How to Make Your Brand Sustainable
Happy Earth Day
For me personally, Earth Day is every day. I go into nature weekly, I learn from our Mother Earth & tune into her wisdom. I respect her, I love her and honor her every second I am on this planet. Unfortunately, society continues to neglect her and strip her away. Which is WHY it’s SO IMPORTANT to do your part to protect this Earth. At the rate that we are destroying her, there may not be much of a chance that this planet and the animals will survive for much longer. It is extremely important to me to be conscious of how I leave a footprint on this planet. Through small daily practices, like using reusable water bottles, using metal straws, and recycling, etc, I feel I have a duty to do my part, as Mother Earth has done hers in providing us home, shelter, food, water, oxygen, sunshine, plants, minerals, sustenance, etc.
I chose to be a graphic designer, rather than a fashion designer, because when it came to fashion I knew how seriously pollutant the industry is to the Earth and I felt a deep disappointment in contributing to that. When I discovered graphic design I realized that it was the most sustainable form of design that there is. Creating digital design is powerful, it lives forever on the internet and in the digital space and I don’t harm the Earth by producing my designs physically. So because the Earth is so dear to my heart, as is the heavy responsibility I feel to protect her, I work with sustainable and conscious brands & entrepreneurs. And it is vital for me to feel like I am serving the Earth and promoting sustainability on this planet in such a consumer driven society.
So if you are reading this and you are a designer, entrepreneur, brand or business owner these are my tips on how to make your brand and business as sustainable as possible. It is our duty as the leaders of our generation to live sustainably and fight against climate change & Earth Pollution. And if your business now is not sustainable, it is NEVER to late to make the transition.
10 Tips on How to Make Your Brand Sustainable
1. CREATE BRAND CODE OF ETHICS & MISSION STATEMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Whether you are starting a brand or re-vamping one it is never too late to create a mission statement and code of ethics that is sustainable. Write down your sustainability goals, when you will achieve them by and how your brand is going to lead the industry in sustainability & inspire an eco-conscious lifestyle.
2. MAKE ALL MARKETING MATERIALS DIGITAL - STAY AWAY FROM PRINT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
When marketing your business the online space is an incredible tool utilize. Opt for Newsletters instead of physical mail. Opt for digital flyers and advertisements over printed material.
3. MAKE ALL PRINT COLLATERAL OUT OF RECYCLED OR BIODEGRADABLE PAPER
If you do have to print marketing material, please make sure it is on recyclable or biodegradable paper / material. It is so easy to find recyclable paper to print on. I use MOO to print my cotton business cards that are made out of 100% recycled paper.
4.. MAKE PRODUCTS SUSTAINABLE - OUTSOURCE SLOW FASHION, FAIR WAGE MANUFACTURERS, OR FACTORIES THAT ARE SUSTAINABLY RUN OR LOCAL
If you are creating clothing, skincare, jewelry, etc, it is SO important to find sustainable ways to make your product. Do your research and find manufacturers or factories that are sustainably ran. It is especially important to make sure it is a Fair-Wage factory as well. I suggest reaching out to local warehouses & factories near you. The less your product has to travel the better for you and for the environment. When I am working on graphic t-shirts or merch for clients I ALWAYS make sure they choose sustainable organic cotton or hemp material. If a client is getting something screen-printed I also suggest to make sure the screen printer offers water based ink. This is SO much better for the environment. One of my friends own an amazing screen-printing warehouse called Superior Ink that is a certified green business. He also co-founded All-Made Apparel, a sustainable & fair wage t-shirt manufacturer providing living wages to locals in Haiti.
5. PACKAGE YOUR PRODUCTS SUSTAINABLY & MAKE SURE THEY ARE BIODEGRADABLE
Always package your products sustainably, whether it be in glass containers, or in recyclable or biodegradable boxes. Stay away from plastic. There are so many incredible alternatives to package your product in. One of our clients, Palm of Feronia, uses product cartons that are printed on wild-seed embedded paper made from recycled & biodegradable paper. The description cards for their products are printed on cotton paper made from recycled cotton t-shirts and are tied with hemp natural chord, she also chose glass bottles to reduce plastic waste.
6. OFFER FREE REFILLS OF PRODUCTS FOR LOYAL CUSTOMERS
Where possible offer refill cap options with a screw on cap. Create your products to be refilled by loyal customers. Especially if it is something they are buying consistently. Think outside of the box. How can you offer refills with your products so that the packaging is reused as often as possible?
7. USE RECYCLABLE & BIODEGRADABLE SHIPPING OPTIONS - DO NOT USE STYRO-FOAM PEANUTS
Styrofoam is one of the worst materials for our planet and for our oceans. When you open a box from Amazon think about how much plastic and junk you receive with your package. One million plastic bags are used every minute. Stay away from plastic. Ship responsibly and do not use plastic bags. Make sure your shipping boxes are FSC Certified, which means they are sourced from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly. They are 100% recyclable and are made from a minimum of 75% recycled fibres. Use tissue paper, tape and stickers that are also FSC Certified and make sure to use acid free, soy based inks for the print material.
8. PARTNER WITH COMPANIES THAT PLANT TREES AND PROTECT OUR OCEANS & WILDLIFE
You can partner with companies like Ecologi so that every item that is purchased from your business a tree is planted. Ecologi was created to tackle climate crisis through planting trees and funding climate projects. One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees, offers one for one business partnerships as well. For every $1 donated a tree is planted.
9. RECYCLE EVERYTHING
Recycle as much as you can! Recycle your products, your packaging, your shipping materials, things in your office and things in your world. Get rid of plastic as much as you can and do your part in recycling responsibly.
10. USE YOUR BRAND’S VOICE TO SPREAD THE WORD & START A CONVERSATION
This is SO important! Your brand has a voice, it has a community, it has followers, it has clients, it is its own entity. Utilize the power of your brand to spread awareness and hope for a brighter future on Planet Earth.