A
few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the sprawling Housewares
Show at Chicago's McCormick Place, where more than 1,200 exhibitors
showcased the best their companies and industry had to offer.
I took full advantage of the opportunity to conduct an informal
"sustainability survey" as I visited each exhibitor's booth. I inquired
about their green objectives and initiatives, and the responses varied
tremendously. I suspect that to some degree, the exhibitors reflect the
population as a whole.
As I listened to the varying comments on sustainability and
packaging, I was reminded of the Kubler-Ross "Five Stages of Grief,"
which famously describe our natural and very human resistance to
change. In my conversations with exhibitors, all five stages were
clearly demonstrated as people reflected on how green is impacting
their business.
Denial
I was very disappointed by the number of people who are still stuck
in stage one and who really want to believe this environmental,
sustainability thing is "going to blow over."
I am very sorry to admit that most of these people are of my
generation. We "boomers" may have lived and perhaps even led America
through one of the most turbulent times in our history but we tend to
not accept change easily or quickly.
To be fair, many cited a litany of previous environmental fads that
came went so I can understand why expecting this green season to pass
may appear more sensible than addressing it. Some in this generation
that stood for innovation, change and social responsibility is now
simply out of touch.
Anger
I was very surprised to encounter some rudeness and even some
hostility that went well beyond the "Why me?" attitude that often
accompanies this stage. I sincerely believe that these are business
people who, unlike the group above, recognize the change but are simply
unprepared to deal with it. It is a confusing topic with few clear
answers, so some degree of confusion and frustration is understandable.
The phrase, "Shoot the messenger" came to mind as a few exhibitors
tried to convince me that I was perpetuating the problem by bringing it
up.
Bargaining
This by far is the most troublesome group because they have already
decided how to best "handle this problem" by doing as little as
possible. Many of the people are not fully committed and see only the
cost and not the benefit that could potentially be enjoyed by them and
their company. Unfortunately, this is where half-hearted measures and
deceptive compromise are born and flourish.
Depression
This group of people hides behind the convenient excuse: "All my
packaging comes from overseas and they make those decisions." By
avoiding that responsibility they can run but will never be able to
hide from the inarguable fact that they are contributing to the
problem, not the solution.
I sincerely saw hints of remorse and sadness in people who know
they are not doing the right thing and live in fear that eventually
their greenwashing ways will be exposed by a growing public awareness.
Acceptance
Here is where the hope is for the industry, if not the planet. I
spoke to numerous companies who are making solid commitments and
decisions to use better, more earth-friendly packaging materials and
less of them.
They are working toward more local, domestic sources of supply that
will reduce the carbon footprint of the products they sell and are
sincere in their efforts to implement cradle-to-cradle thinking and
processes. These bright people have figured out what the giant CPG
companies already have discovered -- going green may cost time and
money initially but it pays huge dividends in the long run.
Dennis Salazar is the president of Salazar Packaging Inc., a
certified MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) company specializing in
flexible packaging products, equipment and sustainable packaging
solutions. A slightly different version of this essay originally
appeared on SustainableIsGood.
