Green Awareness Offers Opportunities And Pitfalls For Company Promotion

By Author: Vikram Kumar
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The continuing growth of green awareness by consumers worldwide has created many new opportunities for businesses seeking new and innovative ways to promote their products and services. A report published by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) emphasized that, at its core, the green movement is about the reduction of waste and the minimization of humanity's impact on the environment.
"Companies that translate these goals into a holistic approach to offering differentiated green products and bringing down costs across the entire value chain have been rewarded with higher margins and market share. - The Boston Consulting Group: Capturing Green Advantage Consumer Companies

One of the ways for companies to transmit their commitment to "going green outlined in the BCG report was by the effective communication of a company's message on sustainability and green issues. The use of green or eco-friendly promotional products to promote a company's commitment to the preservation of the planet's ecology offers an interesting opportunity for companies but can also present potential problems if it fails to adequately research the ...
... partner it purchases promotional products from.
Promotional products have long been shown to be an effective marketing tool and offer a flexible, tangible, long lasting advertising option with results that are easily measured. In studies, promotional products repeatedly outperform television advertisements with test groups and, when added to an ongoing advertising campaign, created a favorable response toward the product of up to 44%, according to a 2006 Study by Louisiana State University and University of Texas at San Antonio.
The same study found that integrating a promotional product with TV and print ads increased referral value and improved the credibility of the message. Recipients of promotional products also tended to rate the advertising message more positively than those who did not receive a promotional product.
When these findings are coupled with the current boom in green awareness among consumers, the possibility for business to effectively market their services and products while communicating a commitment to the green movement is obvious. While the opportunities are plenty, marketing and advertising departments hoping to take advantage of the swing towards sustainability are faced with the problem of identifying a reliable company that can provide the level of dependability and green-credentials that they should be looking for.
A new phrase entering the lexicon of the general public is the term greenwash and, like its better known cousin whitewash the connotations of the phrase are not what you could describe as positive. Coined by New York environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986, the term refers to companies which falsely claim to be environmentally friendly or whose production processes of green products actually create more waste than is saved.
When greenwashing is coupled with the high costs, low dependability and long turn-around times associated with dealing with overseas companies, as well as the added cost implications of the inevitable middlemen, the economic and possible public relations consequences can be disastrous. To avoid the potential negative impact to a company's reputation through its association with a sub-par or greenwashed product, it is important to first fully research the potential company and the promotional products that they are offering before partnering with them.
Ecozuri, a California based manufacturer of eco-friendly reusable shopping bags designed to replace the plastic bags handed out at supermarkets, offers a unique solution for companies that may be looking for a one-of-a-kind brandable product with high potential reusability. The company offers a guaranteed-green product that is manufactured from 100% recycled plastics, collected and processed in the U.S.
With bright, in-your-face designs the bags are highly visible and have proved to be extremely popular with environmentally aware shoppers.
Because we run a factory direct program, we cut out the middleman, explains Ecozuri's founder, Lily Wu. Working with us, a business can easily transform their corporate gifts or promotional products to green products while paying less than ordering traditional promotional materials through traditional channels.
The custom-made factory direct program offered by Ecozuri is built around a production model that allows clients to interact directly with Ecozuri's manufacturing partners on product and logo designs, sample development and order fulfillment. Effectively cutting out all of the usual hurdles associated with dealing with similar suppliers, this young company helps its clients to achieve maximum savings, typically in the range of 10% to 25%, while achieving maximum flexibility in the design process for the client.
I suggest you work with Ecozuri. They are very easy to work with, commented one US-based client of Ecozuri's custom-made program, explaining why they choose to refer Ecozuri to their marketing partners on promotional product purchases.
For more information on Ecozuri and the companies unique promotional products visit www.Ecozuri.com and http://ecozuri.com/custom-made.html

Author Bio

Do you wish to make a strong statement with your promotional products and corporate gifts? There's no better way to do this than by going all-green! With a wide range of exciting environmentally friendly options from reusable bags and foldable bags to custom made green promotional goods , Ecozuri is your one-stop destination for everything green!