Precycling - just a marketing buzzword or is this actually happening?

[Laurens]

In a blog post I read about 'precycling', a word I had never heard of before. Apparently it is a term that refers to 'a change in customer thinking toward the reduction in waste and a predisposition toward recyclable packaging and packaging or manufacturing components that make products easier to recycle'.

Being a bit of a cynic, I am wondering if this is just marketing bullshit or an actual trend. Has anyone actually noticed that customers care more about recycling in their choice of design or materials? Is anyone actually winning or loosing sales because of their company's environmental policy? Just curious...

[Aaron]

I have customers ask on as regular basis if our inks are soy based and if we have house recycled stocks. I guess the whole green thing is growing... but I couldn't tell if it's causing us to lose jobs because of it.

[youston]

In a blog post I read about 'precycling', a word I had never heard of before. Apparently it is a term that refers to 'a change in customer thinking toward the reduction in waste and a predisposition toward recyclable packaging and packaging or manufacturing components that make products easier to recycle'.

Being a bit of a cynic, I am wondering if this is just marketing bullshit or an actual trend. Has anyone actually noticed that customers care more about recycling in their choice of design or materials? Is anyone actually winning or loosing sales because of their company's environmental policy? Just curious...

Laurens, at our shop we had a big push about a year ago to become more 'green.' Then, the owner found out how much more money that would cost him, the recession hit, and the initiative was dropped.

I don't think that any of our regular clients care one way or the other. Most people we've seen who have an eye for the environmental impact of the work we do are government entities and large, large, LARGE corporations. We don't do much business with them, anyway.

[Tracy]

Ive been searching for some new recycling logos just today.
the forest and carbon logos I think it is a new trend.

[Ear]

Oh heck ya, all the time. I live in Oregon and with the decline of the timber industry and the increase in 'treehuggers', going green and boasting of printing on recycled paper is a big deal. Ashland, a well known liberal/activist town in Southern Oregon is all about recycle content and soy inks, it's a big deal in print shops here.

[gnubler]

Unfortunately I've had a number of clients in the past who wanted the recycling logo on their print material, but the stock wasn't always recycled stock (and they didn't care, they just wanted to use the logo)

[David]

We are really big on being green.
We are certified as one of only five printers in the US that is 100% wind powered electricity.
We get a lot of request for recycled info.
We are of course FSC/SFI Certified as well as ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.
We print a lot of FSC compliant jobs and how more on the horizon.

[Ear]

I had a hippie client bring in their own home-made paper. Smashed 2 blankets trying to print on it. It smelled of patchouli and actually had granola in it. Didn't taste too bad tho... we used soy ink, so I ate the make-ready spoils... got one hell of a buzz from it too.

[tapdn]

Lots of it is just for show. Make a big deal of separating the paper from the plastic from the metal in the trash, cut down on make ready, soy inks etc while wasting tons of paper on internal proofs, work forms, memos and the like.

[gnubler]

I had a hippie client bring in their own home-made paper. Smashed 2 blankets trying to print on it. It smelled of patchouli and actually had granola in it. Didn't taste too bad tho... we used soy ink, so I ate the make-ready spoils... got one hell of a buzz from it too.

Unbelievable. I had a client try something similar for some wedding invitations - total dreadlocked space cadet with super hairy underarms. She said she wanted to supply her own stock, so I said we'd try it and that we need 10% extra in case of a paper jam. She shows up with the "stock" and it's a bunch of brown paper grocery bags hand cut in different shapes. I ended up selling her a rubber stamp.

[Ear]

I had a hippie client bring in their own home-made paper. Smashed 2 blankets trying to print on it. It smelled of patchouli and actually had granola in it. Didn't taste too bad tho... we used soy ink, so I ate the make-ready spoils... got one hell of a buzz from it too.

Unbelievable. I had a client try something similar for some wedding invitations - total dreadlocked space cadet with super hairy underarms. She said she wanted to supply her own stock, so I said we'd try it and that we need 10% extra in case of a paper jam. She shows up with the "stock" and it's a bunch of brown paper grocery bags hand cut in different shapes. I ended up selling her a rubber stamp.

 :laugh: Was the stamp made from recycled tires?

[Joe]

I know a lot of customers have good intentions but when it comes down to paying the price they always go with the cheaper price and "green" goes out the window.

[gnubler]

I had a hippie client bring in their own home-made paper. Smashed 2 blankets trying to print on it. It smelled of patchouli and actually had granola in it. Didn't taste too bad tho... we used soy ink, so I ate the make-ready spoils... got one hell of a buzz from it too.

Unbelievable. I had a client try something similar for some wedding invitations - total dreadlocked space cadet with super hairy underarms. She said she wanted to supply her own stock, so I said we'd try it and that we need 10% extra in case of a paper jam. She shows up with the "stock" and it's a bunch of brown paper grocery bags hand cut in different shapes. I ended up selling her a rubber stamp.

 :laugh: Was the stamp made from recycled tires?

She actually asked, almost relentlessly, how the stamp was made and if it was "environmentally safe". She said she was going to make her own ink - probably out of beet juice or menstrual blood.

[gnubler]

I know a lot of customers have good intentions but when it comes down to paying the price they always go with the cheaper price and "green" goes out the window.

That's been my experience, but they go ahead and keep the recycling logo on their printed material anyway.

[Ear]

I had a hippie client bring in their own home-made paper. Smashed 2 blankets trying to print on it. It smelled of patchouli and actually had granola in it. Didn't taste too bad tho... we used soy ink, so I ate the make-ready spoils... got one hell of a buzz from it too.

Unbelievable. I had a client try something similar for some wedding invitations - total dreadlocked space cadet with super hairy underarms. She said she wanted to supply her own stock, so I said we'd try it and that we need 10% extra in case of a paper jam. She shows up with the "stock" and it's a bunch of brown paper grocery bags hand cut in different shapes. I ended up selling her a rubber stamp.

 :laugh: Was the stamp made from recycled tires?

She actually asked, almost relentlessly, how the stamp was made and if it was "environmentally safe". She said she was going to make her own ink - probably out of beet juice or menstrual blood.

I guess it would still be a PMS color.  :cheesy: