(1888PressRelease)
May 08, 2008 - There is a lot of talk about corporate responsibility and the environment. Individuals are tiring of the onus being placed on them to change the world. Have shorter showers, water your garden less, switch to green power, change your light globes, car pool, take reusable bags to the supermarket, and recycle. All of these are necessary but pale in comparison to the damage being done by big business and industry.
But what about small business?
Somewhere in between large corporations and the individual, lies small business. Australia, a country of about 21 million people, incredibly has over 2 million small businesses. In the US approximately 99.9% of all business is small. The ecological impact of these cannot be ignored.
It is easy to assume that large corporations are, by the nature of their large profits, less ethical but is this actually the case? Large corporations have large reputations to protect. Often it is more cost effective for big business to invest in environmental impact minimisation than to clean up the mess afterwards. They also have the capital to invest in changing technologies to not only utilise the green machine but to actually profit from it, directly through carbon trading and indirectly through marketing with a social conscience.
So where does small business fit in and what can be done? The answer is very little or a lot. It depends on your business model, your business goals and your values. The advantage that small business has over a large multinational is fewer layers of bureaucracy and more transparency. Big business generally has a board of directors that need to be convinced, then a feasibility study conducted before changes can be implemented. As a small business owner we can conceive it and implement it virtually simultaneously.
Brand resistant proposes a small business model geared for sustainability. We are an ethical producer of t-shirt designs, created with the individual's aesthetic in mind, we offer a range of unique and thought provoking designs and products for adults and children that have something to say. What do we do?
- We recycle our waste.
- We have switched to paperless billing. It is resource intensive to print and deliver paper. It is also time consuming and unreliable.
- We have switched to a Green Power company that derives its energy from renewable sources that do not pollute.
- We have chosen an energy efficient vehicle for our business.
- Wherever possible we have chosen sustainable suppliers. The potential for eco-conscious small businesses to support each other is large and underestimated. Our t-shirt manufacturer Vapor Apparel generates 67.3% of its power from non-fossil fuels by having access to hydro and geo-thermal electricity. In addition they are developing products from eco-friendly yarns using 100% recycled materials, including post-consumer and post-industrial polyester fibres.
- We purchase carbon offsets to neutralise our emissions through Carbon Neutral. This does not simply mean paying for the right to pollute. We determined the carbon footprint of the business through an extensive audit, and then established a minimal emissions target. Once the emissions target was met the residual is neutralized by the acquisition of offsets.
- Our printing method, dye sublimation uses solvent-free, water-based inks. These are non-toxic and non-allergenic with fewer health and environmental hazards.
- All of our printed stationary including business cards, swing tags and brochures are printed on recycled products using eco-friendly inks.
- Our t-shirt manufacturer Vapor Apparel has a proud no-sweatshop policy. They produce products in clean, safe work environments and compensate garment workers with fair and equitable wages and benefits.
- When we send our product out in a recycled paper bag not plastic, which can be recycled again.
The changes that individual businesses make may depend on local economic landscapes but have the potential to impact locally and globally. Small business is more important than ever and has a responsibility to future generations.
Evolving from environmental, social and political passion at brand resistant we hope to use the power of words and images to effect change.
Want to know more. http://www.brandresistant.com
