On the Sustainability of Eco-Friendliness

"Money grows on the tree of persistence. Where the determination is, the way can be found."

I hold my breath and click the link.

Will they be there, or won’t they?

It’s a time I both relish and dread. That of checking the links on the website to see if our latest eco-friendly finds are at the other end of a single click.

Does the link still work? Is the business still chugging along, thriving, even? That I relish with a small cheer – woo-hoo, good for them! Or do I get the dreaded 404: Page Not Found Error? Sometimes – in the best of the worst-case scenarios – that means the product has moved to another (sometimes even better) page, which still elicits a “yay” from me.

But all too often the product is no longer available, or, sadly, the entire product line is no longer available. Or – cue the depressed sigh – the entire business has vanished.

Sustainability is a key operative for eco-friendliness. Products developed from materials that are replaceable and don’t deplete the earth (e.g., bamboo) are considered sustainable.

And sustainability is also a key operative for businesses. Enter “Corporate Sustainability” or “Business Sustainability.” It was a mere twenty years ago (2005) that “ESG” (Environmental, Social & Governance) was coined, with sustainability in business becoming a frequently used term shortly thereafter. [1]

And while much of the ESG and Business Sustainability focus is (rightfully) on the green factor (e.g., use of renewable resources, reduced environmental footprint), there is also the lesser (much lesser) talked about aspect of economic impact.

A sustainable business is any organization that participates in environmentally friendly or green activities to ensure that all processes, products, and manufacturing activities adequately address current environmental concerns while maintaining a profit.

Harvard Business School [2]

Because, of course, if a business does not make a profit, it perishes.

And that, I am afraid, is the underlying factor as to why I get so many 404: Page Not Found Errors. While it is an important part of business planning to look at long-term payoffs on investments, many small businesses have to look at short-term profitability to get up and running and stay afloat. Especially if they are self-funded startups, which many of The Earth Pup product finds appear to be.

So, what might be some changes we could bring about that would help these small businesses to continue on?

A few possibilities:

• Limit key word digital advertising buys to verified product matches

Shocking, simply shocking as to how many non-eco-friendly products appear at the top of a search for eco-friendly products. To the unassuming buyer, these may well look like eco-friendly products (that is what they searched on, isn’t it?), resulting in them buying something that isn’t supporting the cause. This is where governance (even self-governance) can come in. As of this writing, there’s not much limiting which advertiser can purchase which key words. Perhaps it’s time for a change.

• Merchandising eco-friendly products together

This may well be in place for some retailers, just none I have seen as of yet (sporadically for some e-tailers). Mostly, I’m left to hunt-and-peck for eco-friendliness amongst non-eco-friendliness. While there is a thought process behind that merchandising (keep all the like products together and let the buyer decide, or putting the top-sellers (usually non-eco-friendly) front-and-center), there are also buyer benefits to putting all eco-friendly products together. Namely, they’re easier to find, making it faster to shop, and it helps to remove the direct price comparison between what is often the more expensive eco-friendly option and the less expensive non-eco-friendly option. A win-win for customer and merchant.

• Establish supply chain co-ops

“Why are eco-friendly materials so expensive?” A not so uncommon query from small business startups and consumers, as well. A few factors include increased cost to produce the materials (e.g., organic cotton costs more to produce than non-organic), smaller quantities and lower demand. Though a few eco-friendly supplier cooperatives may well exist, I’m not finding them easily… Eco-friendly businesses banding together as a co-op to buy materials in bulk (read: lower pricing), such that each member can then purchase smaller quantities at the same lower pricing, would help small businesses to both start up and stay afloat.

• Cease the “greenwashing” defamation

True, eco-friendliness has many components beyond just raw materials. And many products touted as eco-friendly still have some not-so-eco-friendly components. But…it is a step in the right direction. And just like training the pups, a step in the right direction should be praised, rather than chastised, to keep them progressing. In pursuit of a sustainable business, one would imagine that many of these small business start-ups do have plans to further expand their greenness, but that is dependent on first getting a viable business up and running. Supporting their efforts with purchases rather than a label of “greenwashing” would definitely be a step in the right direction.

Here's to many more cheers for product find links still working in the future – The Earth Pup’s pulling for you!

[1] Updated - Corporate Social Responsibility: A Brief History - Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals

[2] What Is Sustainability in Business? | HBS Online