I thought that owning your own business, and owning your own green business, no less, was going to easy. Well, maybe not easy, but at least that kind of hard that makes you feel alive because the fire in your belly has an outlet, and you’re working to make a difference.
I got the opportunity about 4 years ago to start a business in a field I knew nothing about, in an industry I was somewhat philosophically opposed to, with seasoned business partners who have than 200 combined years of industry experience.
So I took it and ran. Almost 4 years ago, we created a niche that was fairly unique in the industry at the time: We differentiated ourselves by making our company socially and environmentally responsible. We are a hybrid in a world of SUVs. Our company sells promotional products — imprinted items like coffee mugs, pens, tshirts. Even in our industry, our products are affectionately known as trinkets and trash and cheap plastic s**t. So what do we do differently? We consider the social and environmental impacts of the products we sell.
On our customers’ behalf, we ask our suppliers what the environmental impacts of their products are and encourage them to decrease the negative impacts. We ask about the labor conditions the workers who make our pens or magnets or stress balls endure.
Even a year ago, not too many people asked these questions about their magnets or pens or stress balls. This is what I like most about owning a green business — raising the social and environmental questions in the marketplace and working with our customers and suppliers to raise the bar on the answers.
Tags: Advertising, Business, Marketing and Advertising, Promotional item, Promotional Products, PRWEB, United States, Varied Merchandise
Environmental Examiner
Becoming a Green Business Person: A hybrid in a world of SUVs
I got the opportunity about 4 years ago to start a business in a field I knew nothing about, in an industry I was somewhat philosophically opposed to, with seasoned business partners who have than 200 combined years of industry experience.
So I took it and ran. Almost 4 years ago, we created a niche that was fairly unique in the industry at the time: We differentiated ourselves by making our company socially and environmentally responsible. We are a hybrid in a world of SUVs. Our company sells promotional products — imprinted items like coffee mugs, pens, tshirts. Even in our industry, our products are affectionately known as trinkets and trash and cheap plastic s**t. So what do we do differently? We consider the social and environmental impacts of the products we sell.
On our customers’ behalf, we ask our suppliers what the environmental impacts of their products are and encourage them to decrease the negative impacts. We ask about the labor conditions the workers who make our pens or magnets or stress balls endure.
Even a year ago, not too many people asked these questions about their magnets or pens or stress balls. This is what I like most about owning a green business — raising the social and environmental questions in the marketplace and working with our customers and suppliers to raise the bar on the answers.
Tags: Advertising, Business, Marketing and Advertising, Promotional item, Promotional Products, PRWEB, United States, Varied Merchandise