Romani "Ecological Business Card"

Design a business card for an environmental consultant. Business cards are usually made of paper. But using paper, even recycled, is not good for the environment. To avoid this issue, the solution was to not print any card at all, but to create a rubber stamp and then "recycle" anything that is at hand (carton paper, cigarette packs, napkins, and other wastes) into business cards. The new "business card" communicates clearly what this proffesional offers: clever new ways of recycling, saving money and protecting the environment. More than a card it's a piece of communication.

AquarioMania "Bring life anywhere"

In a bus stop, instead of an usual printed ad, they made a real aquarium full of real fishes. It showed that, with AquarioMania, you will bring life anywhere. Even to a bus shelter. Hey, free sushi for the homeless!

Our budget is bigger than the bailout

How much advertising do you think a trillion dollars will get you? Yeah. That's a lot. Hell, your descendants 7 generations from now will still be seeing your media buy.

But what if the trillion dollars was in Zimbabwe, where hyperinflation has rendered currency into worthless paper. Then how much of a campaign do you think you'll be able to pull off?

A billboard for The Zimbabwean composed entirely of Zimbabwean bank notes. What more proof do you need of a country’s total economic collapse than being able to stick trillions worth of currency onto a billboard...

Print Blogging Analog Style

Alfred Sirleaf is an analog blogger. He take runs the “Daily News”, a news hut by the side of a major road in the middle of Monrovia. He started it a number of years ago, stating that he wanted to get news into the hands of those who couldn’t afford newspapers, in the language that they could understand. To me this just shows the power of print and text. No matter where you go, there it is. Unpowered, undigitized, untouched by anything other than one person and two implements - a flat surface and something to scratch on it with.

The New York Times knew all about him back in 2006.

Greenpeace: Tree

Deforestation continues with the turn of a page. The global degradation and disappearance of the world’s forests has many causes including agricultural expansion, mining, plantation construction, infrastructure construction and forest fires. Greenpeace believes that global deforestation is primarily due to large-scale industrial logging. Industrial logging has become the greatest danger to forests, threatening more than 70% of the world’s endangered forests. We are experiencing an unprecedented rate of destruction of the world’s forest resources. We are utilizing journal pages and deforestation’s direct relevance to the rate of the destruction of the world’s forests to display the terrible result. The two pages’ varied lengths provide for an interesting magazine advertisement.

Logos that Fly!

Flogos are a new form of alternative media, using artificial clouds to disclose logos made from a soap based foam .

I have seen the future of promotions

And its name is M&M

USPS Setting Green Examples for Businesses

The U.S. Postal Service is leading the charge in going green as a business and is being smart about its future by testing a number of energy-efficient technologies. NPR took a look at some of the USPS' environmental efforts this weekend.

It was interesting to learn from the article that the Postal Service has the largest fleet of alternative fuel vehicles in the nation: 43,000 in all and it's using solar cells to power some buildings. It's also using eco-friendly packaging, among other efforts they're employing to reduce carbon emissions and waste. Hey USPS, keep up the great work! Now to get Canada Post on board!

Print ain't just for paper

The things you see when you walk down the street.

I'm sure some of these are familiar, but there are a couple that are absolutely brilliant executions of creative, and they definitely get the clients message out.

How do your customers view the environmental impact of your direct mailing?

DMNews and Pitney Bowes recently released the results of a survey of 1000 Americans that shows that many people grossly overestimate the environmental impact of direct mailing (pdf).

According to the EPA, direct mail accounts for just 2% of all municipal waste in the US. However, 48% of respondents guessed that waste from direct mail makes up over 1/2 of the total municipal waste, and 36% of respondents thought that direct mail makes up over 1/3. Only 20 of the 1000 respondents chose correctly.

What does that mean?

Although direct mailers do not actually fill the landfills with their material, many people believe that they generate very large amounts of waste. This is likely because people “dispose of mail every day, whereas the other big items are probably disposed of less frequently,” says Michael Critelli, executive chairman of Pitney Bowes.

“When you take a shower or operate a washing machine, you can’t really put your hands on how much energy is being expended,” adds Paul Robbertz, VP of environmental health and safety at Pitney Bowes. “But, when you physically touch something and move it [into the trash], it has more of an impact.”

Luckily, the survey also showed that respondents have very positive reactions when direct mailers make efforts to be more environmentally-responsible. Survey respondents reported they would feel more favorably towards direct mailers if they: Used recycled paper and cardboard products. (68% of respondents) Planted trees to offset paper production (67% of respondents) received a “green mail” label awarded by the industry or the EPA (53% of respondents) Obviously, conservation of natural resources and reducing waste is high on customers' priority lists.

The survey also clearly shows that companies need to do a better job communicating their green initiatives to the people receiving their direct mailings. And, as Robbertz suggests, the best way to to reach people is to put proof of environmental commitment directly in their hands.

When someone receives a direct mailing, and they end up putting everything in the trash, they assume that the company is not environmentally-friendly. If, on the other hand, a customer receives a mailing that is obviously made of eco-friendly materials--and then doesn't have to throw everything away, they receive a very different message about the direct mailer.

Nice shirt there, ya shill

In times of economic turbulence, one must think of new and creative ways to make a buck. This guy has found one.

Pitching it to the client would be an interesting experience.

Apples on apples

I say apple you think what? Fruit? An entire system of computing that mercilessly mocks non-apple aficionados? What if we put both together?

An owner of a Fuji apple orchard printed up custom stickers of iPods and the Apple logo. He put the stickers on his Fuji apples while they were still young and on the trees. A month later after the apples had matured, he removed the stickers.

As you can see the lack of sun reaching the apple cause them to keep the stickers original design.

Clean, safe, environmentally-friendly, green, eco, whatever the hell it's called. It's brilliant.

Now what to put on those watermelons next year?

EnviroFolders: 100% Reycled Presentation Folders

Nearly every business uses presentation folders. They're a very important carrier of your company's brand image because they're one of the first branded items put into the hands of potential clients, prospects or employees.

If your company is earth friendly and committed to sustainability, this is the perfect folder for you. The EnviroFolder is a durable, 20pt chipboard folder made from 100% post-consumer recycled chipboard. Printed with low VOC, vegetable-based inks, it features two inside pockets and an optional business card slit.

If the brown kraft look is just a little bit too "granola" for you, that's OK. It also comes in a pure white color as well (the EnviroFolder premium).

With a minimum order of just 250 folders, the EnviroFolder is the perfect recycled folder for businesses and non-profits of any size. The paperstock is more durable and will last longer than that used in most 'budget' presentation folders, making this a great investment in your image and branding.

Printing Friendly

Our environment should always be taken into consideration in both our personal and professional lives. Something that is constantly overlooked by businesses is the materials they use for printing. The paper and ink they’re using might be hurting the environment.Using post-consumer waste paper (PCW) is so much more environmentally friendly - it uses only recycled products in production. This prevents the unnecessary destruction of virgin tree fiber and helps preserve forestland and biodiversity. In the United States, currently 90% of our paper comes from virgin tree fiber, meaning that 90% of our paper is destroyed forest. Using PCW paper can help decrease the number of trees being cut down. The paper that most people are using is bleached with chlorine or chlorine derivatives. These chemicals can cause toxins and pollutants in several conditions, instead try to use paper that is Process Chlorine Free.

The ink you use can also be hurting the environment. Petroleum-based ink has VOCs, harmful toxins that can cause cancer and birth defects. VOCs are released when the ink dries on printed paper can even filter into the soil when printed paper is disposed of in a landfill. A healthier choice would be to use soy ink. It contains much less VOCs than petroleum-based inks and many people are already using it for magazines and other companies. Using eco-friendly printing is good for the environment and good for business. Customers will take preference in your business when they know you are putting an effort into helping the environment.