The Holistic View

At a recent Trade Show show in Germany many suppliers were marketing their items as eco-friendly and their reference was specific to the materials used in production. Equally many European distributors were asking searching questions beyond the material used about the production and overall impact of the products life-cycle. A clear demonstration that they and the marketing departments they communicate with are digging a little deeper when presented with “green” options.  This is also fast becoming the trend within the UK.

How can one determine whether an item really is good for the environment even if it’s made from a recycled or other eco-friendly raw material? Well I’m afraid there is no simple answer or formula to working that out. To take a holistic view on a product you have to take a step back and look at the whole life-cycle and ask whether the item in question is best in class, worst or somewhere in the middle. The only way to do that is to compare it with the alternatives. Also you need to know what it is you are trying to achieve by buying recycled, eco-friendly or ethical items.

 

The easiest example to use is thankfully also the biggest selling promotional item; the pen. Pens come in all shapes and sizes, styles and price points. If you are after a relatively in-expensive plastic pen there are lots of great value recycled pens made in Europe in factories where all staff are covered by EU laws and should be paid properly and well looked after.  This is certainly near the top of the class compared with similar pens made in China where carbon footprint needs to be considered and the well-being of the staff producing them. If you are trying to use recycled materials and reduce carbon emissions and are considering the ethical production it achieves your goal. However these pens are often not refillable and have a relatively short life.

If you have the budget and your aim is to reduce the amount a power that goes into making pens and the volume of raw material used you may opt for a refillable metal pen that is going to last a long time, for example 20 or 30 times longer than a plastic pen with regular refill. It may not have any recycled material at all and may have been made in China where conditions are not great but looking at it from a carbon point of view rather than ethical it achieves your criteria.

Comparing cheap plastic pens with one another and expensive ones alike it is possible to determine which of the options available to you is best for the environment even if they are not always zero impact or actually “good” for the environment. The same principles apply to bags of course, Fairtrade versus Organic, Chinese versus Indian, and unbleached cotton versus recycled PET.

Ethical production, transportation issues, recycled or sustainable materials, cost, carbon emissions in production, life time of the product, the list goes on and it’s hard to know where to stop. Think about all these things and prioritise them, make comparisons between products and try to find out more about the overall life cycle of the product rather than simply looking at the one benefit being pushed by the producer / wholesaler.