Posts Tagged ‘green’

Friday Featured Product: Eco Friendly Bags

 Friday, April 17th, 2009

Earlier this week, we discussed some tips on how to green your store. One tip was to switch to eco friendly bags. For this week’s Friday Featured Tip, we are going to take a closer look at eco friendly bags and how they can help your store.

Retailers go through a lot of bags. Plus, they go through different sizes of bags. Many times, these bags end up in the trash. Occasionally they are recycled. Groceries stores have historically tried to reduce this waste by offering bag drops at the store’s entrance for easy recycling. But this is not feasible for many independent retail stores.

Our suggestion is to try and use a more eco friendly product to begin with to ensure that your store is reducing the amount of trash that it produces. Store Supply Warehouse offers a variety of eco friendly bags.

One variety is the eco friendly frosted plastic shopping bag. These durable bags are made with 25% post consumer and post industrial products. And they are 100% recyclable. The bags are ideal for packing a shopper’s purchase or adding colorful tissue for simple, yet elegant gift bags. Each frosty bag is made of high density plastic for durability and features loop handles. Not only are they great for gifts, but because they are so durable, they can be reused more often than typical bags.

The other main variety is eco friendly kraft paper bags.  These bags are made from 100% post consumer material. These bags are also extremely versatile and can be re purposed as gift bags. They are tear resistant and can be used multiple times.

So give the earth a second chance and go green with any of these environmentally-friendly bags.

What other products does your store use to help it “go green?”

Tags: , ,
Posted in All, Featured Products | 2 Comments »

Tuesday Tip: How to Green Your Retail Store

 Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

As consumers increasingly turn toward green products and lifestyles, they also want their retailers to adopt green business practices. A poll recently conducted by the Global Strategy Group shows that 87% of consumers are more likely to buy products from an environmentally friendly retailer.

Now, not everyone can afford a complete revamp of their store and business practices in order to make their building and business meet green standards. In fact, by reusing resources that you already have, you are in fact being green by not wasting materials.
However, there are certain smaller things that you can do in order to help cut down on your environmental impact. In fact, many of these practices can slowly be adopted.

First, start recycling. From boxes, to packaging, to receipt paper, many retail organizations have a lot of unavoidable waste. Make recycling at least paper a standard practice in your store. Look up your local recycling center and find out if they will pick up your paper. In some areas, local schools collect newspapers and other paper to make extra money.

Another way to help green your company is to replace your light bulbs. Make sure you are replacing your old bulbs with florescent bulbs as the old ones burn out. Florescent and LED bulbs use less electricity and last longer, reducing energy and waste.

When cleaning, invest in a couple of cloth towels instead of always using paper towels. At the end of the week, take them home and throw them into one of your usual loads to reduce the amount of paper that is being thrown away.

Even your bags can go green. Switch to eco friendly bags. These types of bags are more durable and reusable so that your customers can turn them into gift bags, lunch bags or more. Plus, they are made of 25-100% post consumer materials and are 100% recyclable. Or, sell canvas bags that your customers can reuse.

No matter the change large or small, by incorporating green practices into your retail store, your customers will appreciate it and it will decrease your store’s environmental footprint.

What are some other tips you have for greening your store? How has greening your location helped increase sales and decrease costs?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in All, Packaging, Tips | 4 Comments »