The new consumer:. Making companies think

The Independent, UK, in a recent article notes that companies are now more concerned than ever about environmental issues.

The smart one have to be, because their consumers are driving them to thinking.

“Shoppers are becomingly increasingly frustrated by the voluminous packaging that fills their bins when they unwrap food. That irritation has been picked up in research. Consumers shouldering the hassle and moral unease about generating this vast, obvious waste could choose to patronise street markets that are cheaper and less wasteful. Consumers aren’t just annoyed because packaging is awkward, many are worried about the environment. And big companies are only too aware that, with climate change rapidly rising up the political and public agenda, green issues cannot be ignored.”

If that ain’t good news, what is?

Give me the lowest price and I'll give you lots of business

We get many inquiries from folks who tell us they’ll give us huge volumes of business if we can match a lower price someone has offered them. We don’t even try. Not because we're too cocky or very satisfied with our size or anything. No sir, that’s not it at all. We want more business and to be 100 times our size. It's just that we want, like all human beings, to be liked and to earn the appreciation and approval of the folks we work with. We don't want transactions to end with an unhappy customer who perceives us as being unreliable or making excuses or whatever. We don't want to take any risks on that front. And playing the price game exposes us to the risk of making our customer unhappy. Please let me explain why. Why do you suppose manufacturers in developing countries are more economical than those in the developed countries? If you’ve never thought about that, knowing why may help you understand why shopping for the lowest prices source isn’t always a good idea. The primary reason we are lower priced is we lack the superior infrastructure and systems of the developed world. In these circumstances, we face very different problems from manufacturers in the developed world. In the developed world, "things work" as a matter of course and system breakdowns are an aberration from the norm. Here, system breakdowns come with the territory. Being able to anticipate and "manage" manufacturing and delivery despite such events is the challenge we are required to address on a daily basis. As a small example, we know that it will rain heavily here in from the month of July to September and that at some times during this period our roads will get flooded to the point that normal movement will be compromised for as much as 6 to 8 days at a time. We also know that despite having this knowledge our governmental systems cannot prevent this from happening. So how do we deliver goods on time? We factor in the time and resources to work around such situations into our pricing so that our customers don't even get to know about what circumstances we work in. This requires maintaining an organization that is capable of doing so and that costs money. But there are many manufacturers here who are a lot more optimistic than we are and are happy to do a "cost plus" pricing and cross their fingers and hope that nothing will go wrong. That is why many Indian companies have acquired a reputation for delays and making "excuses". The fact is that they usually aren't excuses. They are real life circumstances that they didn’t anticipate or acknowledge, or couldn't be predicted accurately. Life here throws up such circumstances almost every other day. We're not into optimism. We work to the assumption that everything that can possibly go wrong will and that it’s our business to cope with that and deliver the best quality within the agreed time. Though most of our buyers are lovely folks, we don't ask that they be concerned or knowledgeable about or even interested in our circumstances. Anticipating and building in the required redundancies is our responsibility. Thus, our prices will always look higher than many of our competitors. We know this. We also know that there are buyers who are as interested as we are in building lasting relationships, and that there are buyers who prefer to shop around and find the lowest priced supplier and buy from them. We've positioned ourselves to appeal to the former type of buyer and we consciously let the latter kind of business go. Let me repeat, this isn’t because we don’t want more business. Its just that our desire to be liked is stronger than that. And we know that we can only be liked as long as we please our customers, so we will never take on any work where we are not confident of being able to make our customer very happy. So, if you're shopping for the lowest price, I would respectfully suggest that we're not your best bet. There will, I assure you, always be a lower priced supplier. But if you’re looking for people whose primary goal in life is to do everything they can to make you happier with every transaction, give us a holler. Info @ badlani.com. We’re itching to work with you.

No getting away from plastic waste

This beautiful picture is of Gabriola Island, a heavenly community of just 4000 lucky people in the Gulf area of British Columbia in Canada and I believe you can walk along it’s beaches and just pick up and eat mussels, oysters and clams.

On April 26th the Aurora Learning Center group did a beach clean-up.

"We were astounded at the amount of garbage scattered on the beach," said Aurora students Hannah, Morgan and Kenda. "We collected four bags of garbage, think how many animals that could kill! It is very easy to prevent this”.

"No wonder so many animals are becoming extinct," commented Kenda.

All they need to do is to ban or tax the use of plastic bags there, and use nice reusable cotton bags instead. I’m hoping someone from this little piece of heaven on earth will read this blog and find out how economical and elegant cloth bags can be.

US city governments seem underinformed

The online edition of the Detroit News makes disturbing reading. “Recycling isn't cheap, doesn't pay for itself and preserves little landfill space, said Tom Horton, president of Waste Management of Michigan, which operates several landfills and recycling programs "you're not going to save landfill space by recycling. You're not going to even break even. There's no dollars-and-cents argument. The reason to recycle is because you believe this is a method of waste disposal that matches your ideology." "We all want to do the right thing for the environment, but the economy is so bad," said Daniel Paletko, mayor of Dearborn Heights "you have people trying to survive just day to day, then you weigh the cost-benefit analysis and you wonder." A handful of legislative efforts to increase recycling have stalled. One proposal would expand the 10-cent bottle bill to juice, tea and sport-drink containers. Another would raise dumping taxes to $7.50 a ton and use the proceeds, $170 million a year, for recycling. The partnership, which wrote the study, wants to fund programs with a 1-cent fee on retail purchases. These guys are clearly unaware of what’s happening elsewhere, how Ireland has used a tax on plastic bags to cut usage by 90% and how profitable that was for their exchequer, how cutting edge companies like OzmoTech are generating diesel from discarded plastic containers, and how we in our modest way are converting discarded plastic bags into reusable ones. The problem is huge but enough people working at it will make things happen.

Ecological innovators. Love them Ozzies!

They're really leading on the eco-innovation front. What a delightful story this is; full of hope for us all. An innovative Australian technology that converts plastic bags, ice-cream containers, milk crates and wheely bins into clean diesel fuel suitable for cars, trucks, trains and buses is seducing environmentally conscious investors and local governments across Europe. Starting this year, OzmoTech will ship 31 plants - all manufactured in Melbourne - to 14 European countries, beginning with Germany later this year. The Berlin plant will transform 42,000 tonnes of plastic waste into 38 million litres of diesel fuel annually. In 2007, plants will be established in the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, followed by Luxembourg, Belgium, Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic. "We have a lack of energy and we have a lack of fossil fuels," says an EU business spokesman. "And we are realising now that in our waste there's more potential in converting some of those products into fuel. "Of course, there is money to be earned but most investor groups we have now are also concerned about the planet. So the profit is one factor but so is the future of the planet. "It was not sexy to invest in garbage and waste, but now it is becoming a professional, innovative market and therefore also interesting for venture capitalists to invest in," he says. "In Europe, people are realising that if you don't invest in waste, in clean water, clean air and clean soil, then your children and grandchildren won't have a life in 25 years." Technological advances helped EnvoSmart convince governments and venture capitalists that alternative fuels generated from waste were a sensible investment. Local authorities were also under pressure across the EU to reduce landfills. Under a Brussels directive, biodegradable waste going to landfill must be reduced to 35 per cent of the total within 10 years. "In the past, industrial processes for recycling plastic wastes were not profitable, because fuel was not produced in sufficient quantities, but with the Australian technology, the output is raised to 99 per cent. Each kilo of plastic gives almost one litre of diesel. Boats, trucks, buses, generators, every type of diesel motor could use the diesel produced." OzmoTech chief executive Garry Baker says the Melbourne group has orders for more than 60 plants worldwide, of which only 14 are destined for Australia. OzmoTech purchased the intellectual property rights to the ThermoFuel technology from a Japanese inventor three years, refining and advancing the process. OzmoTech has no competitors in the energy-to-waste industry. "As far as energy from waste and the waste-management industry broadly is concerned that has not worried us because we're working in a very specific field," Middleton says. He says he likes to give potential clients the example of one ice-cream container stuffed with plastic wastes that could be turned into diesel fuel that would drive a car 11 kilometres. "This plastic will go to landfill but we can turn it into something genuinely beneficial. It reduces demands on fossil fuels. Its environmental benefits are broad. Some of them are only modest. Regarding air emissions, the benefits are marginal but still are genuine. "There is a perception that alternative fuel is still backyard stuff. But I think we're right on the cusp now. There is a genuine shift in acceptance that this type of technology is operationally effective and financially viable." We also try, as you can see here. One day I hope we can come close to matching the scale of what these guys are achieving. More power to you, Ozmotech!

Reusable gift bags from fabric are a great way to go

Lucky Crow is a new Seattle-based business featuring upscale and eco-savvy fabric gift bags. Founded by Kristen Ragain, the company is striving to help consumers kick their disposable gift-wrapping habits in favor of their timesaving, eco-happy, and stylish alternative. "With over 2.7 billion dollars spent on gift wrap annually, it is obvious that we love to wrap our gifts. Our goal at Lucky Crow is to provide a simple, hip and reusable gift wrap alternative that soon becomes the norm in a society that fills up landfills at record speed." Says Kristen Ragain, Lucky Crow's owner. Their fully reusable 100% cotton gift bags feature retro, vintage-replica, and other stylish prints. Each gift bag has a classic grosgrain ribbon sewn into the side seam. For many, wrapping gifts is stressful and time consuming. Lucky Crow Gift Bags eliminate the need for wrapping paper, tissue paper, tape and scissors. Just pop your gift into the bag, tie a bow, and your gift is ready to be given. No stress, no mess, and it helps the environment. Lucky Crow Gift Bags are designed to be re-gifted, reused and recycled for years to come. They are sold in five sizes ranging from $3.99-$12.99 and are available for purchase at www.luckycrow.com Well done, Kristen. Celebrating Christmas with her extended family, she noticed that bulging plastic bags filled with discarded gift-wrapping materials stood next to their colorful Christmas tree at the end of the day. Sound familiar?! This typical scene, characteristic of most birthdays and Christmas' celebrated in our family, was suddenly very unappealing. She pictured countless families around the globe doing the same and knew there had to be a better way! So Kristen started making her own cotton gift bags and is now a great success. We wish her all success. If you'd like to do what Kristen has done but don't want to get into manufacturing, use us as your back-end. From cotton to jute to organza and taffeta we offer gift bags and wine bags to solve the very problem that got Kristen going. Our bags are so modestly priced that you'll probably find it more economical to buy from us than to make them yourself. Click on the link in the right column and see for yourself. That's not all. We'll customize them for you with your own selection of prints at a very nominal cost or even give you theme designs if you like.

It's catching on! Half-Price-Books start giving away re-usable bags.

Environmental groups estimate that 100 billion plastic bags are used annually in the United States. Once discarded those bags become trash, clog landfills and drainage systems, and cause harm to marine wildlife. Half Price Books, one of the nation's largest new and used bookstore chains and a dedicated supporter of national literacy projects and environmental issues, is making a commitment to further reduce the use of its recycled plastic bags by urging customers to use fewer bags and to utilize reusable bags whenever they shop. "The most effective way to reduce the amount of plastic litter in the environment is to reduce consumption. Half Price Books is using this Earth Day to announce its commitment to reduce the amount of bags used in stores by asking each customer if they need a bag rather than automatically handing one out, and by reissuing usable bags that come back into the store," said Kathy Doyle Thomas, executive vice president of Half Price Books. Additionally, in conjunction with Earth Day on April 22, the company is offering a re-useable canvas tote bag free with any $30 purchase between April 1 and April 30, while supplies last. The large bags can be used in lieu of a plastic bag when shopping. Since the plastic bag's introduction about 25 years ago, worldwide consumption rates have soared to more than 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost one million per minute. In a landfill, plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade, and as they breakdown into tiny bits, they contaminate soil and water. An estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year. Tied end to end that's enough to circle the earth 63 times. So many brands and corporate bodies claim to be concerned about the environment because they know it earns customer respect and goodwill, but too often their concerns don't manifest themselves in a manner that is tangibly visible to their customers. Giving away a reusable cloth bag is a great way to go. It gets seen. Every customer walking around with it becomes a walking billboard for the brand. It surprises me that more savvy marketers don't use this potent weapon. Particularly because cotton bags are so affordable. Check out our website to see how affordable they can be.