Go Green (or Go Home)!

DRUMMOND PRINTING, THE BIG GREEN PRINTING MACHINE

Employees at Drummond Printing, Stuttgart, Ark., know a thing or two about paper recycling. At the large-scale printing company, the understanding is vital. So, it is no surprise Andrea Barnes, vice president of national sales and marketing, said choosing recycled paper may not be enough. “People really need to question what type of recycled paper it is,” she said. “What you want to look for is paper that is all or a percentage of post-consumer pulp.” If it does not specify post-consumer, then it simply may be paper a mill or printer had left over and re-tasked to a different job. To this end, Drummond Printing teamed up with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a mill watchdog agency, to certify the amount of post-consumer pulp in the recycled paper they use. As long as there remain large-scale printers not using recycled paper, Barnes sees the program as essential, and noted, “I just think if everybody does something small, it can make a real difference.”

ORGANIC TEES AND THEN SOME AT ANVIL

The marketplace rules. Supply and demand dictate what’s made, when and for how much. It’s a system that at times leaves the environment completely out of the equation. Though more recently, Mother Nature is part of the discussion. Anthony Corsano, CEO of New York-based Anvil Knitwear, knows running a green business is good business. The new line of clothing, AnvilOrganic, was born because of this business concept. “We thought that there was just a basic business need. We felt that there were a lot of major companies out there that have corporate colors or lots of teams that want to promote team colors [organically]. So it made sense to do it,” he said. But the Anvil commitment does not end with the product line. “We recycle energy in terms of steam,” noted Corsano. “We use hot water that would normally be flushed back out into the waste system and heat the incoming water so we don’t have to use energy to heat it.” It’s a commonsense business practice that seems to be catching on as people realize adding green can add a little black to those quarterly earnings. “Forget the fact that [I] want to do as much as [I] can to help the environment. From a business standpoint, it’s even an easier decision, because nine out of ten of these initiatives save money,” he said. Aside from being fiscally responsible, Corsano finds it isn't difficult to strike a nice balance between business and the environment. “It’s not about having to change your manufacturing process in one fell swoop,” he said. “It’s about making the changes when they are appropriate and when they make sense.”