Immature Entrepreneur

Yesterday, several networks aired a primetime special to bring visibility to ”Stand Up to Cancer,” a not for profit organization whose mission is to “enable cutting-edge research aimed at finding a cure to all types of cancer.”

While their heart is in the right place, we are going about this all wrong.

At the turn of the century (1900-ish), cancer rates were less than 1 in 50. Today? 1 in 3. (And we’re expected to hit 1 in 2 within the next few years.) So why the drastic increase?

Here are a handful of reasons to illustrate the point:

• That shirt you’re wearing contains cotton which has been sprayed with pesticides (aka poison).
• Human beings spend 1/3 of our lives in our beds. Sexual inuendos aside, that comfy permanent press comforter you’re snuggling up with has been treated with formaldehyde whose toxins you are inhaling all night long (thanks Lionel Richie).
• Common household “air fresheners” such as Lysol contain dioxin, also known by it’s other less popular name Agent Orange.

Need I go on?

You want to know what the cure for cancer is? Ready? Here goes. Don’t get it.

Not only is the green movement popular these days but implementing some simple green initiatives can also save your business…well, some green.

Here are a few examples:

• KC Door to Door Organics — this company delivers fresh organic produce to your doorstep weekly. They ask that you put last week’s box/packaging back on your doorstep so it can be reused over and over again, saving the company money as a result of not having to constantly purchase new boxes and packing materials.
• Whole Foods — during checkout, the cashier asks whether you want a paper receipt. This allows the company to save money on receipt paper and ink for printing. Same concept with grocery bags.
• Stonyfield Farms — changed interior yogurt cover from plastic to aluminum, reducing packaging by nearly 1 million pounds per year and producing a savings of almost $800,000 annually.

These are but a few examples. The cool thing here is that not only does it make fiscal sense but these measures also allow you to explore your creativity and show that you care as a company. When you do the right thing your customers become built in marketers, again saving money with a drastically reduced need for traditional marketing.

Going green isn’t just a leftist, tree hugging hippie ideal–it makes good business sense too when done right.