Going Green: Barriers and Opportunities

About Fairware Sustainable promotional merchandise supplier. Exclusive focus on working with sustainable brands and organizations. Align our clients event and marketing merchandise with their values. Work across North America with leading sustainable brands including Patagonia, UNICEF, Amnesty, Ben and Jerry’s, AVEDA.

Market Trends Organic food products have grown at a rate double that of conventional products A 2012 study of global executives by consultancy Accenture showed one-third of those surveyed could not keep up with demand for sustainable products and services. Brands such as Wal-Mart and Nike are phasing out hazardous chemicals and developing indexes to measure the environmental attributes of their products. Consumers are expecting more transparency.

Consumer Facing Platforms Green GuideClimate Counts

So what does that mean for us? Client expectations are rising as they relate to social and environmental information. Legislative framework is changing with CPSIA, Prop 65, ect. We have to be more effective at understanding and communicating the attributes of our supply chain and products.

Change Is Hard Understand the basic principles of change management: 20% will actively lead; 20% will actively resist and the remaining 60% will ‘wait to see what’s in it for them’. Design your programs and education for the 60%. When you’re trying to get your staff or your suppliers to change the way they do things, you’re dealing with habits not just policies.

Institutional Barriers Dig into the reasons change isn’t happening, the principles of ‘Lean Manufacturing’ suggest that you should always ask at least three times why something might not work, you might find the solution – 3 steps back in the supply chain. Understand the challenges your suppliers face, e.g. insurance policies that dictate packaging protocols. Lack of influence in their manufacturing facilities.

Confusion about Environmental Claims Historical confusion about what is and what isn’t green. Many ‘vague’ claims in our industry Use the newly revised Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidelines on the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims to understand ‘rules’ on: –Recyclability –Recycled content –Biodegradability –Eco-Friendly/Natural or other vague claims

Timelines and Planning Educate your clients on the importance of planning ahead to allow for creative and well thought out products. We use the ‘risk’ lens when discussing the importance of being able to select good products and good suppliers.

Principles and Policies Unaligned Sixty-two percent of respondents said their company CEO has a strong commitment to sustainability; however, only 16 percent said their company has a chief sustainability officer. Sixty plus percent of top companies have Corporate Social Responsibility policies but less that a quarter of those have sustainable purchasing policies. Our ‘buyers’ are often junior staff who may not view promotional purchases through a strategic or risk based lens.

Next Steps and Actions Consider sharing blog postings or articles on these issues with your clients. Review articles on the FTC Guidelines so you understand what you can and can’t say. Learn about industry initiatives such as the PPAI Code of Conduct and Quality Certification Alliance – and reward suppliers who are addressing product safety and compliance issues in our industry.