How to Make Your In-Store Print and Display Campaigns More Sustainable
Being sustainable doesn’t always come at a higher cost. It often just makes good business sense. In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we’d like to share five simple ways you can tap into your in-store marketing supply chain partner for eco-friendly, sustainable options for the procurement of your point-of-purchase materials: from design and construction to printing and shipping considerations.
1) MATERIAL SELECTION (this one is a biggie!)
Size does matter. Save money and produce less waste by altering the finished size of your print materials or your merchandise displays for a better yield on the substrate and/or press sheet. Always consider how your display will be shipped to avoid excessive DIM weight fees and to reduce Co2 emissions.
Heavier isn’t always better. Consider specifying a lighter material without compromising integrity. For example, a 10pt vs. 12pt cardstock, a 10oz vs. a 12oz vinyl, or .040 vs .060 styrene to reduce your printing, packaging, and shipping costs.
Choose a sustainable substrate. This one is obvious. There is a multitude of sustainable alternatives to the “typical go-to” print materials, and many don’t come at a higher cost.
Pre- and post-consumer recycled materials are available for offset and digital printing methods with varying recycled content depending on the print process.
Choose paper over plastic whenever possible. By nature, paper and corrugate are 100% recyclable*.
There are many alternatives to petroleum-based plastics that will achieve the same desired results.
Here are a couple of our newest offerings to consider:
EnviroKraft® - an Orora exclusive. 100% recycled and FSC-certified kraft corrugated material for litho label mounting and packaging.
Orora Board - 100% paper-based rigid sign substrate made from recycled content for indoor and outdoor applications. Replaces foamboard, PVC, and coroplast from .5mm up to 5mm thickness.
2) CONSIDER FABRIC
Tension fabric graphics are an excellent choice as a solution for indoor and outdoor graphic applications for many reasons. It is typically made of polyester yarns, it’s super lightweight and folds up into substantially smaller boxes for shipping. And it looks amazing!
Here are some of our sustainable fabric graphic solutions:
Eco Fabric - this material is manufactured using 90% less water with zero wastewater - meaning far less micro plastic particles are dumped into the water eco-cycle.
PET Fabric - made of 100% recycled PET water bottles that are ground to a pulp, processed into polyester yarn, then woven into fabric.
Aluminum and wood frames are 100% recyclable*.
3) PRINT ON DEMAND (POD)
The CMO Council estimates that 50% of retail marketing consumables go straight into the trash.
Print on Demand digital technology allows you to print content as you need it, producing more timely and targeted campaigns. POD reduces printing, storage, and shipping costs, as well as pollution and waste. With digital printing technology, you can print only what you need, and reduce your carbon footprint by using UV inks.
4) VARIABLE DATA PRINTING (VDP)
Variable Data Printing is a value-added service that offers a more effective way to convey messages with greater relevancy, clarity, and impact. VDP is a key enabling technology that makes personalized one-to-one marketing communication a reality, producing a customized message for each recipient.
It takes about 68 million trees per year to produce the piles of no-name mail that Americans receive annually and nearly 50% is thrown out unopened.
5) SHIPPING & FULFILLMENT
Bypass a box altogether. Have you noticed Amazon is shipping more products in envelopes?
Avoid re-shipping. There is no need to ship kits or overs to a DC warehouse location just to have them re-shipped to individual store locations at another date. To add to this, partner with a supplier that assures and measures kit accuracy to avoid reshipping.
Here’s how we can help:
Utilize our 4 coast-to-coast print manufacturing and fulfillment locations in the U.S. We can ship to 90% of the U.S. population in 2 days or less.
Right-sized packaging - custom-made in-house for an exact fit for your marketing kit contents which reduces costs and Co2 emissions.
Shipping can cost as much as 20% of your total campaign spend.
[*Some materials may not be recyclable in your area. Please check local guidelines.]
Orora Visual understands that sustainability is important to your brand, and (especially) to your consumers as well as your bottom line. Sustainability is “Our Promise to the Future”. It sits at the heart of our business and it’s how we’re evolving in a way that’s better for the environment and future generations.
CONTACT US before your next POP campaign, merchandise display, or product packaging need hits the drawing board. We can help you design and execute a campaign that can reduce your costs and your carbon footprint. And we have chain-of-custody recycling programs in place for many of our brand partners to prove it.
Happy Earth Day!