Trend Watch: Sustainability Defined (finally)

Trend Watch: Sustainability, Generation G and more

More and more people are catching on to Generation G, the spirit of Giving. Today we see more businesses supporting charitable organizations and events than ever before.

Why would this be happening in such a poor economic environment? Same reason women like chocolate. To read more see: Coming full circle to Generation-G.  Also see the great articles at TrendWatching.com.

TrendWatching.com says that “building a more sustainable economy isn’t an option, it is a necessity”. We couldn’t agree more. Suppliers and resellers who are not focused on key social and economic issues such as sustainable packaging are going to be left out when the economy rebounds.

Nashville Wraps is committed to making sure neither we nor our customers are left out. We are committed to sustainability in three key areas: Economic, social, and environmental. We believe it takes all three to complete our transition of full circle.

On a recent trip to Chicago we spent the day working with our partners at Distant Village Packaging. Rich Cohen (Mr. Sustainability) has developed the three-part concept and like us is putting it into practice in business and at home. For more about it see Distant Village – Sustainability.

Are you in the 3% that will run lean?

An article I read recently* said that only 3 out of 100 packaging manufacturers have the drive, discipline and leadership to run lean.

People are the worst about refusing to change unless they have good reasons to. Certainly this economy is a darn good reason to change because change is here and it is affecting everyone. How we deal with it is going to determine what that change mean to you, your business and your employees.

Yesterday I went to Sears to buy those great Craftsman tools. Much to my chagrin the selections were minimal at best. I came looking, ready to buy, but did not spend as much as I planned. My point is that running lean on the important things is probably not good for business, so be careful what you cut back on!

Trend Watch: Local Businesses are coming back

I don’t know about your area, but the malls around Nashville look like an asphalt testing area. I recently returned from Anaheim and the big block mall there too was nearly empty. But as I wandered through some of my old stomping grounds in East Nashville the other day, I couldn’t find a parking place at the local shops and restaurants. The restaurants and bars have found new life in those old turn-of-the-century block buildings and houses along the narrow streets. The wine shop was booming; in fact it took up residence in a former bank building (how appropriate). There were bakeries, a local hardware store, a home accessories shop and more, all doing well.

It just makes sense that we see a resurgence in neighborhood business. Local businesses are much more personable, closer to home, have better service and are flexible and adapt better to the needs and wants of the area. And local businesses are not owned by companies like Sears, so I would expect to find what I’m looking for in them as well.

On that note, we are excited about the 3/50 Project, with the concept of picking 3 local businesses and spending $50. It illustrates the movement for support of local business. The 3/50 Project is the brain child of Cinda Baxter of Retailspeaks.com. She has created free materials for download on her site that will help you implement the project in your town. The idea is to pick 3 of your favorite local stores and spend $50 a month with them. That’s about one dinner for two (or one if it’s a little upscale).

Wraps Update: Cast a Wider Net, Look at Everything, Welcome Criticism

These are the three main points of what we are doing at Nashville Wraps to prosper, not just survive; and you can do the same: Blog Article: Don’t just survive…Prosper!

In the past 30 days Nashville Wraps has added over 3600 products to our web site. These are both totally new products and products that were in the marketplace but not previously offered by us. We are partnering with trusted vendors and are able to bring these to you at competitive prices with the high level of service that you expect from us. Look for even more to come!

Look in these sections for new products:

Christmas Bags;  Reusable Shopping Bags (lots more to come here); Paper Shopping Bags ( Especially Shadow Stripe Kraft);  Cool Gift Card Holders;  A la Carte Food Service Packaging;  Hundreds of New Factory-Direct Gift Wraps and more being added all the time.

This year we have reduced our minimum order to only $25, changed our packaging to biodegradable materials, introduced shipping services via the US postal Service and more. We’re listening! Send us those comments.

Robby Meadows
Nashville Wraps

* April 2009 Packaging Machinery technology

PS: Getting back to Full circle also means understand where you came from. The ad at the bottom below is for a book written by my dad. Those who have read it have really enjoyed it and related to it directly or through someone they know. It a great read!