Nature: The world’s largest advertising trashcan
Going green seems to be the latest trend sweeping the planet. It is unfortunate that this is a trend and not a permanent lifestyle change for everyone because trends fade with time. It is truly disheartening to see McDonald’s cups and plastic Coke bottles littering our streets and our water sources. It is also shocking to know that litter is a free and shameful way of advertising. I know I’ve seen a candy wrapper lying in the grass and later went and purchased that candy. It is sad, but it is true.
Now more than ever our planet needs all of the help it can get to reduce our human footprint. I know this may sounds pretty blunt and harsh, but our work is trash! The marketing and advertising material that we are so proud of is literally ending up in the dirt! In a way, all litter and garbage starts with us. Unrecycled printed materials aren’t the only downfall of design. Have you ever considered how much electricity it takes to power multiple computers and printers? Of course you have! You think about it every time you get your electricity bill.
What can we do as designers to give back to our environment? What can designers do to keep our planet beautiful and please our clients at the same time? A simple solution to help our planet is to educate ourselves so we can educate our clients. By educating our clients we are able to teach them environmentally friendly ways to be successful.
Here are a few environmentally friendly tips for designers to share with their clients. These tips will not only help shrink the carbon footprint created by designers, but some of these tips will also help save you and your clients money!
Going green with print
Find an eco friendly printer.
- Ideally we would like to find printers who use post-consumer recycled materials and 100% chlorine free paper. The word ‘recycled’ has somehow adopted the meaning ‘cheap’ is some people’s eyes. Many consumers think that all recycled paper is dull, grey, and not as white as virgin paper. Recycled paper that appears off-white hasn’t been de-inked. For bright white recycled paper use de-inked paper. The ink that is taken out of the recycled paper can be burned to create energy to power the paper mill or outsourced for other usages. Ironically, recycled paper is just as good, if not better than virgin paper.
- Find a printer that uses soy and vegetable-based inks opposed to petroleum based inks.
Here are a few eco friendly printers you should considering checking out (some may even be cheaper than who you are currently printing with)
Going green in web
- Use XHTML and CSS. The less code you use on a web page lowers the transfer rate over the network, which in return lessens the amount of electricity used. Learning and using XHTML and CSS will also make you a better web developer.
- Recycle your code. By using php and javascript you can call certain images and media that appear on multiple pages of your website only one time instead of over and over again. You can also recycle code by calling certain scripts for multiple sites that are on your server that may be using the same code.
- Create single page websites when possible. Once again, this reduces transfer rates which reduce the amount of energy being used.
- Find hosting services with carbon-neutral companies. Carbon-neutral companies are businesses who have measured all of the carbon dioxide they are using and then alter their work ethic to remove as much of it as possible.
Dreamhost has gone carbon-neutral. If you are currently looking for a new host or thinking about switching your hosting services you can google ‘Dreamhost coupons’ and get amazing hosting services for an insanely cheap price!
A few environmentally friendly ways to save some extra cash
- Power your computers down nightly.
- Replace light bulbs around your office with energy-efficient light bulbs, which also last longer.
- Keep a recycling bin near the printer. Lets face it, we run a lot of proofs to make sure our design looks right. If you aren’t able to decrease the amount of proofs you run per project, the least you can do is recycle them!
- Stop faxing, start emailing! I know we have a lot of old school clients who still prefer faxing opposed to emailing. Using email as an alternative to faxing will save you the cost of paper, ink, and the cost of electricity it takes to keep a fax machine running 24/7.
If you are looking for a way to slowly wean your client off of faxing I’d suggest investing in an eFax account.
How have you reduced your carbon footprint?
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On May 27, 2009 at 12:50 pm Edward Izzys wrote:
Interesting!
In the past, offline media was one of the major mediums to promote one’s business and brand awareness. However, with the increasing popularity of the online media and its positive results, more people are turning to online marketing techniques to build a strong business presence across the globe. There are several online marketing strategies we can use for our Internet marketing solutions, but SEO (search engine optimization) today has taken a stance much ahead of any other technique.
SEO brings with it tremendous scope for business improvement with improved keyword positioning, improved ranking and overall increase in the ROI and cuts down on the PPC cost extensively in the long run. This is a proven marketing solution if done the right way using the right techniques based on your website requirements.
I thought this information would be helpful for those who wish to promote their website and get great results.
On May 27, 2009 at 10:07 pm Mike Conaty wrote:
Nice post Antonea!
Just a couple more ideas:
- Ask your printers if they use bulk ink delivery systems for their presses, fewer ink cans = less waste into the stream
- Ask them if they recycle their aluminum press plates
- Ask them if they are using low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) processing chemicals for their plate and film processing.
- Gang printing CMYK jobs can save your client $$, and make the best use of press sheets… less waste into the stream.
Oh, one last one…
Ask for high percentage post-consumer recycled cartons for delivery… then recycle them!
On May 27, 2009 at 10:17 pm Matt Fouty wrote:
Great post Antonea! I can’t stand the archaic process of faxing! Scan… Email. C’mon peeps! I know designers usually are’nt to blame. Some industries are deeply rooted in their archaic processes (like insurance companies… Ever had to make a claim? Ugh!). They need to get with the times!
On June 1, 2009 at 5:23 pm Antonea Nabors wrote:
Mike! Thank you so much for all of those insightful tips! Very very useful.
Matt, thanks so much!Every time I have to use a fax machine I need assistance. Clearly I don’t use one often! Haha. Hopefully we will see a decrease in faxing and other old school techniques in the near future *fingers crossed*!