The celebration of Earth Day on April 22 dates back to 1970 — and clearly progress is being made on many fronts, including the way retailers run their businesses.  I wasn’t in business quite yet, but even in the mid-1970s I know we didn’t have products made from recycled materials, low-energy light bulbs, and many other options available today.

What will your store be doing to celebrate Earth Day? One of our neighboring businesses on Monroe Street, a wonderful children’s clothing shop called Wild Child, is offering free biodegradable color-your-own "kapok" tree kit from Plan Toys with any purchase.  This promotion helps draw attention to the fact that many of Wild Child’s products are organic or recycled, a big attraction for today’s parents.

You might consider offering a discount on all products in your store that are environmentally friendly, or made in the USA, in honor of Earth Day.  Or you could pledge a percentage to a local parks, garden, animal rescue or environmental group.

This is also a great time of year to take a look at how your store stacks up in terms of low-energy use and recycling.  Do you recycle paper as well as aluminum, plastic and glass?  Hardly a single sheet of paper goes through our office without an attempt being made to use the blank back side for notepaper or drafts.  And we pay for a recycling service to pick up all the rest of our discarded paper, including vendor catalogues.

Your local utility probably offers free energy audits that will help determine whether your lighting, heating and cooling are in line with the current best practices.  Retail stores use an enormous amount of energy, so a small change (such as a set-back thermostat for when the store is closed) can make a big difference.

In selecting merchandise for your store, keep the earth in mind. Reject over-packaged items (plastic clamshells are a nightmare for the environment) and single-use, disposable products.  We also try to buy wisely when looking for packaging for in-store use. Our t-shirt bags, for example, are made of a plastic material that is biodegradable. And we only use a plastic bag when it is really necessary, which is something our customers appreciate.  We also offer a little reward for those bringing their own bag. 

Since few of us sell anything that customers can’t live without, it’s important that we do what we can to lessen our impact on the environment. After all, earth is the only planet (as far as we know, that is) with specialty shops!

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder