You’d think 100-percent recycled paper is eco-friendlier than 20-percent recycled paper, right? Well, that’s not the only idea green marketers get wrong…

By: Lara Jensen

Misconceptions about eco-friendly direct marketing abound. For instance, many a green tyro has assumed that paper with higher levels of recycled content will automatically have less of an environmental impact. But according to Brian McClay, principal at TerraChoice Market Services Inc., when factors such as energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are taken into account and not just overburdened landfills often a mix of recycled content and virgin pulp from sustainably harvested forests turns out to be better overall for the environment. We’ve scrutinized this and some other commonly held ideas about green marketing to help you separate fact from fiction:

What you may think: “The more recycled content, the better.”

What you need to know: Again, not necessarily true. To help you determine which issues are of most interest to your company, try visiting the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool® (epat.org), which is organized by a consortium of well-known large companies under the rubric the Paper Working Group. The EPAT enables paper buyers to weigh the relative costs of water, air and climate quality, as well as the health of natural systems and community well-being, then matches buyers with the paper that best addresses their needs. EPAT 2.0 is due to be released to the public this month.

What you may think: “As long as it’s paper, it’s recyclable.”

What you need to know: Varnishes and metallic inks may make your communication stand out in the mail, but once they’re applied to paper, processing that paper becomes difficult for recycling plants. As a result, anything with chemical additions could end up sitting in a landfill for years, whereas soy inks and other natural substances are easily recyclable by most municipalities’ recycling programs.

What you may think: “Green direct mail is boring.”

What you need to know: Au contraire. Creating environmentally friendly direct mail doesn’t have to mean sending out a simple gray card. “Push designers to create an intriguing piece that doesn’t need all those extras on the printing side,” says Seri McClendon, co-founder of Clean Agency, a marketing services firm that specializes in sustainable campaigns. For example, a postcard printed on paper that’s embedded with wildflower seeds that can be planted in the ground creates an impact because of its dual use. An interesting call to action can also capture customers’ attention, such as by offering the ability to purchase carbon-emission offsets with any order.

What you may think: “There’s no environmental cost to going digital.”

What you need to know: Marketers hoping to reduce their environmental footprint by migrating communication efforts online often don’t take into account the environmental costs to maintaining a Web site, a data center and other related equipment, according to Lisa Wellman, CEO of SustainCommWorld, which produces an annual trade show on green-media issues. The average 24kg desktop computer with monitor requires at least 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals to manufacture, making it much more materials intensive than an automobile or refrigerator. “Marketers need to be able to weigh the environmental cost of each channel and balance them,” Wellman says.

What you may think: “Cleaning up my own backyard is enough.”

What you need to know: More and more, companies are being held accountable by consumers, even if it’s not the company itself but rather one of its vendors that’s running afoul. So cleaning up your own act isn’t enough. “Supply chain analysis is important” to avoid getting in trouble on the environmental front, says McClendon. If a supplier doesn’t improve its environmental record, your solution might be as simple as taking your business elsewhere.