Websites Are Green Advertising

Print advertising has a huge impact on the environment. The manufacturing of paper, printing inks, use of solvents and coatings for paper, distribution and disposal of print advertising results in many ways that the environment is harmed. On the other hand, a website has a minimal environmental impact because it doesn't use raw materials like paper, is cost-efficient and easy to update.

The manufacture and disposal of paper affects the environment through forestry operations, air and water emissions from manufacturing operations, and disposal of waste.

Conventional printing inks are made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and some inks release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air during printing. VOCs contribute to smog and can cause illness and cancer among printers. Products required in the printing process are transported from place to place by truck resulting in pollution and carbon emissions.

Here is a quick list of the steps required to make an advertising brochure:

• Tree is cut down
• Transported to pulp mill
• Cut up as chips
• Cooked with chemicals to make pulp
• Pulp is blown with hot air
• Washed to remove chemicals
• Other chemicals, dyes added
• Dried between water-absorbing fabrics
• Rolled again to make smooth surface
• Cut into sheets and packaged
• Transported to paper wholesaler
• Purchased by printer
• Transported to printer
• Printed with ink, coatings and other chemicals
• Printing presses are cleaned with environmentally harmful solvents
• Trimmed and bound to produce brochures or booklets
• Packaged and shipped to customer
• Addressed and delivered to recipient by car or truck

Each step involves the use of energy, waste and chemicals that need to be disposed of.

Information source for paper manufacturing process:

http://www.internationalpaper.com

Many brochures are never read, they go in the garbage or recycle bin without having any advertising benefit. Ads in newspapers are ignored by readers who are focusing on the editorial content and filtering out ad information.

Recycling also has an environmental impact. Printed material made from coated material cannot be recycled. Recycling involves picking up paper from homeowner and transporting to recycling facility. Paper is sorted and recyclable items are shipped to paper mill. The mill uses chemicals and energy to remove printing ink and make paper usable again.

A web page is a virtual advertising brochure. It consists of data that is sent to a person’s computer over the internet. It is created using creative ideas and input from a web designer. The only resource it uses is electricity. It is never wasted, it is never disposed of. It doesn’t use up trees, pollute our water or add to our landfill sites.

Changing or correcting it doesn’t mean throwing out hundreds of brochures and starting over; just make a change using the content management system. It’s available 24/7. To view more information about a web content management system go to www.kwebdesign.ca.

It’s an easy way to attract attention by using video or sound to enhance the advertising message. A web page can gather user input, interacts and informs better than any printed material. That’s why a website is the most cost-efficient and environmentally friendly way to advertise.