Business Owners: Do You Want to Operate More Sustainably? Here’s One Way How.

We want both the environment and your business to thrive for a very long time – just like you do.

A man and a woman look at the recyclable and compostable cartridge for the new ZSB label printer from Zebra

by Dan Carroll

May 03, 2021

People turn to small businesses for many reasons – supporting the economic growth of their local communities, finding unique or handcrafted goods, encouraging entrepreneurship and more. And organizations don’t necessarily size up suppliers before submitting purchase orders – at least not in the literal sense. They just want to ensure the companies they’re buying from have the capacity to deliver what they need, when they need it.

However, with concern for the environment taking center stage and compounding over the last few decades, more individuals and companies are seeking to support businesses that are greener and more environmentally friendly. Eco-conscious offerings are oftentimes more easily accomplished on a smaller scale. In fact, nearly six in 10 consumers surveyed are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact, while eight in 10 indicate sustainability is important for them.

You don’t have to sell “green” goods to be a green business. Whether you’re offering upcycled denim sourced from a thrift store or handmade furniture built from new lumber, you always have an opportunity to be greener. And Zebra is here to help however we can!

In fact, just today, we introduced the new ZSB Series label printer. It’s perfect for a small office or home office setup, and it will help your business become more environmentally sustainable in three very distinct ways:

1. Eco-conscious cartridges

Introducing sustainability to your printing-related supplies is important because they’re consumables – they’re intended to be used in high quantities and usually reach their end-of-life after a single use. There’s a considerable environmental opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle when it comes to label cartridges.

That’s why we designed our ZSB Series label printer cartridges to be both recyclable and compostable. Composed of potato starch and other recyclable fibers, your cartridges will never need to see a landfill or incinerator once they’re empty and no longer of use. So go ahead, throw them in the recycling bin or toss them in the garden once you take the smart chip out. Let your shoppers know you’re doing your part to reduce plastic consumption and that, by supporting your business, so are they.

2. Self-aligning cartridges and high-quality labels

Time, money and paper. If the label doesn’t print correctly, you waste all three because it needs to be printed again. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the post office and the shipper tries repeatedly to scan a poorly printed label or your home office printer jams and you spend more time fixing it than producing the item you’re selling. Waste is waste – and frustrating! So, we made it super easy to align the ZSB Series printer cartridges: just drop them into the printer. Seriously, that’s it. They will straighten themselves out every time. (They really are cool!) Even better, they’re virtually unjammable. (Another win for all of you environmentally-conscious and time-constrained professionals!)

Plus, when you pair the printer with our high-quality labels, you don’t have to worry about wasting time or paper on reprints. And we offer all types of label sizes that are perfect for shipping, mailing, barcodes, name badges and more!

3. Recyclable and compostable packaging

As my colleague Jeffrey White discussed in his Earth Day 2020 blog post, there are many ways we can make shipping more sustainable. Businesses can give customers the option to have their goods delivered in a single shipment to reduce boxes and filling, or they can offer customers longer delivery times so carriers have more time to consolidate orders and send packages on the most environmentally efficient route.

Jeffrey also discussed the development of robust packaging solutions that are eco-friendly yet cost effective. This is exactly what we’re using to deliver our ZSB Series printers and supplies.

ZSB Series label cartridges come in completely recyclable packaging. The entire package (inside and outside) can be tossed in the recycling bin. Just another great way to be green!

We’re Committed – to Environmental Sustainability and to You

Sustainability is a core value of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) everywhere. It’s also important to Zebra. We’re committed to being compliant corporate citizens. And we recognize our responsibility to support the protection of the environment and seize opportunities to efficiently use resources and reduce waste.

Between Etsy, eBay, Amazon and even Instagram boutiques, e-commerce is allowing more and more people to supplement their income, fuel their passions and expand their reach through small businesses. For brick-and-mortar retailers, annual initiatives like Small Business Saturday and the pandemic rebound “Shop Local, Shop Small” campaigns are helping them achieve their goals. And we know that many service providers, including veterinarians, wellness professionals and even telcos, have launched online stores in recent years to help clients more easily acquire the goods related to their services.

While our businesses flourish, we must avoid outpacing our planet. Small business is booming. Small offices and home offices are becoming the norm (even among larger brands). And the marketplace is flooded with e-commerce entrepreneurs that are competing for customers’ loyalty. Give shoppers one more reason to choose you – sustainability.

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Editor’s Note:

You can learn more about Zebra’s commitment to supporting the protection of the environment and all our environmental initiatives here.

You can also learn more about the new ZSB Series printers on our website, as well as our other environmentally-friendly technology solutions, including mobile computers, desktop printers and more.

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Dan Carroll

Dan Carroll is the Principal Product Manager responsible for Strategy, Development and Launch of Zebra’s Small Business printing solutions. He has more than 15 years of experience in product management and marketing roles at various technology companies, and is listed on 7 patents.