More and more consumers are looking to do business with companies that are environmentally responsible. This article from the LA Times (free registration required to read the whole thing) points out some of the difficulties consumers have in choosing companies that are responsible.
It’s not easy being a green consumer: With no unified product standard, what constitutes ‘nature-friendly’ depends on the group doing the certifying. Buyers can be fooled.
By Abigail Goldman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 5, 2007Reliable household products get the Good Housekeeping seal of
approval. Safe electronics earn Underwriters Laboratories’ UL mark.But consumers and investors looking for environmentally responsible
products and services have to trudge through a swamp of seals,
claims and certifications — only some of which designate
independent, verified environmental accomplishments….read more..
Even though we are a California company, as a welding supplier, Arc-Zone doesn’t offer any certified organic products… There are, however, several things that we do that we hope makes a difference.
1. We recycle.
Sounds simple enough, but believe it or not, like in many business districts, recycling is not mandatory as it is for residential zones. Our building does not offer recycling, but we don’t let that stop us. Our company founder Jim Watson, aka Joe Welder, actually collects all the plastics and cans from the warehouse and even from our lunchroom and hauls it home. We’ve even seen him picking through the trash. For every recycled item found in the trash the guilty party has to pony up a dollar for the office kitty.
2. Re Purposing.
Also known as re-using. I can’t tell you how old some of our file folders are! I swear some of the folder labels are layered an inch thick! And the scrap paper we generate…. We shred it and use it for packing material.
3. The Internet.
Our website is our catalog. I don’t know why more people don’t use online catalogs. We can update information- including pricing– regularly, and we can add an element of interactivity (audio, video) that you just can’t get in a print catalog.
To showcase our efforts, we made a company video– thanks to Filmmaker Manny Manatad, our new “Shipping Guy.” We’ve entered the video into the Ecospot contest over at Current TV. We’ll keep you posted if we make the finals!
[flashvideo filename=”/blog/joewelder/arcvid.flv” /]
