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How to Green Your Mail

Written by: Paul Smith

Article Overview: Depending on your business, mailing can be a major expense and large use of resources. But it doesn’t have to be that way. EcoEnvelopes is a new company that has created reusable envelopes. As in they can be two-way, between you and your customer, eliminating the need for reply envelopes. It’s been said that a mailer, in order to be effective, needs 6 distinct pieces to it, to engage the potential customer in a number of ways. With such a visually striking mailer as the ones offered by ecoEnvelope, it could take much less then that.

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How to Green Your Mail

Depending on your business, mailing can be a major expense and large use of resources. But it doesn’t have to be that way. EcoEnvelopes is a new company that has created reusable envelopes. As in they can be two-way, between you and your customer, eliminating the need for reply envelopes. It’s been said that a mailer, in order to be effective, needs 6 distinct pieces to it, to engage the potential customer in a number of ways. With such a visually striking mailer as the ones offered by ecoEnvelope, it could take much less then that.

These envelopes can serve the dual purpose of reducing resource use in terms of paper, handling, and tracking, and at the same time shining a green light on your company. With more then 80 billion reply envelopes mailed each year in the US, this is not an insignificant impact. According to ecoEnvelopes, every one million ecoEnvelopes used saves an estimated 250 million BTUs of energy and 37,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

The idea of a two way envelope came about as you might expect: Ann DeLaVergne, founder of ecoEnvelopes, was someone who, probably like many of you out there, was keen to reuse her envelopes if possible, but often found it difficult, with the varying layouts and windows of the envelopes she received in the mail. So she decided to create an aesthetically pleasing, and ultimately, US Postal Service approved envelope.

The result is a range of products, from the diminutive no. 7 size, to a CD/DVD mailer, with custom options available. They are manufactured exclusively on certified paper from managed forests with up to 100% post consumer recycled content.

Kudos to them for thinking of a simple, yet brilliant idea.

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Home > Going-Green > Paul Smith > How to Green Your Mail
Article Tags: aesthetically pleasing, brilliant idea, btus, business mailing, custom options, delavergne, distinct pieces, dual purpose, dvd mailer, forests, greenhouse gases, insignificant impact, kudos, layouts, mail, one million, postal service, reply envelopes, resource use

About the Author: Paul Smith
RSS for Paul's articles - Visit Paul's website

I help forge truly sustainable businesses at GreenSmith Consulting. I bring to the table a wide range of skills and knowledge, an have an extensive network of resources to further extend the scope of what we offer, as needed. For both existing companies wanting to push the needle greener, and startups needing help effectively and authentically getting the message out and navigating the operational and strategic considerations involved, we can help. Getting an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio considerably strengthened my green business skills, helping make me attuned to how to do business in a way that's more profitable, well managed, and ecologically sound. I see possibilities where others don't. I make connections that others haven't yet. I help people to see them, and know how to best take advantage of them. My overarching talent is "bottom lining" complex ideas, in a way that is understandable and accessible to a variety of audiences, internal and external to a company. After all, if you have the greatest idea/product/service ever, and your employees or customers don't see the relevance to them, it doesn't really matter, does it?

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