I'm dreaming of a green Christmas

Don’t be fooled by this unseasonably mild weather… Christmas is well and truly on its way. It’s the time of year when tradition tells us to send out wodges of cardboard featuring hackneyed jokes and sprigs of mistletoe to every Tom, Dick and Harry we’ve come across in the working year – which is probably part of the reason why England is still enjoying blue skies and warm sunshine in late autumn. Before we know it, the polar ice caps will have melted, Santa will be checking into a shelter for the homeless and Christmas will consequently be cancelled. Scary isn’t it?

All joking aside, more and more of us are – quite rightly – worried about our impact on the environment. Our collective social conscience seems to spring into action at Christmas and many companies are now abandoning paper cards for email greetings, giving the cost-savings to charity and doing their bit for Mother Earth to boot. If you’re among them, good on you! But why stop at Christmas? Isn’t it time we all thought about how we can make our marketing just as compelling but a little bit kinder to the planet, not just during the festive season but all year round?

The greenest approach of all is to consider reaching your customers through digital communications instead of paper-based ones. According to Friends of the Earth, 744 million cards are junked after the tinsel comes down – the equivalent of 248,000 trees. E-cards, animations, digital games, screensavers and email broadcasts are not just eco-friendly. They can be original, engaging, more fun than a card and mark you out as a progressive, techno-savvy organisation. And they needn’t be that expensive. The trick is to use an experienced agency that can combine creativity with technical expertise – you don’t want to end up with an animated Santa jumping through a chimney accompanied by Jingle Bells on the stylophone!

In some circumstances, of course, you just can’t beat the tactile qualities and the alluring aroma of print. There’s no need to suffer from eco-guilt. You can still create a lovely brochure or a DM campaign while reducing your carbon footprint. You just need to choose the right solutions.

The most obvious move you can make is to choose a recycled or sustainable paper stock. Contrary to popular belief, recycled paper isn’t grey, hairy and dusty any more (although you can have the rustic look if you want to wear your ethical heart on your sleeve). Modern recycled stock is available in virtually every grade of paper. It has the same technical performance as virgin paper, moderate to high brightness, and is often acid-free, which is useful if you’re planning on archiving materials. These days, costs are similar or only-slightly higher than non-recycled stock. It saves trees, energy, water, landfill space and produces less pollution than virgin paper production.

Sometimes, though, you just have to go with a virgin paper. But, even then, you can do your bit. By choosing paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, you can be sure that any new wood used in its production comes from responsibly-managed forests. What’s more, the FSC is committed to stamping out the worst practices of the logging industry, including habitat destruction, water pollution and displacement of indigenous people.

But it isn’t just about paper. If your method of printing allows it, use vegetable inks. The pigments in conventional inks are carried in petroleum-based mineral oils which are, of course, non-renewable. So-called vegetable inks still use some mineral oils but combine them with soya, linseed or canola oils which, being plant-based, are renewable. Also, there are concerns over the biodegradability of traditional inks held by mineral oils. They contain high levels of solvents; if the printed materials end up in landfill, the solvents leach out into the water table. Incinerating them, meanwhile, only adds to the emission of greenhouse gases. The properties of vegetable inks are said to meet – or even exceed – those of mineral-based inks and, in this age of high oil prices, the cost is comparable, so there’s really no excuse not to use them. 

Finally, take a look at the eco-credentials of any printers that you or your suppliers use. Printing is estimated to be the UK’s fourth most polluting industry. But there is a new breed of ‘green’ printers emerging who go to great lengths to minimise their impact. As well as championing eco-friendly paper and inks, printers can cut out the use of environment-busting petrochemical solvents in the printing process. They can do a huge amount of recycling: all their waste paper and used aluminium printing plates can be collected and recycled. Even waste ink can be recycled into black ink. An eco-printer will also ensure that spent photographic chemicals are collected and disposed of safely.

‘Going green’ might involve a bit of hard research and shopping around but it needn’t be the marketing equivalent of a hair shirt. You might even find that you cut costs, get more creative, win some instant credibility, and save the planet into the bargain. That has to be the best message you can send your customers - not just for Christmas but for life…

How to be a greener client

• Less is more. Try to cut down on your printed marketing materials but get more value out of it by:
• Spending more on design to make sure that your message gets across with maximum effectiveness
• Consider combining or replacing your print with digital marketing strategies wherever appropriate
• Make sure your distribution and targeting are efficient so that you cut down on costs and waste

• Use recycled paper or Forestry Stewardship Council certified paper wherever possible

• Make sure your collateral is printed using vegetable and not mineral inks

• Try to use a print company with good green credentials. Check that they:
• minimise waste
• minimise energy use
• have cut out unnecessary chemical processes
• use the least damaging press chemicals, particularly Volatile Organic Compounds

• Litho printing is better than photocopying when you’re doing long runs. Digital copiers and scanners are less damaging than analogue copiers.

• Consider not using gloss coated paper which is less recycled and less recyclable. If you want a coated paper, remember that silk and matt finishes can give a more sophisticated feel and look.

For more information on making Christmas greener, contact Gilles Guilbert on gg@indigocreative.co.uk.

indigo, 49 burney street, greenwich, london se10 8ex
telephone: +44 (0)20 8858 5100   fax: +44 (0)20 8858 5145
http://www.indigocreative.co.uk

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