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PUBLISHER’S NOTES:

Christmas In April
With Earth Week just behind us, I admit ambivalence. On the one hand, Earth Day can legitimately be credited as the first step in the great awakening that is the modern environmental movement and it still serves as a once-a-year public reminder of our obligations to the planet. On the other hand, it’s beginning to look alot like Christmas, or rather the commercial aspect of Christmas, as it morphs into a day of candy coated sentiment, shopping, gifting and special promotions often tangentially related to the environment. As a result of my ambivalence, I have really struggled to find the right tone for this piece and, along the way, devoured a large, salty bag of pretzels out of anxiety. A big bag. Thankfully, just in time to save me from greatly expanding my carbon footprint, Sheri Koetting of MSLK in New York emailed an Earth Day message which possesses the innocence and simplicity I wish I could have captured on my own. Titled “Thoughts on celebrating Earth Day” she writes: “Wondering what you can do to honor Mother Earth? 1. Buy local, not global. Let’s join a food co-op and enjoy locally grown produce year ’round. 2. Healthy you, healthy planet. Let’s fix up our bikes. I want to get in shape and ride my bike to work. 3. Follow the sun. Let’s reduce our electricity by going to bed earlier and waking up with the sun. 4. One less plastic bottle. Let’s get a pitcher and glasses for our office instead of using dozens of water bottles at meetings. 5. Give the gift of time. Let’s stop buying material gifts and focus on spending more quality time together. 6. Enjoy the taste, remove the waste. Let’s cook dinner tonight instead of ordering food that comes with lots of disposable packaging.” Thanks, Sheri, for hitting just the right positive and unpretentious tone, as well as for saving me from the bag of chips I was about to attack. www.mslk.com

Weather Or Not
Something strange is happening in the debate over environmental problems. Americans increasingly see protecting the environment and solving the energy crisis as priorities of the first order. But climate change, not so much. The results of a recent Pew Research Center poll, nicely graphed by designer Charles M. Blow in The New York Times (April 19, 2008), display lagging interest. A new Nielsen Oline Buzzmetrics study shows decreasing buzz about global warming in the blogosphere. The bold new “We Can Solve It” advertising campaign by The Martin Agency for Al Gore et. al. is, in fact, a frank admission that indifference to the global warming issue remains widespread. I have done my own informal poll and this is what I hear: parks and trees, clean air and water, recycled and recyclable products, organic and local produce, affordable and alternative energy are all tangible, personal and promise relatively immediate benefits. Climate change feels a bit diffuse, intangible, distant in time and space. And while the planet is clearly getting warmer, many people still are not convinced by the expert explanations — and not just flat earth types as Mr. Gore alleges. Looking at the big picture, the environmental movement has much reason to be pleased and proud. We are all environmentalists now. Conservation and cleanliness have become identified with responsibility to oneself, to society and, for those so inclined, to a higher power. But like it or not, it is not yet clear whether the public will raise climate change to a similarly high status.

— Gordon Kaye, editorial@gdusa.com

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
SUSTAINABILITY AS STRATEGY

Doing something good for the environment is a wonderful thing, but it shouldn’t be the only impetus for a company seeking out green design. Businesses are in business to stay in business, and should look at sustainability as a powerful business strategy. Sustainability drives innovation, differentiation, and so much more. The missing step for most companies is how green design positively affects them. If businesses realize that sustainability is a way for them to save money, create a better product, and connect with customers who care about the environment, many more would be embracing the idea. It’s only when companies look at sustainable design as a business strategy that we’ll truly see more profitable companies, happier consumers, and a better environment.

Pamela Long, Little Big Brands, Nyack NY

THINKING GREEN

An Apple A Day
Officials in New York City have launched a campaign to encourage residents to save energy and be more environmentally conscious. The logo: a green, stylized version of an apple. In response, Apple — yes, that Apple! — is challenging the Big Apple — yes, that Big Apple! — over the right to use the fruit as its logo, saying it is too similar to its own and will confuse people. Needless to say, Apple’s logo is white, with its signature bite mark. New York City’s proposed trademark is a green, figure-eight outline evoking an infinity sign, and the word “greenNYC” under it. Among other things, the company cites its Manhattan flagship store, the giant glass cube on 5th Avenue, as a tourist attraction, and claimed people walking around carrying bags or accessories emblazoned with GreeNYC apples would “‘likely cause dilution of the distinctiveness of [the Apple brand], resulting in damage and injury to the company.’”

SFI Printer Milestone
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative program has reached a significant milestone in its mission to promote responsible forest management, awarding its 100th chain-of-custody certification for printers to Standard Register at its plant in Salisbury MD. “We are proud to welcome Standard Register to the SFI program and are especially pleased that we begin our relationship by sharing in this milestone,” said SFI Inc. President and CEO Kathy Abusow. “At a time when just 10 percent of the world’s forests are independently certified, Standard Register has taken a leadership role by supporting global efforts to improve forest practices.”Said Tom Furey, vice president and general manager for Standard Register. “SFI certification confirms that our customers are making an educated, environmental choice about the products they buy.” A complete list of paper and print participants is online.
http://www.sfiprogram.org/paperprinting.cfm

Macy’s At The Park
In honor of Earth Week, Macy’s partnered with the National Parks Foundation to raise funds for parks around the country. Called “Turn Over A New Leaf,” the Macy’s campaign invited customers to make $5 donations to the National Park Foundation at Macy’s stores or online, and receive a shopping pass good for discounts off many items at the store. The focus was on environmentally-friendly clothing, unusual for retail stores, since very little mass-produced clothing is made with organic or renewable materials, and few clothing stores have staked out the eco-friendly space. “The National Park Foundation is proud to be chosen as the first charity in Macy’s history to be the sole beneficiary of the national charity shopping event,” said Vin Cipolla, president/CEO of the Foundation.
www.nationalparks.org

Screws Not Glues
Green Design Wiki, a study project conducted by UC Davis Design student Alan Wells and UC Davis Professor Tim McNeil, aggregates information about sustainable materials and methods for exhibition design. The project was begun done in connection with a series of exhibitions at the UC Davis Museum on the topic of the environment; in the wiki spirit it remains open for additions and revisions. Here are McNeil and Wells’ top ten list: 1. Improve the energy efficiency of exhibition lighting by installing timers and sensors. 2. Adjust exhibition climate control settings where possible. 3. Design modular exhibition components/furniture for recycling or reuse. 4. Practice the 4R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, reinvest. 5. Use low VOC paints. 6. Avoid vinyl-based sign products. 7. Print on 100% postconsumer paper using non-petroleum-based inks. 8. Use agri-fiber products rather than wood-based particle boards. 9. Use screws instead of glues. 10. Inform staff, vendors, and especially visitors about the efforts.
www.greendesignwiki.com

Means To An End
Inspired by the vision of an English graphic designer, Gemma Nesbit, basket maker Tony Carter is making coffins of year-old willow withies from the Somerset Levels in south Norfolk, England. The willows cropped each year are a renewable resource and can be woven into a surprisingly suitable coffin — the ultimate sustainable, environmentally friendly, means to the End. Not entirely unheard of in the history of human death, willow weave is said to be having a resurrection due to the efforts of Nesbitt, who saw coffin-shaped fruit and vegetable baskets in the street markets of West Bengal. Back in England, she sketched an adaptation and then scoured the basket making fraternity in search of an able and willing craftsman to execute it. Carter stepped forward. The coffin is called the chrysalis and the explanation can be found in the literature of the Natural Death Centre, a charity which advises on alternatives to the mainstream services offered by the undertaking industry.
www.newwayswiki.org/blog/2008/04/eco-coffins

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
AGFA GREENWORKS LAUNCHED

Agfa Graphics has launched a new program called GreenWorks™, part of the company’s environmental recognition and support efforts. The GreenWorks program honors those customers that are proactively involved in environmental responsibility, and is assisting GreenWorks companies in building awareness about their accomplishments. Agfa has been an early proponent of the need for greener technologies, policies and procedures. To become part of Agfa's GreenWorks program, printing companies must be users of Agfa's ThermoFuse™ platemaking technology. This includes the chemistry-free :Azura plate and the low-chemistry :Amigo plate, both of which significantly reduce the impact on the environment as compared to conventional digital or analog plates. In addition, GreenWorks printers must demonstrate that they are active in other environmental initiatives, as well as being involved in efforts such as recycling, reducing waste, or using alternative energy sources in their plants.

“For the graphic communications industry, being green means developing new technologies, adopting smarter policies for daily business operations, and promoting environmental responsibility as broadly as possible so that others become involved,” says Susan Wittner, marketing director, Agfa Graphics, North America. “With the GreenWorks program, we identify those print companies who have successfully adopted greener policies and should therefore be seen as leaders of true environmental responsibility. In addition, we want to connect print buyers seeking environmentally sensitive printers with Agfa GreenWorks printers.”

On Earth Day, Agfa announced GreenWorks recognition for several printers: AMPA Printing (Markham, Ontario), Astro Printing (Cornwall, Ontario), Bassette Company (Springfield, Massachusetts), Berman Printing Company (Cincinnati, Ohio), C&D Printing (St. Petersburg, Florida), CCPRESS.NET (Baltimore, Maryland), Chinese Computer Typesetting (Scarborough, Ontario), Designers Press (Orlando, Florida), Heritage Printing and Graphics (Leonardstown, Maryland), HIMS Desktop Publishing (Scarborough, Ontario), Lightning Graphics (Scarborough, Ontario), Litho Impressions (Temple Hills, Maryland), Litho Mille Iles (Terrebonne, Quebec), Printcom (Toronto, Ontario), PXPOHIO (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), Spectrum Printing (Rockville, Maryland), and Thermo Trade and Litho (Toronto, Ontario). Companies that have already received environmental recognition awards from Agfa also automatically become part of the program.
www.gdusa.com/agfa

GREEN PEOPLE

Al Gore
Love him or hate him, informed by him or annoyed by him, Al Gore makes his presence felt. His latest effort to make his point about climate change is a three-year, $300 million campaign aimed at mobilizing Americans to push for aggressive reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, a move that ranks as one of the most ambitious and costly public-advocacy campaigns in U.S. history. The Alliance for Climate Protection’s “we” campaign employs print, online and television, ahd highlights the extent to which Americans’ growing awareness of global warming has yet to translate into policy changes. He said the campaign, to which he is contributing an estimated three million dollars of book and prize money, is intended to create a sense of urgency that will ultimately cause the government to act. “The simple algorithm is this: It’s important to change the light bulbs, but it's much more important to change the laws,” he said. “The options available to civilization worldwide to avert this terribly destructive pattern are beginning to slip away from us. The path for recovery runs right through Washington, D.C.” The Martin Agency of Richmond VA has developed the website, print, radio and television ads, the first of which uses historic footage to link this cause to other challenges in American history, such as D-Day, civil rights, and the moon mission, and the second of which pairs unlikely supporters of the the message such as the Rev. Pat Robertson with the Rev. Al Sharpton and Nancy Pelosi with Newt Gingrich. Designer Brian Collins is responsible for the logo, which is featured in the upcoming May edition of Graphic Design USA.
www.wecansolveit.org

MORE THINKING GREEN

1-800-Recycle
The company, 1-800-Recycling, has launched. A division of Electronic Recyclers International, the firm aims to be the top resource for responsible recycling across the country. John Shegerian originally bought the failing Computer Recyclers of America in 2002 and changed the name to Electronic Recyclers International. For the past 12 months he has pursued the 1-800-Recycling name. The phone number and URL were owned privately and a deal was finally completed. (1-800-Recycle and 1-800-Recycles are owned by the government.) Over the past six years, the company has emerged as the leading electronics waste recycling brand. Shegerian says he is looking to expand by partnering with all types of recycling agencies throughout the country. “We want to be the No. 1 recycling brand in America,” he says. “Look at what Al Gore has done and what the media has done to raise consciousness in America. We need to make it part of the American DNA . . . It’s great to make a difference and a profit.”

Not Just A Baby Step
It seems as though we have a Wal-Mart story every month, but these people continue to take the offensive on sustainability and their sheer size makes action important. The company has opened its latest generation of energy-efficient test stores this week with a Las Vegas Supercenter that uses new cooling technology to cut overall energy use by up to 45 percent. The previous pilot stores in the Midwest cut energy use up to 25 percent compared to a typical Supercenter built in 2005, the year Wal-Mart launched a broad environmental program to reduce energy use and packaging waste and to sell more sustainable products. The company is reportedly the biggest private user of electricity in the world and has huge potential to cut back on greenhouse gases from fossil fuels burned to create electricity. “This is not just a baby step. This is a big step,” said Terry Townsend, past president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Michael Recycle
Environmental superhero “Michael Recycle” is flying out of bookstores. The hardback children’s picture book comes from Worthwhile Publishing, a division of San Diego-based IDW Publishing, which specializes in comic books. The plot involves a green-caped crusader descending on a grimy, trash-ridden town. Written by Ellie Bethel, and illustrated by Alexandra Colombo, the book is the first to be published by IDW Publishing’s new imprint, Worthwhile Books. Aside from comics, IDW publishes graphic novels. Despite his outfit, Michael tells the people they must recycle — all in rhyme, of course (“You've got to recycle! You’ve got to act soon! Before all your trash reaches up to the moon”) — and they listen to his advice. The book ends with several simple green tips for children to implement.

Jumping To Sustainability
Adam Richardson and Sara Todd, executives at Frog Design, have developed a seminar addressing the fundamental issues of sustainable design. Drawing from a wide range of sources and case studies — as well as frog’s own experience — the program will address key issues framing sustainable design, how it can be evangelized and initiated in an organization, and how it impacts on choices of product planning, production partners, brand and marketing. Richardson and Todd are two leaders of Frog Design’s sustainable design initiative, which involves making Frog itself a greener company, as well as assisting frog’s clients develop products in more sustainable ways. The current schedule calls for May 15-16 in San Francisco and October 16-17 in Denver.
www.dmi.org

Far Above Cayuga’s Waters
A team from Cornell’s Office of Publications and Marketing won prizes in this year’s Green T Reuse Design Contest, an Ithaca-based project of SewGreen, a nonprofit organization encouraging sustainability in fabric, fiber and fashion. The ensemble, dubbed “The Realitee for Humanitee: Sustainabilitee,” was created entirely out of more than 100 recycled t-shirts and consists of a reversible cape, a hat that converts into a drawstring purse, a coordinated belt and a couture coat with a designer leash. Graphic designer Wendy Kenigsberg — a member of the team that also included Lorraine Heasley, Dennis Kulis, Linda Mikula, Deena Rambaum, Leigh Ann Sullivan, Donna Vantine and Sally Dutko — explains, “This was designed for the wearer and the dog to do the Waterfront Trail together.” The contest called for using recycled cotton clothing and fabrics; the dog is designer Deena Rambaum’s.

COMPANY DEVELOPMENTS

Officially Greenified
My1Stop.com has become officially Greenified. With the guidance of Green Business Alliance, My1Stop.com has successfully implemented specific practices intended to benefit the environment and its employees while also boosting its level of corporate social and environmental responsibility. Says Amy Silvers, Business Development Analyst of My1Stop.com “We are pleased that Green Business Alliance has enabled us to meet our company's environmental goals. We believe that Greenifying our company will help the environment and will provide an impressive differentiator for prospective customers who are considering purchasing from My1Stop.com. It can also be a meaningful tool for retaining our customers.” The company, led by President Michael Del Chiaro, has made changes to its daily business practices as they relate to copying, printing, recycling, energy use and more. It is also in the process of adding several product categories ofeco-friendly products to the website. Hilary Kusel, Executive Director of Green Business Alliance states: “The business community has an unprecedented opportunity to lead employees and subsequently our citizenry to a Greener future. My1Stop.com’s efforts demonstrate how a printing company can make a positive impact in the community and on our environment.”
www.my1stop.com and www.greenbusinessalliance.com

Univenture
For Univenture, inventor and manufacturer of a wide variety of eco-friendly packaging, document storage and marketing mailers, Earth Day 2008 had a special meaning. This year marks the twentieth anniversary for a company founded with the single purpose of providing alternative products better for the environment than traditional items. Founded at the start of the CD revolution with the concept of reducing the plastic in the jewel box, the boot-strapped startup has gone on to be listed five times in Inc. 500’s fastest growing privately held companies. The newest brand is EcoEndure: a culmination of all Univenture's patented and proprietary technologies. Ross Youngs, the CEO and Founder stated, “Univenture invests heavily to remain aware of evolving opportunities within the field of green’ materials relating to products and packaging. Our goal is to take advantage of all commercially viable technologies at early stages in order to benefit our customers.” Interestingly, Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” recently landed on retail shelves enclosed in a distinctive EnvyPak sleeve made by Univenture with EarthFirst® PLA film from Plastic Suppliers made with Ingeo™ polymer. “The typical plastic DVD case was shunned by producers and Mr. Gore in favor of minimal packaging,” noted David Coho, Univenture Vice President of Sales at the recent Green Media Summit.
www.univenture.com and www.unikeep.com

Sunny Connecticut
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund honors Curtis Packaging with a Connecticut Clean Energy Communities Award. The company’s commitment to renewable energy has resulted in the City of Newtown qualifying for a free solar energy system from the Fund. As part of this commitment, Curtis Packaging has purchased enough clean, renewable energy to account for 100 percent of their electricity needs, ranking them among the leaders in the printing and packaging Industry. Comments Don Droppo, Jr., senior vice president of sales and marketing. “It is exciting to be part of an effort that delivers the benefits of clean energy to community where we live and work.” Curtis Packaging is 100 percent carbon neutral, uses 100 percent renewable energy and is FSC certified.
www.curtispackaging.com

Veggie Power
FiberMark, a leading producer of specialty papers and fiber-based materials, has converted the manufacturing operations at its Vermont headquarters to be able to run up to 100 percent used vegetable oil. With this conversion, FiberMark becomes first manufacturer in the state of Vermont to generate part of its process energy from waste biofuel. The “green steam” produced by the vegetable oil not only powers FiberMark’s Brattleboro paper machine turbine and dries its papers, but also provides heat for the plant. “FiberMark is committed to executing environmentally sustainable practices wherever possible,” said Steve Pfistner, vice president of safety and environmental management. “Our manufacturing processes, our products, and our company culture are all designed to promote environmental responsibility.”
www.fibermark.com

SPECIAL OFFER: CD OF WEBINAR ON
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGE DESIGN

Designing for Sustainable Packaging was an extraordinary two-hour Webinar broadcast this winter, with sponsors including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and Package Design Magazine. This special webinar features up-to-the-minute insights into the market forces affecting package design and sustainability. The program probes the real meaning of sustainability as it applies to package design professionals — from the state of the industry, consumer perspectives, marketing strategies, regulatory issues, and spotlighted success stories. For more information and information on ordering, visit...
www.packagedesignmag.com/eblasts/html/080220/msg2.html

HOUSEKEEPING 

Entry forms for the surpassingly popular American Graphic Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA can now be downloaded at...
www.gdusa.com/contests/agda.php

TOP 5 SUSTAINABILITY BLOGS FOR 2007

By Number of
Sustainability Messages
(Source: Nielsen Online, BuzzMetrics)

TreeHugger
treehugger.com

Worldchanging
worldchanging.com

Biopact
biopact.com

The Oil Drum
theoildrum.com

The Alternative Consumer
alternativeconsumer.com