We live in such a disposable society right now. It’s alarming just how many little things we throw away each day -- every hour, really. With Earth Day 2021 approaching, it’s a wonderful time to think about tracking your discards through a single day. Then, consider where all those items will end up.
Some, like plastic straws, end up wedged in the mouths of sea creatures (one reason why states are banning them). Other things, like the reusable grocery bags so many of us take to stores now, well … who knows where they go once they wear out?
Those running businesses see the waste every day -- especially if involved with public-reaching events like conventions and trade shows, where all kinds of items are brought along so visitors take little brand reminders home with them.
Daily Waste in the Office
Even in the office, small everyday items like pens run out of ink, and unlike the old days of buying dipping ink or new refill cartridges, what do we do? Toss it and grab a new one from the supplies closet.
And all those single-use plastic water bottles? Please. Unless there’s a true recycling wizard in your office who collects them all consistently and gets them to the recycling center, well, they just fill your work trash bins faster.
Everyone knows about the big environmentally friendly actions and purchases, like electric cars, or all those solar panels popping up on rooftops. Why can’t we also focus on all the small things that actually do add up to fill our landfills faster, harm animals, and cause other damage for years to come?
The answer is, we can. And, we do.
Earth Day Origins: Oil on Water, Air You Could Taste, and More
What is now international Earth Day began with one U.S. Senator’s thoughts after a horrific oil spill stained the beautiful coast of Santa Barbara, California in early 1969. Noticing college student involvement in anti-war activities at the time, Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin sought to transfer that energy and devotion to stopping the pollution of our water and air.
Recruiting Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman, and student activist Denis Hayes to help set up campus teach-ins nationwide, the first event was scheduled between spring break and final exams to allow the most students to participate. Today, Earth Day is April 22, just as when it began in 1970.
With dozens of staffers nationally and involvement by a variety of organizations, the inaugural Earth Day was a spectacular success and opened the eyes of Americans to the broad, unhealthy impacts of mass pollution.
Large-scale media coverage resulted in an estimated 20 million Americans actively demonstrating against pollution that had gotten worse through a society dominated since the early 1800s by industrialization. By the end of 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was established, and soon thereafter a series of landmark laws were approved including the Clean Air Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Water Act.
"The International Earth Day surge continues."
The Earth Day concept continued to grow and into the 1990s and the international Earth Day movement grew -- a surge still evident today. While climate change attention has meant a focus on big polluters, more and more businesses and corporations remain eager to show the public how environmentally conscious they truly are.
Which is a reason why you might not want your business logo on a Styrofoam cup found littered in a street gutter. Or on a branded single-use plastic bottle left behind at the last convention. One little careless act could ruin years of brand marketing efforts.
Angle Marketing to Prove What You Say
Businesses today must compete in a myriad of avenues to get their logo, brand and messages to the public they most want to reach. Online options are as vital as ever, but if you think about it, a lot of digital marketing is hardly worth it if people are not familiar with your brand.
Brand awareness is built, over time, in a variety of ways. One of which, of course, is through the company logos, taglines and messages, repeated often in advertisements, events, and promotional items. Rarely is it felt that there’s a “saturation point,” where consumers might be turned off by too much advertising. Most marketers will spend as much as they can get approval for.
That is, if all that consumers lose in all this is their time. However, over-advertising that hurts them in other ways has potential to boomerang back at a business negatively.
That’s why, in broad practices all the way down to promotional items, businesses should make an active effort to convey to buyers that they not only acknowledge Earth Day and environmental friendliness, they also take consistent action to prove it.
Convenience food and beverage businesses like McDonald’s and Starbucks were quick to swap out their Styrofoam containers and plastic straws as their industries came under building pressure to stop using so much packaging that quickly filled landfills -- and did not deteriorate in nature for hundreds of years.
Industry by industry, consumers and watchdog groups are going down the line and targeting all those small things that make a big difference cumulatively. Those involved with conventions and trade shows should keep a keen eye on the issue.
Beyond a Logo: Branding a Stance
Businesses invest a considerable sum each year to have their company name and logo attached to items to give away, whether from a store or outlet, or at events like professional sporting contests, or large conventions and trade shows.
Some might just go for the quick branding, dumping as many logoed pens as possible into large gatherings. But the more savvy businesses think, how can I use promotional items not only to get my company name known, but also to convey an important overarching message as well?
"Many successful businesses like to show off what they believe in, as an integral part of branding."
Businesses all the time put their money where their hearts lie, like supporting children through Boys & Girls Clubs. We’ve all seen the “Proud supporter of …” or “Proudly supports …” notation in marketing materials.
But are their actual business actions to show that a company really means business in a cause they claim dear to their heart?
Let’s take a look at some promotional products seen all the time in trade shows and corporate events, which many business owners and marketers may not have given a second glance.
Reusable Bags
By now most every American is aware of reusable shopping bags, aimed at reducing waste through all those thin plastic bags of the past, or to save trees by not carrying groceries home in paper bags every time. However, those reusable bags are usually not made of natural materials, or something that can easily break down in nature.
The initial concept of reusing bags was to be more environmentally friendly. It’s just that it wasn’t fully carried out; the bags themselves could be harmful long-term. However, there are ways to close the loop.
Reusable grocery totes made completely with recycled materials are available -- and it’s a nice touch to send potential customers home with something they know the company put some thought behind. And, as a giveaway item that people use over and over for some time, these bags carry significant branding power.
Branded Pens
See above for all the hubbub about plastic straws. At least with the straws, when found on the beach or littered in parking lots usually no one knows where it came from. Not so with branded pens, which some companies buy by the thousands -- and which carry their name and logo if carelessly abandoned.
You might be surprised at the types of writing instruments made of recycled materials -- even twig pens!
Some business owners may scoff at the seemingly small gesture of preventing unwanted pens from filling landfills or ending up in waterways. But consider this: a 9-year-old spurred the movement to ban plastic straws, after using math to determine that Americans use over 500 million drinking straws daily -- an amount that altogether would fill 125 school buses.
Coffee Container Giveaways
Look very closely at the cup and hand protector on a Starbucks product and you learn exactly how much of those products are made from recycled materials. Coffee fans are often well-educated on the environmental front, and companies giving away hard plastic coffee tumblers with their logo on it might be pressing their luck.
Why not order branded coffee tumblers made entirely of recycled materials, and -- like the huge franchise coffee shops -- state so proudly right on the item? Heck, while at it, make that statement in large font type, not the small agate type seen on Starbucks cups and sleeves.
Coffee makes people feel good, and to relax, and think. What better way to get them to think positively about your company than staring at your fully recycled reusable travel tumbler, while perfectly caffeinated? Seems a wonderful opportunity for marketing bliss.
Celebrate Earth Day by Educating
Not all Earth Day-related items have to be promotional. Ever thought about making an effort, as a business, to educate children about Earth Day and what it means broadly?
Why not celebrate Earth Day 2021 by helping instruct children about why it’s important to think about ways to protect the environment? After all, aren’t our children, and their children, etc., the reason why there’s such a major focus on climate change right now?
Giving away small books -- even if not branded at all -- to children is a mighty way to impress parents about your company’s position on environmental stewardship. That said, here are some books to consider:
● For the very young, a simple list of things to do to help protect the planet.
● For older kids, provide a history of Earth Day.
Final Thoughts on Earth Day
Sure it might be a cliche to say, “Every little bit helps.” But beyond taking it literally, companies today should consider a holistic approach to being environmentally savvy. A consistent message that you not only preach caring for our planet, but practice that environmental awareness in a number of ways can only be a positive for any brand.
Consider this: More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities each year -- the largest civic observance in the world, involving more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries. The numbers will only increase in the years ahead.