A while back Geyrhalter Design started re-using every single piece of paper used at the office, unless of confidential nature of course. It was a past GD Designer’s fetish, and soon we all caught on to it, and now it became a company policy. It started with creating company note pads made out of 8 1/2 x 11 sheets cut in half. One side was the note pad and the other was the pre-printed side. A great thing to use something twice, of course. But it also started a trend of re-feeding used paper into all company printers and going through junk mail to grab all US Letter sized material that was re-usable on one side, before waving it good-bye to the recycling bin. So we are saving the world, or at least are feeling absolutely amazing about what we do, but this practice also has a nice added benefit. Each backside tells a story of our company’s past. Failed design ideas, funny internal feedback notes, long forgotten projects, colors that could be used for a current project, people we have been out of touch with for too long, or just the pathetic junk mail mixed right in. Now we live by it, and I believe that most of my team is as excited about peeking at the back side of each page, as they are about taking notes and sketching new ideas on the front side of their pads.  Try it – good karma that’s (paper-)tons of fun to do! And hey – it helps team building as well.  

On my way to work I heard that the last report on NPR (National Public Radio – for our friends from around the globe) was brought to me by:

FIJI Water.

‘Giving back to the environment with every bottle’.

Ouch! That hurt my ears in so many ways, especially since I was driving down beautiful PCH, a highway known for its spectacular ocean and nature views. Also, because there was a great article I read in a major publication (which one slipped my mind) a couple of weeks ago, talking about the tremendous environmental issues that come with bottled waters, and it specifically mentioned Fiji as a prime example of the issue. Shortly thereafter I read an opinion-piece on going for tap water in The New York Times, stating that it does not only make sense to do ‘the switch back’, but it’s also quite good tasting, contrary to public belief.

So hearing Fiji water, who so very obviously (it comes from Fiji afterall, not Catalina Island) are not a ‘green’ choice, toot their horns on ‘being green’ really rubbed me wrong. Before going on my rampage (for which I really should not have any time on a very busy thursday morning at my agency), I wanted to look up their site to see if I was missing something. And surely I was: Fiji just launched a major campaign called ‘Fiji Green‘ where they talk about how extremely ‘green’ their water is. Ouch, again.

A couple of open questions to that idea:

1. Although an obvious choice, do I really want my water to be associated with the color green?

2. If the entire world just recently heard the news on Fiji Water having a major negative impact on the environment, is it really a good move to create a campaign around being the opposite, or should it rather focus on the brands’ strengths and quietly act and hit the market with good news, rather then the idea that ‘good news is in the works’?

3. I am not a copy writer, but I do know a bit about the do’s and don’t's since I work with them on a daily basis. ‘Giving back to the environment’ by giving it a bottle is surely not a very sure-shot statement, or does ‘giving’, ‘bottle’ and ‘environment’ really sound like a positive statement together?

4. Launching an open platform is very 2.0, but it makes sense that the very first comment that the campaign received on its blog, in reply to the post ‘Welcome to the FIJI Green blog’, fired right back (‘I read a compelling article a few months back about bottled water, and Fiji water was highlighted as one of the worst performing bottled water companies with respect to carbon footprint…’). The comment that followed Fiji’s very lengthy defense comment brings my thoughts on a strategy gone bad, to the point:

As a side note on the same subject, my girlfriend and I did a water tasting-test of all the bottled waters out there half a year ago. We were not necessarily bored, but curious, and a bit nerdy, I agree. We bought around 8, or so, bottles of waters, from France (Evian) all the way to Fiji, and we threw in a couple of local ones. We put them in cups that we labeled on the bottom and we did a blind tasting test. The winner was Crystal Geyser (actually the Trader Joe’s custom-labeled version, bottled at the same source), an inexpensive water from California. A big blow on a very design and brand focused couple, but great news altogether.

Regardless of our findings, we stopped drinking Crystal Geyser soon thereafter and opted out for filtered tap water, and we surely don’t cry tears after the Evian’s and Fiji’s of this world.

I think we might, hence I designed these tote bags (Yes, 100% organic and pricey as hell) for our clients as a holiday gift this past December that read ‘If I hear the word ‘Green’ one more time I swear I will switch back to plastic’ on them. In my hobby-occupation of a photographer, my (then) agent urged me to switch my frames to 100% sustainable as she was promoting ‘the greening of fine art’. It would be a big hit, she suggested. It rubbed me wrong. Why would I create and sell a strictly limited photographic print (which in itself is not ‘recycleable’) with the thought of making it into fertilizer? Don’t we have to stop somewhere and make priorities, like combining errands when taking the car or using less paper during the work day? But does a photographer really need to lower the overall quality and vision by having the framing material be made out of hemp instead of wood? I don’t think so.

The same question came up within my team at Geyrhalter Design. We have always been a forerunner in the belief that ‘doing good means good business’. That motto was put into full effect when we joined ’1% For The Planet’, giving 1% of our profit back to NonProfit Organizations that help protect our environment, but it was also reflected in simple office purchases and a strict recycling policy, as it was always important for me to talk the talk, and walk the walk. That’s when we raised the question about our business cards.Our cards won a whole lot of awards and we receive love letters about them on a weekly basis, not to mention the countless ‘how’ and ‘where’ questions when it comes to the printing process. They embody our brand in a very unique and successful way and what makes them even more special is that – and here is the issue – they are made out of plastic. A very unique printing process, where we lay several layers of ink on a completely transparent sheet of plastic. It’s truly amazing being on press when they are printed to such detail. It’s also a commitment to our brand since each card ends up costing $1.30 in the end.

All that said, there is one thing our cards are not: they are far from ‘green’. As we sat in the office one afternoon and I brought up the fact that i feel Geyrhalter Design is not walking the walk, it started a heated and productful discussion that resulted in the same conclusion I made earlier about sustainable frames for high-end art: ‘No one would trash that card, it really is a unique piece of art, something to hold on to’, someone said, and all nodded.

A mind set that works until the next print run of cards, where we will find a way to make them more environmentally friendly. By a kick-butt design, but also a more sustainable material choice. Until then we will ensure the ones who receive our $1.30 card won’t trash them.