One Toner Cartridge at a Time

It's interesting how something as benign, as everyday, as ordinary as a printer cartridge can make all the difference in the world. In my travels as a message and media consultant, I am lucky to come across some really amazing people and everyday I'm blown away at how many people are dedicating themselves to positive change. Last spring, I was fortunate enough to meet and work with Rob Dube, President and co-founder of Image One, a "company that is helping many companies across the nation to manage and simplify their printing environments," based in Oak Park, Michigan. Rob and his partner, Joel Pearlman, have been in business together since high school and built an award-winning methodology and business model. But I met Rob because he and his partner wanted to make a daily difference in lots of people's lives. You see, Joel's daugther, Danielle, has autism and because Joel and Rob believe that businesses should give back to their community, they decided to launch TonerForAutism.com, an easy way for organizations, businesses, schools and people to make a difference with the simple act of buying toner for their printers. Their goal? TonerForAutism.com is dedicated to raising awareness and donating at least $1,000,000 by contributing 5% of every sale to organizations that support autism-related research and issues.

I had a great conversation with Rob today and am THRILLED to be joining on board as a partner development associate, to help bring TFA's mission and vision to organizations who already support families, children and communities dealing with autism, as well as anyone else interested in making a difference.

I'd love to invite anyone who believes that small change adds up to huge impacts, to take a look at Dani's story and the mission behind TonerForAutism.com. You'll be glad you did. If you're interested in participating, either on an individual basis, or through your business or organization, drop me a line and I can help you to get started.

Green Purchasing Power - To Buy or to Pass?

Most people agree that switching to greener products makes sense and is the right thing to do. But a recent McKinsey Survey shows that when it comes to actually buying green products, consumers are not so fast to plop down their dough. Why is this the case? Is it an issue of accessibility, cost, culture or something else?

Does the same hold true for promoting green products? With every product now claiming 'green' status, how do you make your truly green iniatives stand out and be noticed, from the press to the market place?

As a sustainable message and media relations professional, one of my main jobs is to educate, oftentimes with my clients even more than the press. Reason being, my clients are passionate and dedicated people who have devoted huge amounts of time developing and creating innovative products. I have to remind clients that the rest of the world has to catch up to their vision and that takes some time. In our consumerist society with the focus on immediate gratification, green product promotion, as well as green buying takes a more thoughtful approach.

One of the issues I see, and one that the McKinsey survey mentions, is with the very issue of consumption itself. The ultimate ideal is to consume less, and that means buying less products, green or otherwise. And that may mean when we ask consumers to think about buying green, that we are also asking them to embody more than the purchasing element, but an overall philosophy that reduces consumption, from the product's impact, purpose, packaging or whether, in hard and easy economic times, we actually need that green item?

What did you think?