefits of not doing it.

Our society has become the frog in the warm pot of water, we’ve lulled ourselves into a false sense of security and comfort just before the pot starts to boil. Our inability to sustain our uber-consumption is a reality we all need to face. Thankfully, research is showing that we as consumers truly care and we’re starting to take personal responsibility as we’re empowered to make a difference by being able to purchase viable environmentally responsible alternatives. Mintel just released a study in 2007 that reports there was a 200% increase in green product launches over 2006.

In addition to having more choices, a recent study by DoubleClick Performics found that about 60% of online shoppers say they believe a company’s environmental practices are either ‘very’ or ‘extremely important’ and they are willing to pay 5% or more for them. Almost 50% say they specifically go online to check out eco friendly products. While the green trend has been building for some time, "the number of people who say that being environmentally conscious is important to them is higher than I'd expected," says Stuart Larkins, senior vice president/search at DoubleClick Performics. "It's easy to think people who are shopping online are only looking at price, but clearly, they are looking beyond that."

Keep the faith, green is here to stay and the research results are indicative of real change happening. There will always be the person that throws their trash out the car window or the neighbor that doesn’t clean up after their dog. By and large though, most of us really care about our eco-system and are willing to vote with our pocket book to insure that companies continue to develop products we want to buy.

Anke Corbin recently left her corporate career as VP marketing for a major media company in order to launch an eco-marketing consulting agency and to design her first environmentally responsible indoor-outdoor furniture collection called Anke C.- Real Living launching spring 2008. To network, for consulting or just to chat, contact Anke at ankecorbin@gmail.com

Staples Recycled FSC Paper

Massachusetts-based Staples recently released 100% recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified copy and print paper. The paper is available for purchase in all Staples stores and is also being used in their in-store Staples Copy and Print centers.

Staples 100% recycled copy and print paper use at least fifty percent post-consumer recycled content and carry the FSC logo on the packaging. 

The paper provides an inexpensive nationally available FSC certified recycled option for home or office printing.

Previously this type of product was more difficult to find and not readily available to consumers and small businesses. The fact Staples has embraced FSC certified post-consumer recycled paper is a tremendous positive.

We have used the Staples paper ourselves for over a year now before it was FSC certified and find it to be perfect for all home/office printing applications. There is no reason why the majority of home/office printing should not be done on post-consumer recycled paper like this paper from Staples.

Staples' Michael Black told Sustainable is Good Products, “As a company, we are committed to continuous improvement in this area.” “This includes increasing our offering of both recycled and FSC certified paper.  We've set a goal to move the majority of paper products we offer to FSC certified paper by the end of 2010, based on availability of supply and market conditions.”

TIPS: Utilize two-sided printing to save paper, print on the back side of scrap paper when possible and always recycle paper after its use.