Environmental Strategies with Direct Mail

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to both decision-makers and the public as a whole.

In fact, research conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value has revealed nearly six in ten (57%) of consumers surveyed said that they are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact.

However, many marketers are under the misconception that direct mail campaigns are not as eco-friendly as digital media campaigns. 

But did you know that direct mail campaigns can be just as environmentally friendly as digital marketing projects?

As the print industry has taken considerable measures to negate the environmental impact of direct mail printing, many marketers are finding out that print can be shockingly green.

Six Ways to Keep Direct Mail Green

Let’s explore a few ways to retain the tailored targeting and high ROI benefits of direct mail marketing while keeping in line with your green aspirations:

List Management and Cleaning

Regularly scrubbing your mailing list, to update changed addresses and eliminate out-of-date information is a great way of keeping your direct mail campaigns clean and green.

Modernize Paper & Ink

Modern biodegradable inks have replaced the harsh, old-school solvent-based inks.

We only use water-soluble ink which is much kinder to the environment. It doesn’t contain any of the toxic chemicals found in plastisol ink and greatly reduces the risk to consumers and the planet. 

Thanks to organizations like the FSC®, much of the paper stock used in printing today comes from sustainable forests. Your print partner must work with reputable paper mills so as not to be misled by greenwashing claims.

Sepire is committed to being a part of the long-term solution to save and preserve the environment. This is why we collaborate with the Forest Stewardship Council® and use paper that is FSC® certified.

Make More from Your Direct Mail Elements

Postcards are ideal since they’re smaller in size, which makes it possible to step up more postcards on a sheet of paper stock.  Making use of double-sided elements in your is another way to keep your direct mail campaign ‘green’. Reducing the grammage of your direct mail element is beneficial to the environment. 

Keep in mind that certain plastic windows in envelopes are manufactured from non-renewable resources. It’s also worth noting that not all outer plastic wrap is eco-friendly.

Hit the Mark with Proper Targeting

Targeting helps to keep your direct mail campaign green by enabling you to reduce your print run. Simply put, targeted direct mail campaigns enable you to focus on a smaller group of prospects who are more likely to take up your offer.

A targeted audience can be segmented by demographics (gender, age, ethnicity, etc), geographic location, psychographics, or behavior.

Although targeted direct mail is an effective solution to keep your print campaign environmentally sustainable, a lower print-run will result in a higher unit print cost due to economy of scale.

Conversion Matters

Measuring the conversion rate of prospects to your homepage or landing page is another way to keep your direct mail campaign environmentally friendly. 

This can be achieved by including a user-friendly URL, PURL, or QR code in your direct mail piece for easy tracking. Analyzing tracked conversions from direct mail campaigns allows for reduced print runs without comprising the conversion results of future campaigns. 

Find a Sustainable, Reliable Print Partner

One of the greatest ways to align your environmental goals with actions? It’s simple. Ensure that your print partner has proven sustainability-conscious practices in place, and is ready to fully support their clients in their quest for sustainable printing. 

Sepire has always been dedicated to environmental sustainability. Since our founding, we’ve worked tirelessly to minimize emissions and eliminate waste.

From the materials we choose to the equipment we operate, sustainability is built into the way we work.

We are constantly looking for ways to reduce emissions and eliminate waste. In addition, the presses we use in our printing warehouses are almost completely free of Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

At Sepire we also contribute to reforestation through PrintReleaf. By measuring our paper consumption and calculating how many trees were harvested to produce the latter, our paper footprint is automatically reforested.

Moreover, we follow a lean manufacturing business model whereby we continuously improve quality, cost, and service while enhancing the environment by reducing waste.

The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and to take steps to support UN goals. We are a proud signatory of the United Nations Global Compact where we work together with other businesses on an ongoing basis to develop holistic, in-depth practices to combat environmental challenges. 

To learn more about effective Environmental Strategies with Direct Mail, connect with our team here.