Written by Andrew Lindsay

More businesses are now making a conscious effort to outline their corporate social responsibility and going green. With this in mind, they may start recycling their waste paper, or possibly invest in solar panels. The common denominator in these scenarios is that they’re making some sort of change.

Going green doesn’t mean having to make huge investments in solar panels. It’s about changing your attitude towards waste. This is particularly the case for offices, which are particularly wasteful environments, and one area that could do with an update is merchandising.

Any business hoping to expand or bring in new custom will probably look into a bit of promotion. A common way this is done is through branded gifts at trade shows. In theory, this is an effective strategy.

You brand an item and give it away at a show. That item remains on someone’s desk increasing their familiar with your brand. When they need services or products that you provide, it will be your name they call. This type of exposure works over and over again, which is why most stands at exhibitions are now giving away something – even if it is not particularly useful.

But this is the problem in terms of going green. How many gifts from trade shows have you kept? Chances are, these items end up in landfill, and as a result become a waste of your investment.

So, if you’re looking to go green, why not make the smaller changes. And if you’re not convinced that small changes make a big impact, consider this. Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution in production than paper made from raw materials. A simple switch to notepads or printer paper made from recycled paper already drops the carbon footprint of your establishment.

But back to branded gifts. If you want to change how you merchandise, to become more ethical, it’s a good idea to think of items that will be genuinely useful to your target market. A stuffed teddy with your company’s logo on may work well in your own office, but to somewhere else, it’s soon going to turn into clutter and end up in the bin.

Become useful to reduce your contribution to landfill. Then, make efforts to produce it in an eco-friendly manner.

If you’re stuck for ideas, try these top three swaps you can make:

• Bags
  Plastic bags filled with promotional material are abundant at trade shows. But, unfortunately more than 10 billion – yes, you read that right, billion – plastic bags end up in landfill every year. If there is anything you don’t need to give away, it’s this. However, tote bags can come in very handy, can be branded how you like, and can be made from recycled fabric or organic cotton – and they’re re-usable.
• Stationery
  It may not be overly exciting but pens and pencils will always come in handy, as will a notepad – it’s why they are almost always taken from hotel rooms. They are also cheap to produce and are readily available in an eco-friendly manner. Pens are now available constructed from sustainable timber, and pencils can be recycled from most things, even old CDs. Don’t forget, pens will often be ‘borrowed’ around an office, maximising the impact of your branding.
• Novelty gifts
  Although a novelty item will often end up in landfill, make it stand out for the right reasons and it can go far. Why not try solar powered gifts such as a calculator, or even seeds to grow an office plant, with your brand name on the packet. It should certainly set you apart from the stress balls at the next booth.

Of course, it’s not all about the trade show, but this just goes to show how much difference a small change can make. One of the biggest crimes in an office environment is paperwork, which anyone can improve their green credentials on with little effort.

Other ways to make a difference whilst taking very little effort could involve changing your energy supplier or introducing recycling bins. You could end up saving money whilst boosting your green credentials at the same time – something you’ll want to shout from the rooftops if you don’t want to get left behind.

If you want the world to start doing business differently, you should make the change yourself and hope to set a good example.

Andrew Lindsay is a keen writer on environmental marketing and works for Merchandise Mania, a supplier of a wide range of ethical and recyclable promotional products.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

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