Which is greener? Sending an e-mail or direct mail? An e-brochure or a printed one? The answers to those questions are not simple ones. Let’s take the example of an e-brochure versus a printed hard copy.  In order to distribute the e-brochure, it either needs to be featured on a web site where it can be viewed or downloaded, or distributed on a disc or USB drive. One of the issues with viewing or distributing it electronically is that doing so takes energy, and the majority of electricity in the United States comes from non-renewable resources, primarily from coal. Another problem, from a sustainability point-of-view, is that the electronics in use in this country are generally not made from renewable resources (at least not yet), their creation is energy intensive, and many are not recycled properly at the end of their lifetimes. Currently in the US, only about 18% of electronics are recycled at the end of their useful lives.

So then a printed brochure is better, right? Not exactly. Yes, most brochures are printed on paper, which usually comes from trees or plants. Trees are a renewable resource when the forests they come from are properly managed. Those forests also act as carbon sinks. But in the process of making paper, an enormous amount of energy is consumed (though about 60% of that energy is generated from biomass). Then comes the fun part, printing.  Inks, varnish, UV, laminate, wax, foil, staples or glues are added to the paper. Depending on how much is added to the sheet, it may or may not be recyclable.  If it is recycled, and about 57.4% of it is in the US, the process will still have some byproduct, lovingly referred to as sludge. Sludge is the waste that cannot be recycled, i.e. inks, coatings, or paper fibers that have been too weakened to be recycled further. Since it is essentially a chemical stew, it’s not exactly the kind of stuff you want to grow your vegetables in.

Of course, the analysis for both kinds of media could go on and on. Neither digital nor print media are flawless as they currently exist, and it is pretty difficult right now to compare apples to apples. However, as consumers are demanding further accountability, more and more businesses are starting to consider Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) that will make comparing different products easier. LCA’s consider the inputs that go into making a product, the way the product is used, the transportation of the product throughout its life, and how the products are treated at the end of their lives. Of course, they are rather costly and complex to perform. Imagine how much effort would go into tracking a USB drive made in China for an apartment community in California that is given to a prospect, or a log in Wisconsin that ended up in a business card for an executive in Dulles that was recycled five years later by a contact in New York. Until more LCA’s are available for a wider variety of products, it is important to think about how to use resources wisely, and to be honest about how the various inputs into a job can make it greener, if not necessarily perfect.  As more accountability is demanded of stakeholders in supply chains, it is only a matter time before products and services in all media channels become better and greener.

By Christine Smerker, Production Specialist csmerker@merricktowle.com

The V at CityVista: Best Print Ad Campaign, Lease-Up
The V at CityVista: Best Brochure, Lease-Up
909 at Capitol Yards: Best Public Website, Lease-Up
The Monterey: Best Internet Ads
Allegro: Best Outreach Marketing
Jericho: Best Direct Mail, Lease-Up
Park Place: Best Single Property Campaign, Lease-Up (Honorable Mention, 2nd place)
The Monterey: Best Outreach Marketing (Honorable Mention)
The Monterey: Best Brochure, Lease-Up (Honorable Mention)
Allegro: Brochure, Lease-Up (Honorable Mention)
Merrick Towle Communications: Best Associate Member Outreach Marketing (Honorable Mention)

We at MTC have always been about results and not awards, but it sure feels nice to win a few along the way.

Finally the cover press sheet was ready. The cover of the brochure was being printed on 24 pt. Touché Cover, white. The client at Lowe Enterprises personally picked out this paper due to its soft tactile surface, and was so excited that he had an opportunity to use this stock. When we saw the inconsistency in the ink coverage, long frowns soon filled the room. There were no answers as to why this was happening. Finally, the printer determined that there must be a problem with this particular lot of stock, and the paper representative was on his way to see if he could offer any remedy.

Another two hours past and we were told we had to choose a different stock. The weight, color and quantity of Touché stock that we needed were not available, and would not be manufactured for another four to six weeks. We scrambled trying to think of all the similar stocks that we could use. Unfortunately none would work due to various reasons. Our client was being forced to settle for an ordinary coated or uncoated stock. The thrill was gone. This was to be our client’s showpiece. They had an apartment grand opening event occurring on the following Wednesday and needed these brochures.

I remembered looking at a beautiful promotional piece for Cougar paper from Domtar. It’s title, Orchidaceae and the Nature of Nurture. It’s a beautiful piece, and I remembered that the cover felt very soft, like suede. I learned that this softness was achieved when you suspend soft fibers into a water-based coating and they fluff up. It’s called soft-touch textured coating. As I described this to our client and print representative, hopeful smiles returned to our faces. The printer had not seen or heard of this technique but was willing to try it. Fortunately their paper representative carried the Domtar line and remembered this piece. He left immediately to retrieve a sample so we could look at the production notes.

Two hours later the printer’s VP of Production had said sample in hand and was on the phone with their ink manufacturer to learn how to achieve this effect. We decided to test this newfound process on 24 pt. Tango Gloss and on 160# Cover double-thick uncoated Finch to see which would produce the best results. We were running out of time and did not want to risk the outcome on one type of stock. In the end, both looked and felt nice. We decided to go with the Tango since the whiteness of this stock matched the whiteness of the inside text pages of the brochure.

Bottom line the brochure turned out gorgeous, delivered in time for the grand opening event, which made all parties involved very happy. Our company submitted this brochure to the DC ADDY awards this year and it won a gold ADDY award for a four-color brochure.

Visit Merrick Towle’s website to see the brochure and other pieces from this successful campaign or visit our blog for an entry on the entire campaign.

by Donna McGee, Director of Production, dmcgee@merricktowle.com

As we mentioned in an earlier post, Merrick Towle Communications worked with Pepco Energy Services to penetrate new markets with their commercial energy service offering. In addition to an integrated media strategy, we also utilized direct mail to target key decision makers in Chicago. To promote the company’s green friendly offerings, MTC created and produced a direct mail campaign to be sent in conjunction with Earth Day.

The first mailing consisted of a personalized letter and polybagged card containing wildflower seeds – both were placed in a matched personalized envelope.

The second mailing featured a tree seedling in a tube and a letter, which was placed in a polybag. The letter was personalized and folded in such a way as to have the name and address facing “out,” allowing one pass on the printing press.

The innovative use of material design and printing meant the client did not have to create labels or pay to have labels applied to the polybag, clearly saving money while adding the pizzazz of personalization.

by Donna McGee, Director of Production, dmcgee@merricktowle.com

With Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified papers, the chain of custody is tracked with the goal of steering the market towards well-managed forests. In order for green marketing materials like brochures or direct mail to have the FSC certification logo, the trees used to make the paper pulp must be from an FSC certified forest, as well as the mill that manufactures the paper and the printer who prints the piece. The paper that qualifies for this certification cannot have any fibers that come from old growth forests or rainforests, and avoids areas where logging has led to violence against people and wildlife. The advantage of this program is that it is highly regulated and paper pulp can be traced directly to its source.

Papers with recycled content are also widely available, and have greatly improved in quality over the years. Performance is comparable to paper made from virgin fibers. While any paper that contains recycled content can use the recycled chasing arrows logo, if the recycled content is less than 100%, the recycled paper content must be listed when the logo is used. Paper can also be certified as being Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) or Total Chlorine Free (TCF), which means they were processed without the use of elemental chlorine, avoiding the reducing, or in the case of PCF or TCF papers, eliminating harmful toxins such as dioxin that elemental chlorine produces.

Some printers have also begun purchasing wind power in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s). The purchase of these credits goes towards helping companies that create renewable energy generate electricity. For instance, a printer will calculate the amount of energy that will be needed to print a brochure. The printer then buys credits from an organization such as Carbonfund, who then uses those credits to fund a renewable energy project like a wind farm. The wind farm then produces energy, which is released into the grid. While the printer may not directly draw their power from the wind farm itself, the wind farm negates the need for additional energy to be generated from fossil fuel power plants.

Additionally, for many sheet-fed projects, printers can make printing more sustainable by using vegetable-based inks instead of petroleum-based inks. These blends use linseed, soy or tung oils in and 5% or less petroleum products. Vegetable inks are also easier to strip from paper than petroleum-based inks during the recycling process.

With more and more companies identifying the need to have green marketing materials, Merrick Towle has the ability to offer our clients these options. Besides their ethical benefits, having green marketing materials is a great PR vehicle in reaching consumers. Consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with these methods and their presence on materials helps generate goodwill towards the company.

by Christine Smerker, Production Specialist, csmerker@merricktowle.com

Ann Elsen, an energy consultant, hired Merrick Towle Communications to brand her company. The agency’s branding strategy focused on Ann Elsen as an individual expert partner who can lead her clients through the ongoing political, social and cultural shift towards environmental responsibility. She is able to navigate the complex world of energy consulting due to her years of relationship-building throughout the energy industry.
In order to demonstrate her commitment to environmental responsibility, Merrick Towle Communications ensured her printed material utilized green printing techniques.

The Elsen Energy Consulting Stationery has been carefully designed and specified to minimize the impact of its production on the environment. Listed below are the considerations Merrick Towle Communications took into account during the creative process to create a green marketing package:

• The stationery design uses light ink coverage to avoid the need for additional coatings on the pieces. Recycling this stationery yields a higher percentage of paper fiber and produces less waste.
• The stationery paper contains 100% post-consumer waste, which means the original fiber reached its end user (consumer) and was then recycled, rather than containing fiber content that was simply scrap from the manufacturing process.
• Green printing was achieved by choosing paper which is also process chlorine free – neither elemental chlorine nor its derivatives were used to re-process or bleach this paper. Elemental chlorine produces, among other toxic elements, dioxins, which have been labeled by the EPA as a known carcinogen. Many papers are still bleached using a chlorine derivative, such as chlorine dioxide, which greatly reduces the amount of dioxins produced by up to 90%, but does not eliminate them completely.
• The paper is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. This means that everyone in the chain of custody, from the forest to the printer, has been certified by the FSC to handle resources in a responsible manner. The goal of the FSC is to steer the marketplace for wood-based products away from the harvesting of old growth and rain forests, deforestation, and the violence against indigenous peoples that has historically accompanied the logging industry.
• The inks used to print this stationery package are primarily vegetable oil-based instead of petroleum-based. In addition to being derived from a renewable resource, these inks have very low volatile organic compounds, or VOCs: substances that readily evaporate into the atmosphere at temperature of use, causing pollution and global warming.

Art Director: Jason Knauer
Designer: Benjamin Jancewicz

Visit our case studies here to see how we’ve highlighted green marketing for other clients.