Sustainability...and reams of paper
The big story at Outdoor Retailer? Sustainability. Wikipedia says of sustainability, "It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals in a very long term."
Excellent idea, and most outdoor-related companies have gotten on board with using everything from recycled polyesters (as in fleece), organic cottons, Merino wools, recycled rubber, bamboo, even coconut, to build their products (My company will have several items made incorporating bamboo and wool.) A couple companies showed up with brand new booths made with everything from wood to cardboard. Very cool! And our company purchased Carbon Neutral Energy credits for our team. It's a pretty cool concept. It would be really cool if airlines and gas stations offered them for sale. Better yet, if the companies selling air travel and autos did it themselves (yeah right!) Here's a place you can do it yourself if you're so inclined: www.b-e-f.org
Well, anyway, as we were talking about sustainability in our own booth I can't tell you how many people were dropping off comp copies of magazines, flyers, catalogs, etc. I just thought it was ironic that with sustainability being such a big issue that there was so much paper flying around. Granted, it can be recycled, and may or may not have been printed on recycled paper in the first place, and all these companies have 3 days to make an impression on the buyers (we are there to make money and keep our jobs after all). I just thought it was funny, and wondered how much energy is used to recycle and reuse?
Anyway, I guess we just all gotta keep doing our part. I hate to rinse out cans but even I will swish water around in them now, and recycle the boxes and papers even though it's a pain in the ass to cut and tie and fold all that stuff.
(Click the name of the post if you're interested in more about this subject)
Excellent idea, and most outdoor-related companies have gotten on board with using everything from recycled polyesters (as in fleece), organic cottons, Merino wools, recycled rubber, bamboo, even coconut, to build their products (My company will have several items made incorporating bamboo and wool.) A couple companies showed up with brand new booths made with everything from wood to cardboard. Very cool! And our company purchased Carbon Neutral Energy credits for our team. It's a pretty cool concept. It would be really cool if airlines and gas stations offered them for sale. Better yet, if the companies selling air travel and autos did it themselves (yeah right!) Here's a place you can do it yourself if you're so inclined: www.b-e-f.org
Well, anyway, as we were talking about sustainability in our own booth I can't tell you how many people were dropping off comp copies of magazines, flyers, catalogs, etc. I just thought it was ironic that with sustainability being such a big issue that there was so much paper flying around. Granted, it can be recycled, and may or may not have been printed on recycled paper in the first place, and all these companies have 3 days to make an impression on the buyers (we are there to make money and keep our jobs after all). I just thought it was funny, and wondered how much energy is used to recycle and reuse?
Anyway, I guess we just all gotta keep doing our part. I hate to rinse out cans but even I will swish water around in them now, and recycle the boxes and papers even though it's a pain in the ass to cut and tie and fold all that stuff.
(Click the name of the post if you're interested in more about this subject)
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