Going green is a trendy phrase that’s hard to escape these days, as it’s present in almost every industry and media outlet. The two buzz words as of late get thrown around in every aspect of our lives in order to promote a culture of conservation, especially as the human population surpasses more than 7 billion people. According to Scientific American, in the U.S. alone, a child will produce 13 times the ecological damage throughout the course of his or her lifetime than a child born in Brazil.
But what does going green mean exactly?
“Going green or eco-friendly is a very vague term for a very specific set of products,” Blake Stoudt, digital marketing manager at StockPKG, a one-stop-shop that offers eco-friendly discounted products to homes and offices sold in bulk, told R&D Magazine.
Bettering the environment has been a topic of conversation in the U.S. since the 1930s. As if the collapse of the economy wasn’t enough, chronic flooding on major rivers began in the 1920s, and dry weather cycle through the 1930s generated years of dust storms. Nature was issuing bills for the environmental costs of decades of urban and industrial growth and poor soil management. As a result, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration pushed for environmental protection from Big Industry clogging up the skies by making conservation and restoration of environment high on its agenda.
Fast track to today, and now big companies are also getting on the eco-friendly bandwagon. The use of natural resources is at an all-time high—if not only for being more desirable as a company and helping the environment for future generations, firms and individuals can now also receive state and local government tax write-offs for their green efforts. Now that going green is in vogue, governments are getting in on the action by encouraging taxpayers to adopt energy-efficient practices for a prize. Recent legislation provides several tax incentives to eco-friendly businesses or individuals that help you save money.
“You might not get the savings now when you place the order, but you’ll get the savings when you do your company taxes later on,” Stoudt said, adding that companies should check with their local government about going-green tax write-offs.
So what does going green mean to StockPKG?
“To me going green means I have a personal or company commitment to reducing environmental impact of what my company does,” said Stoudt referring to the reduction of excess in personal consumption.
The company, which calls itself the “next Amazon of business supply solutions,” sells more than 35,000 stock items, of which more than 5,000 fit into the going-green category. From office to home supplies, the online retailer offers batteries, cups, lids, plates, containers, trash liners, cleaning supplies and floor mats, to name a few items.
What makes these products ecofriendly is that they’re made from recycled material. Some of the office supplies have been made from post-recycled consumer content, such as bamboo desk frames, to journals, to calendars made with recycled paper. It also carries staples made out of 50 percent reused material, and there’s even compostable trash bags and biodegradable products, according to Stoudt.
While the online store also sells to individuals with minor needs, those who buy in bulk tend to get more bang for their buck.
“If you want to throw a green event for 5,000 people, well, are your trash bags compostable? Is your cutlery bioplastics? Are there specific trash cans for organic waste,” asked Stoudt. “We can help you cut the price since you’re buying so many things.”
The California-based company is an approved vendor by the NY Sanitation Department for its trash bags. Since N.Y.C. has a huge push to compost food, with all of the food waste from restaurants, etc., the state figured it would save millions of dollars by giving people cutbacks if they use compostable products.
While the online catalog company is a for-profit entity, it’s not always just about the bottom line for the packaging supply store.
“If going green is important to you and price is the only thing holding you back, call us, call your department of business, because there’s a lot of options to consider,” he added.
StockPKG offers bulk pricing as well as free shipping if someone orders a certain amount.
The company also offers education to consumers. If someone requests compostable trash bags, the staff asks why are they interested in these trash bags instead of regular ones, “because any time you’re going to go green, you’re going to spend more money,” Stoudt concluded. “To us going green is more of a commitment rather than a tangible term you can apply to everyone who wants to do it.”
For going-green tax reductions, check the IRS website.