It's More Than Just Recycling: A Lesson In Being A Sustainable Local Business

When our family decided to go into business for ourselves, it was one of the easier decisions that we actually had to make. What came afterwards was the real hard part, between trying to inform and teach our customers, finding the best marketing plan, and the best packaging methods-I felt overwhelmed. Having only 2 years under my belt, I still have a lot to learn. Lately, I have become concerned with how our business is doing on the environmental front. Honestly, we could be doing so much more to lessen our own carbon footprint. This has led to months of research, planning, exchanging of ideas, and beginning stages of implementing a system that will work for us.

While evaluating our business I realized rather quickly that we were wasting a lot of material, especially in the packaging area. I have always taught the kids how important recycling was, how to up-cycle, and how important it was to purchase items locally. We make it to at least three different local Farmers Market's throughout the early spring and summer. The fact that we live near the Twin Cities helps make it possible to put saving resources and purchasing locally at the forefront of our minds. Our local grocery stores have really grasped this concept. So why was I not taking advantage of these potential resources? I have no idea.

My first objective was to research companies that already implemented this idea of lessening the waste output. Rickshaw Bagworks was one of those companies I became very impressed with. This is a company based out of San Francisco that has a small workforce and produces a zero waste products. Impressive right? Did I mention that the material used for these bags are recycled water bottles? Even more impressive!

In the article "Make What You Sell: A New Breed Of Manufacturer" was a statement from that made a real impact for me "We also observe the "KISS" principle: Keep It Super Simple. By making products to order, we can offer a portfolio of bags designed specifically for our own lean manufacturing process. We don't maintain a finished-goods inventory, and our materials are delivered just in time. We keep our supply chain as short as possible, purchasing most materials from American manufacturers and working with local subcontractors who specialize in the few things we don't do ourselves. We also focus on direct sales, as opposed to wholesale, to improve profit margins and support higher costs."

This is the solid business plan that I was looking for. It has the elements that I want to use in our own business. One of the main things that we fight in our small business is that we purchase material that we then have to shelve, it can take some time before we have a customer to be able to use it.

This is when I wanted to learn more and I wanted to take lessons from all the information I could find, so that we could try to recreate a similar plan within our own business. In another article I picked up some great information including these gems "We embrace what I call the "three f's" of sustainable design: form, function, and footprint. We pride ourselves on making high-quality products for long-term, everyday use." and "We also strive to reduce waste in every aspect of our business. To that end, our Zero Messenger Bag collection is designed in a way that lets us use every part of the fabric that we cut to make each bag."

As a result, we eliminate the waste that results from overstocking and disposing of unpopular and seasonal styles. Because most of our business involves selling directly to customers through our online store, rather than through retailers, we have virtually eliminated the need for hang tags and wholesale brochures. We don't send print catalogs to consumers, and our packaging is designed to convey only essential point-of-purchase information, without wasting paper on words that few people ever read"

How simple are those ideas? If your interest is piqued upon hearing about the ZERO waste concept, this very short article can sum it up-"Rickshaw's New Zero Waste Messenger Bag". Another article that I found the above inspiration for can be found within the "How To Build A Sustainable Business"

In my opinion Rickshaw should become the small business model that we all take a good look at. I was amazed that they have few employee's, but offered tours of the small building to see how everything works. I have rarely heard of a business taking the time to "hit the street" to connect with the public-customer or not.

Rickshaw Bagworks: Who We Are from Rickshaw Bagworks on Vimeo.

After looking at the business practices of Rickshaws, I am quick to realize that there are many things that I could be doing to become a better small business. I have been able to lead by example and initiated forming business relationships with local small business owners. While our small business is nothing like Rickshaws customizable bags, the company itself is a rare find. My question to you is are there things that you could do to become more focused on purchasing locally? Did you even realize that purchasing locally goes above and beyond food?




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