Lessons from Harvard and Google

Harvard Business School has a wonderful resource for all businesses, large and small. Access is absolutely free. I strongly recommend reading it regularly. Lots of useful stuff there. Here's the link http://hbswk.hbs.edu/index.jhtml Read one article and it will make you think and grope in your mind for answers. But the next article may just answer those questions. Professor Gerald Zaltman has written a book called “How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market”. That, as we all agree, is the holy grail. That’s where purchase decisions are made. The trick, says Professor Zaltman, is to look for relevant, basic emotions that have been overlooked by other brands in the category. Hmmm, you might think, as I did, what would be the relevant emotions my business could look for, stuff that my competition is overlooking? An article by Professor Mukti Khaire answers our question. She believes growth comes from by developing intangible social resources such as legitimacy, status, and reputation. Kind of answers the question, doesn’t it? Now what can you do that would confer these attributes to your business? I’ve always felt that Google answered this question best. Do stuff that benefits everybody; all your stakeholders which includes the community you do business in, be perceived as really good guys and keep it simple! Plastic bags are doing untold harm to our planet and your stakeholders are fast becoming more aware of this. Making available reusable fabric bags in any manner – whether you give them away as premiums, distribute them at trade shows and events or even sell them at cost –will get you the positive image attributes Prof Khaire talks about. Can you afford to do this? See how economical and attractive reusable cloth bags can be at http://www.badlani.com/bags Can a simple bag achieve this kind of impact? Ask yourself what you think of businesses that do a lot of common good even while promoting themselves. That will answer your question. So suppose you could afford just 1000 cotton bags, what visibility would that get you? Do the math. They get reused maybe 400 times each, and every time someone carries it around, it gets seen by a couple of hundred people. That’s 200 x 400 = 80,000 eyeballs. Per bag! Now multiply this by 1000. Great branding value, wouldn't you agree? Talk to us. We’ll work with you to plan an affordable and effective plan for your business.

Go ahead and tax plastic bags, say 55% of Japanese shoppers

An article in today’s Yomiuri Shimbun said 55% of Japanese shoppers want plastic bags to be taxed. They voted to support a government plan to reduce garbage by having supermarkets and other retailers charge customers for plastic bags, according to the results of a Cabinet Office survey. Only 22 percent disagreed with the plan, the office said. Talk about a mature society. Contrast this with California, where a majority appear to be against a tax, and India, where people flout the laws against plastic bags every day. One million plastic bags are being thrown away every minute of the day and night. This is endangering the lives of animals and marine creatures all over the world and putting an unbearable burden on our planet. No wonder the Japanese succeed at everything they do. The world has a lot to learn from them. Plastic bags offer a utility for just a few minutes and the cost of that convenience is way too high. Reusable cloth bags are the answer. See how economical and attractive they are at http://www.badlani.com/bags

Plastic bags are killing whales

I just read an article Rob Crilly and Emma Newlands wrote for The Herald in Scotland about a whale that was washed up on the Hebridean coast. Its stomach was filled with plastic bags.

More evidence that plastic bags are playing havoc with life as we know and love it. A recent survey found scraps of plastic inside 96% of seabirds tested. Marine creatures mistake plastic bags for food such as jellyfish or squid. Dr Dan Barlow, head of research at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "It's quite clear that plastic bags are a pollutant in their own right, and not only do they use a lot of resources in their production, but also because of the way they're disposed of. "The fact that a lot of marine life is being affected by plastic bags shows that we really need to levy some sort of plastic bag tax if we are to save resources and help the environment. The sooner this happens in Scotland the better." A plastic bag tax of about 15p introduced in Ireland in 2002 has cut their use by 90% and reduced litter. Research revealed at the weekend also suggested that many seabirds were being turned into living dustbins. The study by Dutch scientists of fulmars, gull-like seabirds which nest around Britain's coast, showed that 367 of 382 birds studied had ingested plastic waste. About a million birds and 100,000 mammals and turtles are estimated to become entangled in marine rubbish around the world each year. Surface-feeding species of bird, such as albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels and gulls, are the most susceptible to eating debris. An autopsy on a Minke whale in France in April 2002 found just under 1lb of plastics in its stomach, including two English supermarket plastic bags. A leatherback turtle washed ashore in Scotland in the 1990s showed that it appeared to have died from starvation caused by plastic and metal litter blocking its digestive tract. What makes this most tragic is how easily avoidable this is. All we need to do is to carry cloth bags with us when we go shopping (leave a few in the car, have a depository at all our local shops, there are many solutions). Most humans have no concept of the scale of this problem. Now that you’ve read this, I hope you will stop using plastic bags from this moment. If you’d like to take a little initiative to encourage your friends to also do so, write to me, I have a method to suggest.

Girls just wanna have fun

Scotland is fortunate to have media that have taken cognizance of the harm that plastic bags do to the environment. The Edinburgh Evening News has taken up this issue and launched a 6 week campaign through the city's major supermarkets to encourage more shoppers to buy stronger re-usable bags costing a few pence each. The campaign is being spearheaded by the environmental group Waste and Resource Action Programme, with Edinburgh chosen as one of two UK cities to pilot the scheme. If it is successful and enough shoppers are persuaded to switch it may be rolled out to other cities. A 10p tax on plastic bags is under discussion at the moment. Such a bag tax would raise an estimated £450,000 each year. Across the Irish Sea the "plastax" as it has become known has seen the demand for plastic bags fall by a staggering 90 per cent. The problem is gigantic. In the UK alone supermarkets give away 17.5 billion of them a year, with the average shopper taking home around seven each week. Six out of ten shoppers in Edinburgh arrive at supermarkets and shops expecting to be given free bags to ferry the shopping home. Most inevitably end up in the dustbin and ultimately find their way to a landfill site where this buried rubbish will take more than 100 years to decompose. Until the late 70’s no one gave away plastic bags - and everyone either managed with a paper bag or carried a tote. The world chugged along just fine and folks shopped as enthusiastically as they do today. The doomsday types claim folks will stop shopping if they aren’t given free plastic bags. Utter nonsense. Check with the folks in Ireland. Have they all closed up shop and gone home? Are you kidding? Plastic bags are just a habit. If they aren’t available, people will not even think of them. That babe who needs a new outfit for next Saturday is going to buy that outfit. You think she goes shopping because she gets a free shopping bag? Especially when she can carry her shopping home in a lovely reusable cloth bag; the type you’ll see at www.badlani.com/bags/

Pleasing our customers is what we live for

This morning my daughter Kaajal got a mail from a customer in Akron, Ohio, which said this “I am absolutely delighted! Please let us put a testimonial on your web site. You have been wonderful to work with, and the product is terrific. I'm still amazed that in this new world of ours we have managed to find our product in India and buy it with the same ease as driving to the nearest town. Thanks so much, Ellen” You made our day, Ellen. Thank you! This is what we live for – to please our customers. We’re proud that we make very good bags, but we’re even more proud that someone in Akron, Ohio finds it so easy to work with us. Please send us a picture of yourself with your bag, Ellen. Meanwhile, here’s a picture of Kaajal in her office which I took as she was inspecting a bag before it went to a customer. You’ll find a large variety of bags shown at our website http://www.badlani.com/bags Talk to us. We’ll do everything we can to make you feel the same way Ellen does.

American city councils ponder plastic waste problem

City councils everywhere today have to address the question of what to do with discarded plastic bags. Collecting them and transporting them to landfills is costing money. Lots of it. So much, in fact, that California calculated the cost at 17 cents per bag. So, they proposed a tax of 17 cents per plastic bag. There is much opposition because citizens feel the cost of shopping will go up. Perhaps councils could look at other examples of how some communities across the world have addressed this problem. Ireland imposed a tax and cut plastic bag usage by 90%. Clearly, popular or not, it works. Taiwan has cut plastic bag usage 80%. But some Australian communities have succeeded followed the voluntary route. The city of Coles Bay led the way with local bakery owner Ben Kearney pushing for a reusable bag that every citizen bought and used. Coles Bay just celebrated their 1st plastic free anniversary and they believe they’ve saved their community from using more than 350000 plastic bags. Ben won the Tasmanian of the Year award for his efforts. Fitzroy Falls is another Australian community that has proudly declared itself plastic bag free. They got local students to do designs and ordered bags that citizens bought through local retailers. Then, 13 city councils got together under the Northern Inland Regional Waste Group and invested in buying 86,000 reusable fabric bags to be given away free to all their citizens. Everyone is proudly using them and they’ve also become virtually plastic bag free. Granted, these are small communities where it is easier to get consensus. Most American city council managers will be surprised to hear that some US communities have also succeeded in ridding themselves of plastic bags. Galena, Alaska, a village of 850 also banned plastic bags. With a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the council handed out 2,000 free canvas bags and phased out plastics in the town's three stores. To date, nearly 40 other Alaskan villages have followed suit, said Bill Stokes of Palmer, Alaska, who helped formulate many of the bans with the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. Most Americans have the impression that reusable bags are expensive. They aren’t. Particularly when imported in bulk. At http://www.badlani.com/bags you will see more than a dozen alternatives that can be got at less than a dollar each.

Amitabh Bachan speaks out against paper bags

Amitabh Bachan, one of India’s most popular movie stars, hosts KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati), and it is watched by an audience of many millions. Yesterday evening I was thrilled to hear him start the show by asking folks to think about what happens to all the plastic bags they throw away. As a people we are notoriously unconcerned about civic issues (look how clean everyone’s homes are on the inside and see how they carelessly throw garbage right outside their own doors). But what the Big B says is considered gospel and I hope people paid attention to what he was saying. Thank you, Amitabh. We need lots and lots of influential people like you speaking up on the subject. The sad thing is that everyone appears to think that paper bags are the only alternative. They’re not and because they are used just once, they are also wasteful. Reusable cloth bags are a much better answer. See a vast array at http://www.badlani.com/bags

Jharkhand bans plastic bags. But only at some places.

The Indian state of Jharkhand announced a ban on the use of plastic bags within a two km radius of religious and tourist place. "Plastic bags are harming animals and are a problem at religious places. They have been banned under the Environment Law 1986," says the notification. Isn't that happening everywhere, not just at religious and tourist places? Why not ban them everywhere? But it’s a good move anyway. I admire our country for the number of good and progressive laws we have on our statute books. Now, if we could only learn to implement them. And I wish we could get rid of this preoccupation with religion. Specially the rituals. Clean water is a very scarce resource and getting scarcer by the day. Banning plastic bags is a good idea. But a lot of other things also need to be banned. Particularly at religious places; particularly near water bodies. The amount of junk that religious rituals generate is frightening. Water bodies are inundated with people immersing idols, foodstuff, flowers, incense, firewood, ashes, and so many other things. We’re such a crazy people. Well meaning, pious, but unthinking and blind.

The government of India needs to reconsider this insane rule.

Back in the 70s there used to be a joke based on some songs by Bob Dylan and other such topical balladeers. The punch line was the moment the US government discovered that marijuana caused cancer they’d legalize it. Governments and all large systems, including corporate systems, behave in completely irrational ways much of the time. The recent experience in Mumbai established beyond any doubt that plastic bags are huge burden for urban systems to cope with. California’s city government calculated that it costs them 17 cents to collect and dispose off a plastic bag, so they’ve mooted a tax of 17 cents on plastic bags. This in a place where people don’t just throw stuff all over the place. In India, we have no rules on how we organize our garbage and we believe that freedom means the right to litter. But instead of taxing these ghastly things, their manufacturers have been specially exempted from taxes if they use “recycled” plastic. The government of India needs to reconsider this insane rule. Ask yourself where recycled plastic comes from. What it’s come in contact with in the past; and you will realize that using a recycled plastic bag means putting your skin in contact with an unknown set of noxious poisons, and if you carry food in them, eating the residues of an extremely risky set of things. Makes no sense. We live in a country that grows cotton and jute in abundance. Get yourself a nice stylish reusable cotton or jute bag for heavens sake. It’s your family’s health you’re talking about. See http://www.badlani.com/bags to see what attractive choices you have. Say no to poisonous plastic. In fact say no to all plastic bags.

Biodegradable plastic bags for real

These words have been bandied about so much that recyclable, ecofriendly, biodegradable and other such reassuring terms have lost meaning. I earlier wrote a blog about one of the worst instances of this obfuscation. http://badlani.com/blog/weblog.php?id=30 . The Indian Express, a hugely influential newspaper with a massive circulation published a story that actually said ““NO NEED to kick this plastic habit” They were talking about a technique developed at ATIRA to make plastic bags photodegradable. Which means it would break down with exposure to light and become a fine powder that would mix with the soil and invisibly poison all of us. I wrote to the Indian Express and called the scientist. No reply. When scientists and major newspapers make such irresponsible statements pronouncing a noxious and dangerous substance safe just because it can’t be seen, you see what I mean. But today I read about what appears to be a genuine biodegradable plastic bag being made in Vasai by a guy called Perses Bilimoria, who’s making plastics from starch and cottonseeds, according to an article in Cybernoon. I’m going to write to Perses today and try and see if we can find a way to work together to reduce the amount of plastic we pile up on our heads every day like lemmings. Meanwhile, our fabric bags continue to be one way to avoid poisoning the earth. See them at http://www.badlani.com/bags

Maharashtra bans plastic bags

Great! They learned something from the recent flooding. It’s creditable to see a government in our country move this quickly. But the lobbying has started and follows the usual route. Short sighted reps of the plastics industry have started making noises that more than 1,00,000 workers will lose their jobs. Utter tripe of course, but our governments have a habit of rolling back many of their decisions when these kinds of pressures are brought to bear on them. Our overly moralistic politicians had no problem with (so they claim) 1,00,000 bar girls losing their jobs when they closed down dance bars so I hope they will hold firm on the plastic bags issue. But the ban on bar girls has more potential for creating an income for the enforcement system (like prohibition in Gujarat) so that ban will stay so that generous bribes are collected when folks are caught breaking the law. But the ban on plastic bags doesn’t have that much potential for fun. So, even if they don’t roll the law back, I’m afraid the ban is difficult to enforce in a country where law enforcement hardly exists. We already have laws banning the use and manufacture of thin gauge plastic bags, but they continue to be made and used with impunity and continue to choke drainage systems and be eaten by unsuspecting animals and marine life. One look at the chaos on our roads and the government’s inability to enforce laws becomes clearly visible. We export cloth bags to environmentally concerned customers all over the world from http://www.badlani.com/bags but hardly every get any customers in India. Sad, isn’t it?

Good corporate citizen image at such a low cost?

Sponsorship from Landmark Narromine, a real estate company is helping the Narromine Shire Council rid their community of plastic bags. Narromine Shire Council is encouraging all residents to take advantage of the current 'Plastic Bag Swap Op' where calico bags are given free to residents when they bring in 20 plastic bags to the Narromine Council Chambers, Tomingley BP or the Trangie Library. "There have been more than 16,000 bags bought in since the swap program started, which is a great result," Miss Cartwright said. You know what that means in terms of sponsorship money? 16000 divided by 20 is 800 cotton bags. That would (or ought to) have cost them maybe $ 2 each. Look at the image payoff. The sponsor looks like a very responsible corporate citizen and deservedly earns goodwill and trust. Earning the gratitude of any entire city and all the attendant publicity that comes with it for under $ 2000? Ever heard of such a thing? Those 800 bags will be taken out for shopping trips maybe 300 times each. That’s 2,40,000 eyeballs for such a small cost. Much better bang for your corporate buck than sponsoring something gimmicky, wouldn’t you say? Write to us today and we’ll work out a cost-effective program for your company. See the attractive and economical bags at http://www.badlani.com/bags

How sacred are Indian cows?

A story in today’s Indian Express talks about how 95 per cent of urban India’s stray cattle are suffering from various ailments due to hazardous materials inside their abdomen. 90 per cent of that was plastic bags. This, while a website about Hinduism says “The cow has almost become a symbol of Hinduism…in India, the cow is believed to be a symbol of the earth - because it gives so much yet asks nothing in return. Because of its great economic importance, it makes good sense to protect the cow” In theory, of course. We’re a country of very high minded and noble intentions. Our actions completely contradict all that. We sell reusable cloth bags every day of the week to customers all over the world from http://www.badlani.com/bags , but we have no customers in India. Tragic, isn’t it?

Turning junk into beauty while helping people

Used plastic bags can do immense harm if allowed to choke landfill or left free to be eaten by innocent animals and marine life. But they can be used for good if used as a raw material. That’s what we decided to do. I spoke to my designer friends Prakash Vani and Himadri Ghosh and that is what we’ve been trying to do. This little picture shows you the junk we started with, the very basic looms we worked with and some of the beautiful bags and textures we could create. Feels really good to be able to take something awful and turn it into something so delightful. Read the whole story at http://www.badlani.com/recycle I realize that this is a modest achievement, but it is meaningful to us and I imagine even more so to the folks who can benefit from it. But I also see that it has immense potential for good. I'd love your input on how we can take this forward from here. Please take a moment to share your thoughts with me. Ideally, I'd like to identify people and agencies who can assist in the process of bringing to market the products that emerge from this exercise. All thoughts will be more than welcome. And if there is anything you can bring to the table, we'd love to work with you. Whoever you are, wherever you are. Write to me at rajiv at badlani.com

Cradle to cradle design

http://www.mbdc.com has a totally inspiring concept on their website. This is what it says. "MBDC is articulating and putting into practice a new design paradigm; what Time calls "a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world." Instead of designing cradle-to-grave products, dumped in landfills at the end of their 'life,' MBDC transforms industry by creating products for cradle-to-cradle cycles, whose materials are perpetually circulated in closed loops. Maintaining materials in closed loops maximizes material value without damaging ecosystems”. We’re doing our modest bit on this front too. Scroll down to see the weblog titled “Turning junk into beauty while helping people” where we’ve attempted to precisely this. What we’re doing, of course, is going to the grave and turning it into a cradle. The whole story is at http://www.badlani.com/recycle

Are men dumber, or just less secure?

Clean Up Australia says men are the weaker sex when it comes to saying "no" to plastic bags. A national Newspoll conducted by the environmental organisation shows 50 per cent of women are likely to refuse a plastic bag, but just one-in-three men say 'no'. A third of men surveyed say they prefer to use plastic bags over reusable bags, compared to just one-in-five women. Everyone’s been telling me this for years. That we’re the dumber sex. But could it be that we are just more insecure? No woman’s feminine identity is threatened by being seen carrying a cloth bag for her groceries. Are men concerned that they’d look like wimps carrying a cloth bag? Most cloth shopping bags are designed to look like the kind of totes women carry. A corporate client (a male) who regularly orders giveaway bags for the trade shows he attends on behalf of his company gave me some insight into this. Most totes, he mentioned, look too feminine, and male visitors to trade shows feel awkward carrying them. We worked with him to design a jute + cotton tote with longer handles that men could sling over their shoulders without getting this feeling. He wrote in after the show telling us that the design was a big hit, and preferred by everyone (males particularly, but women included) to the bags other exhibitors were handing out. It was particularly gratifying, he added, that most folks catching flights out after the show, had his bags slung over their shoulders at the airport also. At Norquest, we work hard to find the most appropriate solution to our clients’ needs and enjoy putting in the effort to customize solutions for their needs. See the vast selection we have on show at http://badlani.com/bags and if you don’t see something that appeals, brief us and we’ll work towards creating a bag for your specific needs. Sensitivity to such issues can go a long way in encouraging everyone to reduce plastic bag usage. Younger people would prefer backpacks. We have a great line of very economical backpacks too. Who said all shopping bags need to be cut from the same cloth?