The most wonderful time of the year… but unfortunately, it’s also the most wasteful time of the year. Around 114,000 tonnes of plastic packaging is thrown away and not recycled on a yearly basis, not to mention to shocking 4 million Christmas dinners that end up in the bin! (definitely not something that happens in our house). Christmas is seen as a time of overconsumption for many, and retail is one of the worst offenders for excessive waste. With so many holidays and significant days falling back-to-back; Halloween, Bonfire Night, Black Friday and Christmas, stores are overwhelmed with the need to switch up retail displays and keep on track. This can result in huge amounts of waste as displays are only up for a few days or week, and then tossed in the trash. We know it can be tricky to get this right, so we’ve put together some suggestions on how to sustainably rotate your POS, so you can still get a spot on Santa’s good list!
One POS idea we’ve seen recently that we love is interchangeable retail stands. The idea is that the main bulk of a stand can remain in place with a more neutral/branded backdrop working best and then you have elements that can be removed and replaced with other items. So, you could swap your POS pumpkins for penguins and your sparklers for snowmen. This method is much more sustainable as it does not involve the need for an entire new stand for each holiday in the festive season, meaning much less waste!
Window displays are a BIG thing around the festive season with stores going as far as having unveiling events that draw in huge crowds (hooray for gingerbread coffees whilst stood outside in the cold). Every year a new window theme is meticulously planned, and stores become well known for their jolly artistic antics. Whilst it may be difficult to reduce materials used in this area and keep up the Kris Kringle pageantry, we have a few suggestions none the less! Xanita board is a great was to lessen your displays effect on the environment, it is a full recycled and recyclable paper-based substrate and is perfect to make displays out of (we see a jolly Santa in our festive crystal ball).
Another option is to get those snowy scenes printed with water based white ink! At Imageco we are always excited about our amazing HP latex printer which can print water based white ink! It can print on PVC free clear vinyl and even polyester. Not only is water-based ink better for the planet but it has a much nicer finish and allows for fantastic roll-to-roll yardage printing.
There are endless opportunities in POS for use of lightboxes to make your space feel fun and festive. Think; sparkling firework scenes and glowing zombie eyes! Our Ocean Tex is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and can be beautifully printed to make you sustainable displays look as good as our work with Zaap.
Sustainability is always at the heart of what we do, and we will never stop looking for new ways to improve and, not to boast, but we’ve done pretty well so far making print more sustainable! We’ve partnered with the Yorkshire Dales Millenium trust to offset the carbon we produce by planting trees. We also worked to reinvent our facility to be more sustainable. We now have a tonne of renewable energy solutions such as green energy procurement, Solar PV and Voltage Optimiser (VO) installations. Meaning we’ve reduced our carbon output by more than 43,000kg a year! So, you always know that, when working with us, you’re doing the best for the planet.
If you’d be interested in working with us in your retail spaces, contact us.
