Growing Sustainable Sales

As I wrote the title, I realized it could have a number of meanings. Of course, one is how to develop a pipeline to have sustainable sales growth. Another might be how do you develop your network to have sustainable sales. However, today, I want to talk about actual Sustainable Products and how they can help you grow your sales.

Sustainable, Eco-friendly, recyclable products have been around for more than a decade. Years ago, everyone was touting how we all should be selling this to our clients. It was the new BIG initiative we should all be “pushing” to our clients.

And for a brief moment it did seem to catch on, until customers saw the price. Then many company’s “green” initiatives went in another direction to show their support of the environment. And many of those eco-friendly products disappeared.

Pandemic Showed Our Impact on the Environment

During the pandemic shutdown of 2020 many of us witnessed firsthand how our environment is affected by what we do. We saw how pollution dissipated in many cities dramatically because there were so few cars on the road. Bright blue skies reappeared where they used to be smog ridden. And amazingly wild animals thrived (we had many foxes all of sudden wondering my neighborhood just south of downtown Miami!). And it didn’t stop there.

According to Greenbiz, we are also saw a reduction of water consumption. Seems we use less water when we are paying for it. Our showers are shorter than if we are at a hotel or health club for example. As well as becoming more efficient in our purchases. We are planning our purchases better it seems so we are having less waste.

Suppliers have Introduced a Wide Array of Eco-Friendly Products

These trends are getting press and as such, more and more companies are saying, “we need to support the environment better”.  And luckily our suppliers were paying attention to this trend over the last few years and have introduced many new and innovative products made from sustainable or recycled materials.

Personally, I have several customers that have requested that we only present “environmentally friendly” products suggestions. Now what that means can be very different to different companies. For instance, some are okay with any item if it is “reusable” even if it is not made from a sustainable resource.

Know the Terminology

As I have gotten more involved, I found it important to be able to help our customers understand some basic terminology:

Eco-Friendly: not harmful to the environment

Recycled materials: includes many kinds of glass, paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, textiles, electronics and others that are recovered or diverted from the non-hazardous solid waste stream to reuse or reclaim a portion to use in the manufacture of products instead of using raw or virgin materials.

Sustainable resource: Raw materials are renewable (they naturally replenish itself)

Non-renewable resource: Broadly this is anything that is mined; obviously some resources are more plentiful than others, while others are not; for example, iron ore is set to run out within 65 year at the current rates of extraction

RPET or recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET): the most recycled plastic in the world; the plastic content is rPET if it has been recycled so the material is produced without exhausting natural resources

Pre-consumer Recycled Cotton: converting cotton fabric into cotton fabric that be reused in products. Pre-consumer typically consists of scraps created by yard and fabric by-products

Post-consumer Recycled Cotton: repurposed garments, upholstery, towels and others. This is more difficult to sort and is generally a more labor-intensive process

Over the past year I have seen a substantial increase in customers asking for and willing to pay for Eco-Friendly and sustainable products. Many are shying away from genuine leather goods, plastic bags (some municipalities have banned single use bags), paper straws (how many silicone or stainless steel straws have you sold as a result) and so many more.

Are your Customer Going “Green”

More customers want to make a true statement about being “green-minded”.

And we can definitely help. Some of the top contending products include:

Bamboo: This is a very eco-friendly resource. It is 100% bidodegradeable and can be easily regenerated. Bamboo is a fast growing and a naturally renewable tree-like grass and utilizes very little water to grow.

Some of the products currently available made with some or all bamboo: Pens, desk accessories, wireless chargers, cutting boards, mousepads, containers, utensils, cases, stands and more.

RPET: Many products are made using the recycled polyester, be sure though to check to make sure you are recommending something that states RPET if you are selling eco-friendly. There are umbrellas, tote bags, drawstring bags, headbands, cleaning cloths, cooler bags, backpacks, pens, bottles, cases, notebooks, blankets and so much more made from RPET.

Recycled Cotton: Obviously, bags and shirts of all kinds

Wheat Straw has also become increasingly popular product material; it is used to make plastic; it becomes compostable and can decompose in a home or commercial site. It is a by-product of the wheat stalks left after harvesting.

Some products currently available include: tumblers and cups of all sizes, containers, lip balm containers, straws, sunglasses, utensils, speakers, earbuds, frames, wireless chargers, notebooks to name a few.

And I learned about a new one today.

Recycled wine bottles. One of our suppliers is rescuing wine bottles from landfills and repurposing them. They make beautiful engravable glasses, planters and pitchers. A great idea for corporate conference rooms.

It is easier today than ever to produce a completely “eco-friendly” package. For example, last year one of our customers was introducing a new eco-friendly product. Because of that they only wanted to review eco-friendly suggestions to be sent to their retail locations around the country for the introduction. We produced more than 5000 wheat straw tumblers, packaged in a custom box printed on recycled paper with recycled crinkle paper filler and placed in a recycled cotton tote! The client was thrilled. The reception from their attendees was overwhelmingly positive. And surprisedly the pricing wasn’t that much more expensive than a non-eco-friendly alternative.

So, if you haven’t been paying attention to this growing “sustainable” initiative now is a perfect time to start discussing your customers environmental goals.