Recent Posts
- Does Cap-and-Trade make sense for your company?
- New product items of interest
- Hyping "green" for fun and profit
- Was CPP attendance a victim of the Bears game?
- CPP & Pack Expo: Here we come!
- 25 years: It's the people who matter most
- Are flex packs the best sustainability choice?
- Package printing in a tough economy
- Sustainability: Ask the right questions
- Debunking myths of packaging and the environment
Recent Comments
- Paul Entin on Hyping "green" for fun and profit
- David Roisum on How to be a "green" hypocrite
- Carl Mendoza on How to be a "green" hypocrite
- Tom Mueller on Wow! That's surprising...
- Kevin Karstedt on Wow! That's surprising...
Most Commented On
- How the "recession" is affecting you (3)
- How to be a "green" hypocrite (3)
- Death of the four-day trade show? (2)
- Should sales "own" your business? (2)
- Wow! That's surprising... (2)
Archives
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
Blog
How to be a "green" hypocrite
July 22, 2008
A "green product" customer needs a package designed and converted. Keep these handy-dandy points in mind, and you too can be a "green" hypocrite.
Step 1: Design your customer's package using 100% virgin-plastic and/or 100% virgin-paper materials not sourced from FSC- or SFI-certified suppliers. While you're at it, be sure to use a thicker gauge than truly necesary.
Step 2: Source all the materials from China or India or some place halfway around the world because it's cheaper than getting it from down the street (or at least from the next state).
Step 3: Print it using solvent-based inks that will need to be IR-dried and/or have the VOCs oxidized. Make sure the VOC system doesn't recover the heat and use it elsewhere in the plant.
Step 4: Laminate it with solvent-based adhesives (see rationality above).
Step 5: After use, demand that the packaging (due to its multilayer construction) be difficult to recycle in municipal solid-waste operations.
I hope by now you've figured out that I'm just kidding. But a quick analysis of your average "green" product typically shows that it's still overpackaged, often in a virgin-plastic container, and perhaps hard to recycle by the consumer. Granted, not all packaging decisions get to be made by the converter. But the next time a "green product" customer approaches your business, stop and think through the process to avoid being party to "green hypocrisy."
Posted by Mark Spaulding on July 22, 2008 | Comments (3)
In response to: How to be a "green" hypocrite
Bee Gee commented:
That's because "green" is a marketing tool, not a sincere effort to help the environment. The business of business is not saving the world, it is making a profit. Let's stop kidding ourselves that it's something else.
In response to: How to be a "green" hypocrite
Carl Mendoza commented:
FSC or SFI Certified? That along with Carbon crediting -- an Abbott and Costello scam makes the whole green issue highly suspect. Maybe non-biodegradables are better for the environment -- most of them are inert.
In response to: How to be a "green" hypocrite
David Roisum commented:
There is certainly a lot of hypocrisy attempting to disguise the naked greed of marketing and capitalism. A common example is the 'save water, soap, towels and pandas' placards found in nearly every hotel in the world. Yet I have never see even one recycle bin for the newspapers that are hung on the doors or stacked in the lobby. Obviously the concern for the hotel is the costs of laundering (panda placards) and costs of handling a recycle bin (none to be found).