October 04, 2013

OWN A BUSINESS? YOUR PAPER WASTE MATTERS

Last month, Fast Company wrote a post discussing one of the newest Internet memes--the CVS receipt. The nationwide drugstore chain is notorious for providing ridiculously long receipts at the checkout counter, even for individuals who are just buying one or two items.

Recently, people have begun posting photographs of their long CVS receipts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There's even a Twitter feed devoted to the extra long receipts. On social media, many are simply discussing the receipts from a humorous perspective, but some people are criticizing the chain for wasting so much paper.

As Fast Company points out, CVS has yet to comment on their now infamous receipt printing practices. The blog post focuses on how this is a marketing opportunity for CVS upon which they have yet to capitalize; however, looking at this from a green perspective, I can't help but feel that there's a more important takeaway here.

As a business owner, the decisions that you make about your use of paper matter. While it might take 3-foot long receipts to catch the attention of some customers, others are highly sensitive to environmental issues and will be turned off by even less heinous acts of wastage. When you're examining your purchasing standards and your business practices, taking into consideration the environmental impact of all aspects of your company isn't just good for the planet--it's good for your business, too.