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We all want to do the “right” thing, but how can you justify spending more for “green” marketing when your business is on the line?

The good news is: you don’t have to.

By definition, “green” or sustainable strategies are those that increase efficiency and overall value. The more sustainable your business is, long-term, the more your business (and profits) will grow. Bottom line: If you’re spending more money being “green,” then you’re probably not doing it right.

That’s what this area of the site is about—helping businesses to get the best information about sustainable strategies so they can run their businesses (and maybe their lives) in the best “green” way they can. And make money doing it.

Recycled Paper
I put recycled paper at the top of the “green marketing” list because paper is still a big part of most advertising and can be a substantial part of the overall costs of a project or campaign. And everyone knows recycled paper is more expensive than non-recycled, right?

Not long ago, I attended a “Green Marketing Symposium” at a local university, and most of the discussion seemed to be focused around how to convince customers to spend more money on “green products (because, of course, these products would require a higher price). But then one of the speakers (from Xerox, I believe) began insisting that “green” products should not be more expensive…that, in fact, they were not more expensive. “Take recycled paper…” he began….

So I began to really look at recycled paper. Here’s what I found:

• While even a few years ago, recycled paper was substantially more expensive than non-recycled, that is no longer true. Today, recycled paper may even cost slightly less than virgin paper.
• Recycled paper typically has a higher opacity, a quality of paper which makes it harder to see through to the other side. This is great for two-sided printing and may mean that you can use a lighter weight paper (almost any paper will tend to be more opaque the thicker it is). With a lighter weight paper, you can also save on shipping or postage costs.
• By recycling paper, you save living trees and also keep waste out of the landfills. While you may or may not pay a direct cost for increased waste, we all pay an indirect cost in the form of increased taxes and, of course, in our health and quality of life.
• Due to economies of scale, some recycled paper may still be more expensive, but that will change as more people use recycled.

Good for earth:
According to research done by the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, each ton of recycled fiber that displaces a ton of virgin fiber used in coated paper (stock used in magazines) reduces total energy consumption by 27%, net greenhouse gas emission by 47%, particulate emissions by 28%, wastewater by 33%, solid waste by 54%, and wood use by 100%.