[Leader]

Now that I've got your attention. ;)

Here's the bit. There's a funding project going on for new businesses who are "innovative" in their methods of being green. The plant business is an "old-line" kind of business that normally consideres itself "green" by definition. So there's no help in the trade mags and such, unless they've changed drastically over the last few years...

So I'm asking for help here! Hopefully some of you have some pro-environment ideas you'd be willing to share...

While GoodBulbs can be considered green in a number of ways, just due to the normal course of events (and me not wanting to waste money), I wouldn't call any of them particularly innovative.

The packing material is newspapers. I hate peanuts (mostly because they are an uber PITA to deal with, plus old WSJs are free!).

The individual units of 12 bulbs/ea are sent in paper bags instead of plastic. Plastic bags are no good for bulbs.

There's very little paper generation. No pre-printed material is sitting around growing dust, and no paper catalogs to fill up landfills.

Bulbs come from cultivated stock. But so do everyone else's AFAIK.

Some boxes are recycled. But, to get the Flat Rate Box shipping rate, I have to use the USPS's boxes, which are new. Dumping that option is out of the question since I'd have to charge an exorbitant shipping fee otherwise!

Anything else "green" that I'm missing (that won't result in a massive price jump)?

[Mr. Sal]

So I'm asking for help here! Hopefully some of you have some pro-environment ideas you'd be willing to share...
I may not know too much about all the Packaging Materials available out there but, I did some searches for you.

Some Packaging Materials.
popcorn <--- note I didn't put this guy in there, ok? http://abestweb.com/smilies/nosmiley.gif It showed up when I put the pop corn word.
craft paper
Kraft Paper
Crinkle Paper
Bubble Rolls
Bubble Wrap
Paper Shreds
Foam peanuts
Natural Excelsior
Loosefill Peanuts
Newsprint Sheets
Styrofoam pellets
Inflatable Packaging
Polyethylene Foam Sheeting
Gift Grade Tissue Paper Sheets
Encapsulated-air Plastic Sheeting

I found these sites for Natural Excelsior.

Natural Excelsior
Made from 100% natural Aspen wood fibers, Excelsior is an age-old favorite for creating a custom fit when packing oddly-shaped, delicate items like ... more (http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=268&PRODID=62150)


But here is cheaper by the bale. :biggrin:

Natural Wood Excelsior
Coarse or Fine
Use excelsior aspen wood shreds for more support than paper shreds can provide... more (http://www.papermart.com/templates/21-0-15.htm)


Also, you may find some tips here:

How Small Businesses can Profit from New Packaging Methods

There is a silent packaging revolution going on that offers considerable new opportunities for small businesses to reap tremendous rewards.
Story by Bill Dueease... more (http://www.sba.gov/library/successXIV/15howsmall.htm)


Leader, if you don't get at least one tip from this post, I want my money back pronto. :biggrin:


Sal. http://abestweb.com/smilies/smile.gif

[Leader]

That excelsior would look cooler, but the old papers would still get more eco-points since they're "post-consumer." Plus, can't beat the price of the papers...technically not "free," I suppose, but I would have bought papers to read anyway...

(ROFL PaperMart is charging $6 for 20 pounds of unshredded old papers! What's that, a week's worth? Ha ha)

[Mr. Sal]

That excelsior would look cooler, but the old papers would still get more eco-points since they're "post-consumer." Plus, can't beat the price of the papers...technically not "free," I suppose, but I would have bought papers to read anyway...
I don't know how many free newspaper they have in your city, but lately down here we have sooooo many free daily and weekly newspapers available, that you will never run out of free Packaging Materials, even if you only get one of each. http://abestweb.com/smilies/readpaper.gif

You can also subscribe to many of those newspapers for free home delivery.

But I guess that your mail carrier will hate you if you do that, and some of your most important correspondence may start to get lost in the mail. http://www.abestweb.com/smilies/rotflol.gif

Sal.

[Leader]

But I guess that your mail carrier will hate you if you do that, and some of your most important correspondence may start to get lost in the mail.I hope he doesn't lose any, cuz as a matter of fact, I did just tell one paper to mail it instead of leaving it in the road like they were doing! http://www.abestweb.com/smilies/rotflol.gif (Ironically, the mail person before that *did* used to lose my outgoing magazine renewal cards... it didn't help her, I just called 'em in instead!)

If one subscription ends up not being enough, I'll just subscribe to the cheapest daily around and use that. It won't matter where they put that one as long as I can find it and it doesn't get wrecked. There's only one freebie here, though, and it's a weekly.

[raywood1]

Hey, Leader. Sounds like you have the right procedures and the right message as far as running your business.

How about some ideas for using the plant material. For example, do you have any plants that can be used for pest control, household cleaning, etc, to reduce use of commercial chemicals? I hear all kinds of stories about using garlic and onion to scare away mice. I'm always told to plant marigolds between my tomatoes to control insects.

I don't know if any of the pretty flowers have similar uses, but it's worth a look.

[Leader]

Sounds like you have the right procedures and the right message as far as running your business.Cool, glad it passes!

I want to stick to bulbs (they stay fresh longer and don't require me to have a greenhouse or acreage), so the plant tie-ins would be limited to whatever can be done with bulbs.

I was going to sell garlic and onions in the spring, since they're bulbs, so thanks for the idea of using them to scare mice away! It's always good to have another use. Can you point me to some more info about this?

I'm always told to plant marigolds between my tomatoes to control insects.
I don't know if any of the pretty flowers have similar usesMarigolds ARE pretty! :p Even the anti-bug kind...although the bigger ones are prettier, granted.
As for other useful plants, Castor Bean will keep moles away...

But I don't know of any similar uses for flowerbulbs.

[ecomcity]

In Michigan your can buy bails of hay as cheap packing material. Heck. Your being such a green capitalist you can just buy cow pies wholesale and charge the customers extra for the fertilizer packing material. Call it the deluxe recycled hay boxed gift set. :rotflol:

[Leader]

you can just buy cow pies wholesale and charge the customers extra for the fertilizer packing material. Call it the deluxe recycled hay boxed gift set.

ROFL! :rotflol:

But, too yucky, after all I'm the one doing the packing!

[my2cents]

ROFL! :rotflol:

But, too yucky, after all I'm the one doing the packing!

Just think of them as coarse dirt... cowpies are just water and hay... :rotflol:

Dry ones are like rough frisbees... or lumpy footballs....

Yes, I do have up close and personal experiences with cowpies...
when I was a kid.. my dad would gather up a bag of dry cowpies... when we visited my grampma.

Take them home, and drop them in a garbage can add water and make "cowpie soup" we kids got the chore of mixin till the soup was ready...

My dad would then "water" his flowers with the cowpie soup...

He had "award winning" flowers every year... his flowers were always better looking and 50% larger then anyone in the 'hood'...

JOe