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Green Store Information
You recycle at home, take your own shopping bags to the grocery store, and
maybe even ride a bike when you would rather drive. At night you sleep soundly
wrapped in organic cotton sheets woven on a handloom at a Third World
collective farm. When designing your store why not use our ecology friendly
bamboo, cedar wood and recycled wine barrel display and decoration products.
These unique and natural looking products will help your business to attract
more customers and stand out in today highly competitive business environment.
The growing awareness of
the fallout from environmental damage and pollution has made all of us
�greener� consumers, but has it made you a greener retailer?
Simple changes to
lighting can engineer big savings and save our non-renewable resources. Over
ninety percent of our nation�s electricity comes from coal, gas, oil, and
nuclear plants. By switching to LED or ceramic metal halide bulbs for display
lighting you will realize substantial savings over the long run. But direct
energy usage isn�t the only way alternative lighting saves. Both LED and CMH
burn much cooler than the standard halogen display lighting, which cuts down
on air-conditioning costs. Even replacing incandescent bulbs with compact
fluorescents helps the environment. Some estimate that replacing one
incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent will prevent a half-ton of carbon
dioxide, a major culprit in global warming, from entering the environment over
the bulb�s lifetime.
Energy and materials
conservation in retail also pays marketing dividends. The eco-consumer�and
everyone else, is starting realize the environmental consequences of the most
seemingly benign purchase and the customer sees value in patronizing �green�
businesses. If your business can make authentic claims as a green retailer
you�ll have an advantage over your competitors.
As the relationship
between our everyday actions and the health of this great big blue planet of
ours becomes more and more apparent, the greening of retail only seems
natural�and responsible.
Tips for the
Green Retailer
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Buy supplies made from
recycled materials�bags, copy paper, etc.
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Offer re-usable
shopping bags with the store logo on them for a nominal cost or on high
ticket purchases.
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Offer a discount to
shoppers who bring their own bags.
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Recycle cardboard
packaging.
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Use dry popped corn as
a packing material, and include with the shipped item a note saying it can
be reused or spread out for birds to eat.
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Always ask suppliers
if they can use eco-friendly packaging. They probably are not yet, but if
more people ask for it, they will see the benefit of offering it.
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Use creative ideas for
gift wrapping. Don�t automatically put a box into another box, and then wrap
it. Use original packaging, use a gift bag, maybe reusable ones made from
scrap fabrics.
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Donate old and
outdated merchandise to charities rather than destroying it.
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Ask vendors what
materials they will accept for recycling�hangers, crates, etc.
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Try to offer as many
�green�? versions of products as possible and make sure to tout this as a
feature and benefit.
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When remodeling ask
your contractor to use as much green material as possible, flooring made
from sustainable woods, materials made from recycled materials, etc.
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Install a motion
sensor on the light switch in your stockroom.
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Talk your mall owner
or management to buy a baler for cardboard and plastic. The trash can then
be sold to pay the cost of the baler.
Stay current and
consistent with your green �strategy.� As consumers further embrace the idea,
your business and our environment will reap the benefits. |
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