Green advertising - Part 1

Have you ever thought about how green your marketing plan is -- or is not?

If you're committed to running a green company, one of the issues you have to consider is the environmental impact of your advertising. Some of the factors to consider are;

Frequency of mailings and the impact of those on your sales.

If a monthly mailing doesn't generate significant increases in sales, consider cutting back to every other month. That would mean half the paper use, half the transportation-based energy use, half the production energy use, and probably half the waste generated (a few consumers might recycle, which would reduce that waste.)

Look at the paper you're using

Are your catalogs, flyers, postcards and other paper marketing tools printed on recycled paper? Switching to recycled paper, especially if you have frequent mailers, inserts or offer large catalogs, could significantly reduce virgin paper use and slow down tree cutting. Even a few trees saved is better than none.

And what about the ink?

Many commercial inks contain heavy metals and other potentially toxic substances. When printed material ends up in landfills, those dangerous substances can leach out and contaminate soil or even group water supplies. Switching to a soy or vegetable ink eliminates that environmental hazard.

I'll give you more issues to consider in tomorrow's post. And then on Friday, I'll suggest some greener advertising choices that just might work for you -- and the earth.