The following is guest post submitted to me by the ecopreneurs over at Grow and Make – The Sustainable Living Store.
When MC Milker at Ecopreneurist asked me to consider sharing some of the writing we had been doing at Grow and Make with her readership, I reflected on what it means to be an entrepreneur in this emerging era of sustainability and the dilemma that we face as both responsible stewards of the earth and successful business people. Grow and Make was founded on the premise that we should create a business which encourages and enables consumers to return to the consumption habits of the 19th century when, through necessity, individuals and families would ‘grow’ and ‘make’ more of their everyday essentials.
Individuals and businesses wishing to adopt more sustainable practices must recognize that minimizing consumption is key to living in a more sustainable manner. Moreover, it is critical for consumers to understand the life-cycle of the goods they consume recognizing that all products leave a significant environmental trail from the cost of conception and production, through the supply chain and into the hands of the consumer, until it’s ultimately discarded and placed in landfill and/or the atmosphere.
While each of these links in the chain can be offset by responsible manufacturers and consumers to some degree, there is no substitute for the benefits of a decision to not consume a product at all.
As an entrepreneur, business owner and consumer, this does presents a dilemma. How to continue to encourage and enable production of goods for consumption while simultaneously discouraging and raising awareness about the perils of consumption?
I believe that the best way to overcome this dilemma is to create best practices for both manufacturers and consumers to consider when creating and consuming goods.
First, a manufacturer developing a new product should consider whether their product will offset a consumers general consumption needs and potentially decrease the consumers environmental impact. Examples would be shoes made from recycled materials, products with a lifetime warranty, or a product which is made of completely bio-degradable materials. Digital examples would be creating digital goods (MP3′s or audio books), services which replace traditional paper (cragistlist vs. yellow pages) and services promoting re-use and sale of used goods.
Second, a business should include in their product planning methods of manufacturing and distribution which ensure a minimal environmental impact. This can be accomplished by using direct to consumer shipping whenever possible, and creating products for a local market which utilize local resources and sourcing manufacturing materials locally.
Third, businesses should consider creating products with significantly longer life spans. While this is impractical for many products, it is also a great design challenge for entrepreneurs. By creating products which can be upgraded, retro-fitted, or are simply indestructible, we can communicate to consumers the inherent environmental and cost benefits of purchasing a product which will last a generation. I long for the day when I can buy a dvd player which the manufacturer claims will only need to be replaced when dvd’s are obsolete, which may not be too far off.
Fourth, find ways to package products which are sustainable by utilizing recycled and bio-degradable materials for packaging while minimizing packaging as much as possible.
Lastly, adopt marketing and promotional standards which are less impactful to the environment by using digital and word of mouth promotion. Build your brand by promoting your sustainable practices and you can stand apart. Create incentives for consumers to purchase your products which go beyond price and features, but provide value through longevity and re-usability.
I’m sure that there are many other guidelines and important considerations for sustainable entrepreneurs, but we believe these provide a great starting point. Ultimately, we as entrepreneurs have an opportunity and an obligation to create products which are compelling in the market while simultaneously having a net positive outcome for the environment and those we share it with.
Will Johnston – CTO
www.growandmake.com
www.growandmake.com/blog
The Sustainable Living Store
Photo Credit: Toasty at Flickr Under Creative Commons License
In reply to mcmilker’s “The Sustainable Entrepreneur’s Dilemma”:
This is very good thinking, and I would like to add a few of what I think are likewise fundamentally sound thoughts to consider in producing goods that reduce our environmental impact. They are deducible from this comment, but more explicitly:
1. All products should be designed to be re-used, recycled, or repaired. No more “disposable” products, please.
BMW is one of the auto makers that have been doing this, and I believe Mercedes Benz and Ford are also doing it to some extent, for examples.
2. All manufacturers should be held responsible for either recycling their products themselves or ensuring that they are recycled, by directly supporting recyclers.
I’m not a big consumer, so I don’t know the extent of this, but I believe HP has been doing a good job and continues to grow its recycling efforts.
3. Another idea is encouraging, via public policies and perhaps incentives, the development of a “re-manufacturing” industry. We should learn from Cubans about how they keep 1950′s American cars running so long:). I believe there is a company in New Jersey that makes a good business from re-manufacturing old Volvos, also.
This should include all durable goods — re-use through re-manufacturing, hmm?
Teriffic post. Another important thing we can do (as consumers)is to put pressure on companies tht are guilty of greenwashing by calling them out on it whenever possible.
I work with a company called StalkMarket — another sustainable entrepreneur with a similar dilemma to the one you outline above. They make Earth-friendly disposable table ware, to-go containers and food packaging. On the one hand, they recognize our disposable culture is a significant contributor to some of the worst environmental problems we face today. On the other hand, the products that StalkMarket makes definitely provide environmentally superior alternatives to similar items made of polystyrene, plastic, etc. This is one of the main themes that StalkMarket addresses on its blog (http;//blog.stalkmarket.com)
I address the PR and marketing implications of greenwashing at my own blog here http://blog.koifishcommunications.com/2008/09/17/greenwashing–time-to-find-a-new-fad.aspx.
Dean,
Great discussion point- where does “disposable” fit in a sustainble-oriented culture? What steps can we as ecopreneurs take to ensure recyclable products ARE recycled? And at what point…now this may be a silly question…but – could we get to a point where consumerism is so rampant that there is too much to recycle?
From the StalkMarket standpoint, they begin by upcycling sugarcane stalks that have been gathered from sugar refineries to make disposables that are biodegradable and compostable. The trick is to make sure these items, once used, actually make it to the composter rather than the landfill (though they will break down in the landfill eventually).
There are a lot of things consumers can do on that front. First, they can start composting at home. Second, we should all make sure we put pressure on state and local governments to make sure waste is handled in the best, most environmentally way possible. Composting should be part of the mix there as well.
There are a number of pieces that discuss this in more detail on the StalkMarket blog as well. Since I managed to enter the wrong URL in my first comment, I hope you won’t mind if I correct it here. It is http://blog.stalkmarketproducts.com.
Thanks.