Year: 2011

Green Thought Thursday: The Rules of Recycling

Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability, , , 2 Comments on Green Thought Thursday: The Rules of Recycling
Our giant recycling bin at the Longview Center -- a thing of beauty!

Green Thought Thursday is a regular feature all about the baby steps we can take to protect our Mother Earth.

I can’t tell you how many Post-it Notes I’ve picked out of recycling bins. Hundreds, at least.  And no, it’s not because I have some weird obsession with them (though, we do love them at Clairemont). It’s because in the city of Raleigh and everywhere else, you cannot recycle them.

Really.

I think you’d be surprised to learn what you can and cannot recycle here in Raleigh — I know I  was. And that’s why I wanted to dedicate this Green Thought Thursday to listing those things out. According to the Raleigh Recycling Division, you can recycle the following:

  • Newspapers and inserts
  • White and colored paper (that’s not too bright)
  • Open junk mail
  • Old phone books
  • Magazines and catalogs
  • Paperboard, chipboard, SBS board and tubes (think cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, shipping tubes, etc.)
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Glass bottles and containers
  • Plastic items (coded No. 1-5 and No. 7)
  • Plastic bottles with a neck (soda bottles, peanut butter jars, laundry detergant bottles)
  • Gable-top cartons (milk cartons and the like)
  • Juice boxes
  • Aluminum foil and food trays (that are clean!)
  • Plastic beverage rings
  • Cans, of course!

Things you cannot recycle:

  • Post-it Notes (and other paper with adhesive backing)
  • Bold- or neon-colored paper
  • Paper with staples
  • Checkbooks or books
  • Carbon paper
  • Napkins, tissues or paper towels
  • Plastic bags
  • Boxes with wax coatings
  • Aerosol cans
  • Auto batteries
  • Containers that once contained hazardous materials (like fertilizers, auto fluids, etc.)
  • Egg cartons
  • Non-food cans and non-food glass containers
  • Pizza boxes
  • Frozen food trays
  • Containers made of thin, brittle plastic (these can really mess up the sorting process)

For a more complete list, visit the Raleigh Recyling Division’s website by clicking here. The site also does a great job of listing out alternative drop-off locations for your unwanted items so that they won’t end up in a landfill. A final thought from our friends there: “You can help recycling markets by buying products MADE from recycled materials. We have to close the loop, BUY RECYCLED!”

What are some of your favorite post-consumer recycled products? We sure do love our Staples recycled copy paper (and we don’t even mind paying a little extra for it)!

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Whaddaya Think, Alice Lutz?

Dana PhelpsBlog, In Our Community, , , 5 Comments on Whaddaya Think, Alice Lutz?

Whaddaya Think Wednesday is a regular Q&A feature. We ask people “whaddaya think?” on a variety of topics. This week, we share thoughts from Alice Lutz, CEO of Triangle Family Services.

Q: So Alice, I believe you’ve been in your role as CEO of Triangle Family Services two years as of this month. What’s your most exciting accomplishment so far?

A: It is hard to pick just one thing that is exciting to me. At the top of my list… building a team of top talent with the skill, compassion and training to serve our client families; re-tooling a 75-year-old structure while maintaining client care; and engaging a broad section of top volunteer leaders in meaningful ways to sustain the agency.

Q: We love getting to work with you and your team on the Gingerbread Benefit. How does this event help families in the Triangle?

It is crucial in raising the needed dollars to move people from crisis to stability using a case management model. The Gingerbread Benefit event provides an opportunity to educate and inform the community of the lives being changed daily while raising necessary funds to help families in crisis.

Q: Knowing that Triangle Family Services – like many non-profit organizations – rely on the manpower of volunteers for special events like the Gingerbread Benefit, what do you think are the qualities of a valuable volunteer?

Follow through. We are all busy people. If someone commits, the community and our client families are relying on that commitment. We respect our volunteers and value a volunteer who respects commitment.

The Gingerbread Benefit will be held at the Umstead Hotel on Thursday, December 1. It is a phenomenal event that is a ton of fun and helps Triangle families in need. Oh, and did I mention the amazing gingerbread houses? Beyond belief! Hope to see you there.

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Trends Tuesday: Cool + Warm = Hot!

Josephine ButlerBlog, Trends,

This post originally appeared on Tips and Trends, the blog for Drexel Heritage (Clairemont client). In fashion, cool and warm tones are being mixed and melded, and the result is anything but lukewarm!

Posted on 12. Oct, 2011 in Color Forecasting, Trendy Tips

Two distinctly different masterminds lead our creative design team. First, meet Denise. Her style is cool, hip and feminine with a European slant. We also want you to know Carl. His style and manner is warm, friendly and funny with a penchant for detail, detail, detail. It’s interesting that this “cool and warm” commingling design combo is also playing out in the world of design on the streets of NYC. Let us explain.

In a traditional design approach, harmony is achieved by bringing together colors with a similar value. For example, icy blues, dove whites and silvery sages might reside beautifully in one cool and collected palette, while those dusty taupes, teals and tawny browns are in another neighborhood.

The rules are changing. As a design team, Denise and Carl meld two style perspectives and approaches. In fashion, so-called cool and warm tones are mixing it up, and the result is anything but lukewarm – it’s hot! “It’s really refreshing,” Denise notes. Her favorite: a warm espresso dialed up and down across a diverse spectrum. “It’s already an important accent color in our line, and I think there’s room for expansion. Stay tuned.”

The new hues are not limited to fabrics and textiles. Wood furniture is traditionally brown, “but who said so?” asks Carl. Most of the Drexel lineup is available in more than 40 custom paint and finish colors ranging from Tangerine and Apple Green to a Smoke, Linen and Fog. The design team is “in the lab” now calibrating new paint color introductions inspired by travel and fashion trends.

Are you a student of color? Be sure to share your thoughts, and stay tuned as we discuss more color trends in part three of our trendspotting series.

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More Monday: Feeling Chapped by ChapStick?

Josephine ButlerBlog, Marketing, , , 2 Comments on More Monday: Feeling Chapped by ChapStick?

It’s a More Monday! Maybe you’ve already heard the story, and now here’s a little bit more!

You may have heard about ChapStick’s recent Facebook gaffe surrounding its latest ad campaign, but in case you missed it, here’s a quick recap. ChapStick posts an ad with a rear-shot of a girl leaned over the back of her sofa  searching for her missing ChapStick. The ad reads, “Where do lost ChapSticks go? Be heard at Facebook.com/ChapStick.”

The photo strikes a nerve with some people. Someone blogs about it and then posts a comment on ChapStick’s wall. More people chime in, and suddenly, their comments are deleted, too. ChapStick later responds with an apology, attributing its action to complying with Facebook’s guidelines “to remove posts that use foul language, have repetitive messaging, and those that are spam-like and are menacing to fans and employees.”

ChapStick’s PR faux pas has made headlines (and not the good kind), with stories from MSN Money, PRWeek, Adweek, and social media bloggers. Yikes. So, what can we learn from this unfortunate situation? Well, for starters, deleting fan activity is risky business. This whole mess could have been put to bed had the social media team simply addressed the issue (and its offended fans), and immediately deleted its “offensive” post, instead of its fans’ responses to it.

We advise our clients all the time to think before you delete. Facebook fans can (and will) post negative comments or complaints about your product or service. And while it might really chap your you-know-what, deleting them could make matters worse, case in point.

Sure, no one likes to be on the receiving end of negativity, especially on Facebook for the whole world to see, but unfortunately, it happens. But instead of sidestepping the situation, look at it as an opportunity to demonstrate your company or organization’s commitment to its fans, which are your biggest brand advocates.

ChapStick is owning its mistakes and planning a new ad. A recent post on it’s Facebook page reads, “As we continue to share the new ads that are part of our bigger campaign, we want to mention that the campaign is intended to include fun images that reflect the way many of our fans have told us they feel about ChapStick®. We realize we haven’t done the best job of keeping the communications channels open, and we promise we’ll do better! We’re aware of the discussion going on across social media, and we’re listening. We love our fans and adore your passionate voice around ChapStick®. We want to share with you that we chose to pull one additional ad in the campaign based on the feedback we received this week, but it may still show up in very few magazines. Now……please take a look at this new ad and let us know what you think.”

What else could be done to help save face? Perhaps free ChapSticks for all who like the Facebook page?

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Green Thought Thursday: It’s not easy being green, or is it?

Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability2 Comments on Green Thought Thursday: It’s not easy being green, or is it?
Kermit during his visit to Briar Chapel!

Enough with all the hype, Miss Piggy! Who’s my favorite Muppet? Why, it’s Kermit, of course!

And who couldn’t love this green little guy? Miss Piggy certainly can’t resist him (she told us in a recent interview), and our friends over at Briar Chapel (client), can’t either! In fact, the Briar Chapel team loves Kermit so much, they’ve written a blog (or two) about him. For today’s Green Thought Thursday, I’d like to re-share some of their ideas, as well as come up with a few of my own, on how to incorporate green living into your everyday lifestyle. And don’t let Kermit fool you — sometimes, it is easy being green.

  • Install EPA-approved WaterSense fixtures for your faucets, shower heads and toilets. You’ll save lots of water!
  • Grow a rain garden to alleviate storm water run-off. You won’t be sorry — they can be beautiful little sanctuaries!
  • Catch, store and recirculate rain water. It can be used for irrigation.
  • Conduct a blower door test on your home. You’ll be able to pinpoint leaky cracks and drafty windows.
  • Insulate your hot water heater. This is one of the biggest energy consumers in your home! (And don’t forget the pipes!)
  • Weather-strip your doors and windows. It’s a cheap way to save even more on your electric bill.

Now it’s your turn. What are some ways you save green by going green in and around your home? Kermit sure could use some reassurance (he doesn’t have a lot of self confidence….Poor guy).

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