"Print Grows Trees," a promotion we created for the Printing & Graphics Association Mid-Atlantic (PGAMA), has resonated with printers and print consumers around the world since launching March 22. Promoted through industry press releases and transit ads (below), the "Print Grows Trees" website has attracted over 9,000 page views, thousands of visitors from as far away as South Africa, and over 1,800 results on Google, not to mention Twitter tweets and Facebook posts.

The posters strategically placed throughout Washington, D.C. are also drawing interest with more than 60 campaign inquiries to date, and will reach 54% of the city's adult population an average of 4.3 times during the campaign's five-week duration.

"Print Grows Trees" challenges the widely-held belief that by using less paper, trees will be saved, and shows that print on paper actually helps to grow trees.

It must have been 10 years ago when Prince Charles began urging British companies to put carbon labeling on all of their products. Many scoffed. Few complied. He then proceeded to “walk the walk” and monitor his own carbon footprint, even recently converting his 38-year-old classic Aston Martin – a 21st birthday present from the Queen – to run on 100 percent bioethanol fuel distilled from surplus British wine. (Who knew the British had surplus wine?)

The idea has been slowly catching on around the world, and with Walmart’s Sustainability Index (an initiative that will eventually rank every product on the retail giants' shelves so every customer will know exactly how sustainably it was produced), companies are going to have to play or pay. After all, when Walmart says jump, the world says, “How high?”

This is going to be a great day for the “paper vs. pixels” argument currently raging. International Paper recently brought the argument to light with their Down to Earth piece entitled “Are Pixels Greener than Paper?” (PDF 872kb) and they drew both praise and criticism for their efforts. The long and short of it is – if your digital gizmos and your ream of paper had carbon labels, the argument wouldn’t be quite as controversial.

Paper has got a lot better track record than plastic electronics – from the cradle to the grave. As much as we may want to think that our emails and iPhones are better for the planet, they are not made from renewable resources, can’t be economically recycled, don’t use as much as 50 percent biofuels to be manufactured, can’t biodegrade and don’t create an incentive for anybody to keep growing trees on Planet Earth.

We applaud International Paper for sticking their necks out and putting down some hard facts that not only help people think more clearly, but also may force the digital revolution to do a better job of owning up to its environmental impact. And we’re proud to be a part of the Down to Earth project with them.

So people – get out your Aston Martin, some unused wine and a jaunty driving cap and get ready for the labeling revolution. When you start tallying up your daily carbon footprint, you’re going to have to green up or go home.

    

 This week our team got to see two of our favorite types of work — and two of our greatest strengths — come together in one assignment for tissue manufacturing client Kruger Inc. An internal communications effort to stem losses due to workplace carelessness and indifference, the "War on Waste" blends our talent for creating a strategic and cohesive campaign with our passion for making the world a better place.

Calling the reduction of waste their "Number 1 business priority," Kruger plant management was experiencing accidents, damaged product, spoilage, inaccurate product volume and other areas of waste at a rate that, if ignored, would have exceeded $3 million by year end. Fortunately, most of the areas of waste were preventable. What was needed was an increased level of awareness and commitment on the part of every employee — an all-out war in which everyone bands together to defeat the enemy.

The first shot in the Kruger "War on Waste" was a series of WWII-themed posters mounted in protective frames and strategically placed throughout the 1.8 million square-foot manufacturing plant. The Dispatch, a biweekly employee newsletter, introduced the campaign, describing and picturing the enemy, laying out battle plans and featuring the heroic efforts of individual workers. Incentives are planned for waste-reducing efforts with a company-wide family picnic as a final celebration when overall goals are achieved.

And as it turns out, war is a fitting theme for the plant. During World War II, it was an important site for building the infamous B-25 bomber planes.