Sustainability and green practices can help your small business. When you own a small business every dollar counts. When you implement sustainable practices in your small business you can reap the benefits of not only feeling better about your contribution to the world but you can help your bottom line as well.
Sustainable Design
Utilizing a sustainable design can limit your business’s impact on the environment, economy, and community. Your company can affect sustainability through product design, web design, and packaging. These three leave the biggest carbon footprint behind.
Having eco-friendly packaging can make a huge difference. For one, your customers will be impressed and it can drive extra business your way. Secondly, you will cut down on waste and help the environment as well.
Recyclable or Biodegradable
If you use recyclable or biodegradable material you will positively affect the environment. Bubble wrap and biodegradable plastic should be used at all times. You should also use corn starch, paper, and cardboard whenever possible. Paper and cardboard are recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable. That’s a triple whammy.
Repurpose
If you repurpose your packaging you will be more sustainable. There is an Indonesian company that uses food packaging made from seaweed. So you can eat it after it does its job.
Another company (Puma) uses a strong plastic bag instead of shoeboxes to put shoes in after they are purchased. This bag can then be used several times over. According to Puma, they have saved one million liters of water, 20 million megajoules of electricity, and 8500 tons of paper with this simple policy change.
Cards and Brochures
You can also get eco-friendly cards and brochures. You can get cards printed from recycled paper as well as waterless printing that doesn’t use toxic chemicals.
