The Greenest Way to Make a Business Card
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.20.08
It's really easy to gather up stacks and stacks of paper at a conference, most of which you end up not needing or wanting, and so tossing into a recycling bin. I try to avoid paper at conferences for this reason, opting to write down pertinent info in a note pad, or grabbing the good old-fashioned business card which gives the info needed on the smallest amount of paper.
However, there are ways to green up even tiny business cards.
This pile of leaves caught my attention while perusing exhibitor tables at Bioneers 2008. The creator cleverly gathered up leaves and stamped their business info on them. Kind of the opposite of business cards that grow.
But the conservation didn't stop with skipping the paper. Flip the leaf over, and another organization's info is stamped on. Two companies get exposure in one of the cheapest, greenest ways I've seen, save scratching out info on someone else's card and writing in your own.
A few days after picking up the leaf, it is still a lovely shade of green, and has dried to a sturdy, card-like structure. Great thinking - a paper business card without any manufacturing!
More on Green Business Cards
Green Business Card
Greenest. Business Card. Ever.
Business Card Becomes Garden
More on Bioneers 2008:
Bioneers 2008: Familiar Faces – Interface Carpets, WiserEarth, Nepalese Paper and More
Bioneers 2008: Opening Speech by Kenny Ausubel
Bioneers 2008: Nature and Technology Joining Forces
Bioneers 2008: A Green Conference Standard
Bioneers 2008: Solar-Powered Water Fountain a Great DIY Project
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- 10 Green Tips to Recover from Holiday Clutter
- Make Boxing Day the Real Buy Nothing Day
- 9 "Green" Gadgets of Questionable Repute
I see, so if every business card in the world were on a leaf, how many naked trees would we find in t he city? I wouldn't call stripping trees of their leaves a green solution. Sustainable is relative to scale. Pooping in the creek saves the need for plumbing, a toilet, a sewer system, etc ... makes pooping in a creek sound green, until 6 billion poops go floating by.
Hopefully people will think to go about this in a greener way than just plucking leaves off of trees in the city. A company could grow their own trees for this purpose or use leaves that have already fallen off the trees.
geez I've been raading this blog for awhile. Mostly everyone who comments leaves something negative behind. Negative, negative, negative- no wonder most of the world doesn't want to listen to treehuggers.
I can't believe what ridiculous comments have been made. Really? You guys are freaking out that they "plucked leaves" from the trees? A few leaves won't make an impact on a large shrub or tree, nevermind the fact that the plant will probably lose the leaves soon (not sure of type or location though). This was for a conference for crying out loud. It was cute, resourceful and thoughtful. Give people a break since I could count on the fact that neither of you live a sustainable life, completely.
Wow. Well I'm a bride to be and I'm having a green wedding. After my fiance bought me a diamond engagement ring from www.idonowidont.com we decided to 'keep it real' with our budget and have a green wedding. The concept of the leaves is pretty unique, we were thinking of having 'green' confetti with our names on them ...maybe we'll go with leaves!