One area of your business that is easy to overlook when growing green is your business cards. There are so many cheap, or free options these days. I have been quick to slap some images and text on a template and check out without a second thought of what kind of paper or ink is being used or even the shipping method used to have them brought to my door.
As an ecopreneurists, your most ideal option when going paperless in your office is not to have business cards at all. Personally, I have not ordered business cards for Eco-Office Gals and since I am a 99.9% virtual business, I don’t miss them. Yet, that .01% of the time that I find myself in the “real world” and someone asks what I do, I could kick myself for not having some to hand out.
So, what are your options when paperless is not an option? Here are a few companies that have been recommended or I have come across with a little background from their site:
PrintingForLess – (Use code RP1D6SEJM for $50 OFF your first order, no expiration) This company seems to have taken great care in covering every aspect of sustainability! Beyond being FSC Certified and 100% Wind Powered (from the site)
- Our paper is milled Elemental Chlorine Free. Trees are a renewable resource, but dioxin (used to bleach paper white) is forever!
- Our inks are vegetable-based, primarily soy, which is both gentle on the environment while producing bright, high-quality images.
- We package our products with biodegradable padding materials instead of those that are annoying and harmful to the environment, such as petroleum-based foam “peanuts.”
- We use water-based aqueous coating to protect your printed pieces. It provides a high-gloss surface that deters dirt and fingerprints and is more friendly to our environment than UV coatings.
- We are focused on reducing waste. By using top-grade paper with highly-trained press operators, we have considerably reduced the number of test or “make-ready” sheets needed to run through the presses as we set up your printing project.
Moo.com – Is a fun twist on the business card and they have a 100% Recycled Fiber, Totally recyclable and biodegradable & Totally Chlorine Free (TFC) paper option.
Your business isn’t like anyone elses, so why should your cards be? With MOO, every card can be different, allowing you to show your product range, your portfolio or your full list of services.
US Business Cards – Eco-Office Gals really loves the idea behind these Cereal Box Cards!
Breakfast Cereal Boxes – Precision cut by guillotine paper cutter. Sharp, clean edges. Randomly cut from popular cereal brands such as Wheaties and Cheerios, plus colorful ones like Fruit Loops. Standard size is 2″ x 3.5″. Printing is on the blank side.
So, next time your business card supply runs low, consider some of the above “greener” options. Additionally, check out this post from Reencoded for fun ideas and design your own green business cards!
Grow Green!
Jen
As the existing post really unveils the exceptional thing about Business cards. And this one really provides the best of Eco options for that. And it’s really a unique and incredible post about business cards. And the existing post information really makes me crazy about it. Thanks for sharing some authentic and informative thing.
business cards
By using the ECO business cards are very useful to our environment. After the reading your informative blog i also think about the change my plastic silky business card to ECO friendly business cards.
business card printing
Loved being here!
Hi I was digging for reliable knowledge on consumables for superwide printers. Your blog was listed on Google in this category, you have an informative site.
Wow those business cards looks good and it's Eco friendly as well. Thanks for this article will surely contact the company when my business card run out.
-Val
Thanks for all of the information on business cards! Business cards are a great way to present yourself and what you stand for. ZimmZang is now using Green Business Cards which is an organic paper composed from post consumer recycled paper. It's a way of giving back to the planet and doing their part in small ways and promotes the “go green” attitude.
I think this is an excellent post. Printing for Less is a great company and I was glad to see them up here. Nice work. 🙂
.-= Women and Business´s last blog ..Boston: Celebrate 2 Renaissance Leaders Changing the World =-.
I think this is an excellent post. Printing for Less is a great company and I was glad to see them up here. Nice work. 🙂
.-= Women and Business´s last blog ..Boston: Celebrate 2 Renaissance Leaders Changing the World =-.
A great way to deliver a green-friendly message is to write a green wisdom sentence on the lower back of your business card. You’ll be surprised how many positive responses you’ll get.
A great way to deliver a green-friendly message is to write a green wisdom sentence on the lower back of your business card. You’ll be surprised how many positive responses you’ll get.
This is a great set of resources. Thanks for sharing. It is truly the little things that can add up when it comes to Green Thinking.
It will be wonderful when there is no need for the ‘paper’ business card – with a simple shake of our phone we can pass our contact info (iPhone has a nice app for that), or something similar. But until then, we do what we can, right?
I do wonder though – is there any way of verifying what these companies are doing?
.-= “sam@Eco Friendly Water Bottles”´s last blog ..Turning Your Home Green: We Are Not Talking About The Paint Either! =-.
This is a great set of resources. Thanks for sharing. It is truly the little things that can add up when it comes to Green Thinking.
It will be wonderful when there is no need for the ‘paper’ business card – with a simple shake of our phone we can pass our contact info (iPhone has a nice app for that), or something similar. But until then, we do what we can, right?
I do wonder though – is there any way of verifying what these companies are doing?
.-= “sam@Eco Friendly Water Bottles”´s last blog ..Turning Your Home Green: We Are Not Talking About The Paint Either! =-.
I’ve been using greenerprinting.com lately. Great quality printing. Easy to use.
I’ve been using greenerprinting.com lately. Great quality printing. Easy to use.
Great And Nice Site.
Thank You.
Great And Nice Site.
Thank You.
This is a really cool post. We spend so much time trying to make sure our office space is Green, but I know many haven’t give thought to this simple, yet effective green method. My favorite is the cereal box ones because they are using sustainable material that would just clog up our landfills anyway. Thanks for sharing these.
This is a really cool post. We spend so much time trying to make sure our office space is Green, but I know many haven’t give thought to this simple, yet effective green method. My favorite is the cereal box ones because they are using sustainable material that would just clog up our landfills anyway. Thanks for sharing these.
These are great suggestions. The other option is to use a BlackBerry to Palm to wirelessly bean over vCards — there’s no card to loose and no paper gets used at all!
Spot´s last blog post..Cool Backpacks For Photographers
These are great suggestions. The other option is to use a BlackBerry to Palm to wirelessly bean over vCards — there’s no card to loose and no paper gets used at all!
Spot´s last blog post..Cool Backpacks For Photographers
I have another option for you! If you’re in Canada, you can have your cards designed by Viddyworks. http://www.viddyworks.ca
I have relationships with printers who use FSC approved papers, soy & vegetable based inks, and waterless printing processes. I also offer eco friendly web hosting services.
Sorry for the spammy sounding comment, but I felt the urge to add my name to the list 🙂
I have another option for you! If you’re in Canada, you can have your cards designed by Viddyworks. http://www.viddyworks.ca
I have relationships with printers who use FSC approved papers, soy & vegetable based inks, and waterless printing processes. I also offer eco friendly web hosting services.
Sorry for the spammy sounding comment, but I felt the urge to add my name to the list 🙂
This is a great post! And I think making a change like this in a corporate structure would fairly simple to do. After our discussion on Twitter, I did some digging around. Turns out all of Natura’s packaging – and business cards are printed on recycled products and printed with vegetable dyes.
Thanks for bringing the subject – I wouldn’t have known otherwise!
Julia Rosien
On Twitter – JuliaRosien
This is a great post! And I think making a change like this in a corporate structure would fairly simple to do. After our discussion on Twitter, I did some digging around. Turns out all of Natura’s packaging – and business cards are printed on recycled products and printed with vegetable dyes.
Thanks for bringing the subject – I wouldn’t have known otherwise!
Julia Rosien
On Twitter – JuliaRosien
You should also consider the treatments that are being applied to the printed materials. Many coatings applied to maintain durability are chemical based and destructive on the environment. If you have the option you should consider using Aqueous coatings (AQ) which is water based.
You should also consider the treatments that are being applied to the printed materials. Many coatings applied to maintain durability are chemical based and destructive on the environment. If you have the option you should consider using Aqueous coatings (AQ) which is water based.