MEDIA ARTS MONDAYS:
Rethinking “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”

Reduce, reuse, recycle — we’ve all heard it a million times. It was the simple mantra that marked the mainstream arrival of the environmental movement. But from this clever catchphrase has grown such a cacophony of “green noise” and green-washed marketing that people have gotten overwhelmed by the right things to do. However, since 83% of people say they would change their consumption habits to make tomorrow’s world a better place, brands still have an incredible influence on environmental change. Maybe a return of the three Rs is just the point of reference people need to get some new perspective on making change simpler. Many of us have already made “recycling” part of our daily lives (although over 75% of what we buy is still trash in six months), and “reducing” and “reusing” is something we’re doing a lot more of in this economy anyway. So it’s a good time to make them all habits worth keeping.

Regardless of where your company stands on the environmental movement, one thing is undeniable: with limited natural resources, the only future for our economy is to become a sustainable one. Whether you support new school, eco- friendly business strategies like cradle to cradle, zero waste, closed loop production, local living economy, green chemistry or not, marketers don’t have to wait for companies to figure out a long-term sustainable business strategy. It may not entirely solve  the problem, but rethinking “reduce, reuse, recycle” can represent new brand opportunities for marketers to take small steps in the right direction today.

Rethinking “Reduce”
Companies only looking at the environmental impact of the production and distribution of goods are not considering their marketing as part of its footprint. Placing ads on alternative-energy-powered billboards and in biodegradable media, going paperless with digital coupons, hosting climate-neutral events, designing eco-efficient packaging, and printing collaterals with soy-based ink on recycled paper with chlorine-free bleaching are all easy steps to reduce a company’s entire footprint.

Rethinking “Reuse”
In our throwaway society, encouraging people to reuse your product is usually not on the minds of marketers. But the ”Hand Me Down” line by Howies, a UK clothing brand, has a different spin. The line uses fabrics and materials made to withstand the test of time and are designed to look timeless. So that the company uses less resources in the end, the high-quality products come with a guarantee to last at least 10 years and a contract that asks consumers to commit to handing them down to a second-generation wearer.

Rethinking “Recycle”
Recycling normally results in a product of equal or lesser quality. Rethinking recycling has allowed Coca-Cola to upcycle its empty PET bottles into an entirely new product line with a different purpose: a sustainable fashion line . Its ”Drink 2 Wear” line is made of a blend of recycled plastic bottles and cotton featuring catchy slogans intended to promote recycling. The neck labels indicate the number of bottles recovered to create each shirt, reminding people that small steps can go a long way.

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