Trims Talks Eco-Friendly Promotional Products
I was trying to place this feeling. Suddenly the phrase “going green” irked me, and I was struggling to understand why. After all, I’m an enthusiastic member of a team that not only supports the green movement, but is seeking to promote positive change in this very area within our industry—searching for virtual gifting options to help our clients reduce their carbon footprints. And I’m totally on board.
But, even though I was excited to let everyone know that we’re working on this solution, spewing off the proverbial “We’re going green!” just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t shake the idea that someone, somewhere might mistake us for just another company jumping on the greenwash bandwagon.
The Hijacking of the Green Movement
“How Greenwashing Works” says the term greenwashing first came about in 1990, but the idea seems to go back to the mid-1960s when an environmental movement prompted corporations to adopt green practices.
As a society, we’ve been inundated with a bunch of companies showing off their seriously bad dye jobs. They’ve gone green–they’ve placed a leaf next to their logo and dropped some eco-friendly tags onto their site. Business Owner Patrick Cuccaro said that going green is “pretty cool, very difficult and quite expensive.” He goes on to say while the cool factor certainly remains, going green isn’t very tough if you have the right team and give it your heart, and with a small investment, it’s totally doable.
So why are so many companies skimping on the work?
The Right Shade of Green
What’s the right way to do green? Unfortunately for greenwashers, this involves some dedication. I believe there must be a clear shift in our thoughts from trend to lifestyle, and we should be consistently looking for ways to level-up. With that, let’s move the conversation to sustainability. For me, the word sustainability better evokes just how essential this movement is. Instead of being shrouded in hype, sustainability alludes to a fundamental nurturing. The very nature of the word helps it to exist as a buzz word that staves off extinction.
Trims thinks virtual
We love that event, meeting and expo planners are having conversations about eco-friendly events, and we’d like to forge partnerships to create a lasting push for sustainability. In keeping with this mission, we’re looking into virtual gifting to do away with trinkets and trash altogether. Find out how we’re trying to erase junk giveaways and carbon footprints in the industry here.
To check out some of our top picks for sustainable products visit our online shop or contact us, and look out for our next post where we’ll discuss how to find the perfect sustainable products.
Do you think “going green” has reached its buzzword peak? Are you walkin’ the sustainable walk? We sure hope so. Let us know your thoughts.
