As a market-based economy, over the past few years we’ve been marking many historic moments here in America. From the biggest debt load in the history of “ever” and accompanying corporate bailouts to keep the economy from collapsing, to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico underscoring the impact of our addiction to oil on top of global climate change issues, these economic and environmental crises are helping to push for a new era of transparency — looking hard at how we do what we do.

Walmart’s Global Supply Chain Initiative, now in the implementation phase, is part of the push for change by big players in both the public and private sectors. In its October 2008 announcement of the initiative, Walmart stated it would require all direct import suppliers, plus all suppliers of private label and non-branded products, to provide the name and location of every factory they use to make the products it sells. This drive for greater transparency kicks off a change in policy: The goal—all Walmart’s suppliers will directly source 95 percent of their production from factories that receive the highest ratings on environmental and social practices.

In any business serious about sustainability, participants and buyers of their services alike recognize that certification is a key part of the process. No longer the exclusive strategy of small eco-niche players, large producers are setting sustainability standards for their suppliers to help them meet their own long-term goals. Suppliers that carry verified third-party certifications make it much easier for potential customers with sustainability goals of their own to find, choose, and favor those vendors and products.

As we in industry grapple with how to create goods that actually are “good,” certification of efforts, and the transparency that that certification provides allows us to help address the ever-increasing “green” claims and logos sprouting up like weeds. Fortunately, as we move forward in this paradigm shift, independent certifying groups like Green-E, Forest Stewardship Council, Chlorine Free Products Association, and TransFair USA (part of Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International) and UL’s Environment seal are beginning to capture public trust, building much needed equity in their “brand,” and helping to sort out some of the confusion.

Apps are also becoming available to help smart-phone users connect with decision-making information like never before, furthering consumer empowerment for making ethical choices. GoodGuide, 3rdWhale Mobile, and ShopGreen help people make greener decisions or find eco-businesses on the go. In addition, GoodGuide provides ratings data and recommendations for natural green and sustainable products.

At first glance all of this may seem like a nice way for the niche green players to get info out about their efforts and into the hands of shoppers who are ready to buy. But this technology is expanding daily and is being used right now by eco-advocates to expose mainstream products. The Greenpeace Tissue Guide, for example, researches brands of consumer paper products to find the greenest tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper to help shoppers make eco-ethics shopping choices right at the store.

How long until an app is available that can tap into independent product-certification databases for resource use, energy sourcing, and human rights issues? The answer is, not long at all. ScanLife already has an app available for many of the new phones allowing users to scan EZcodes to get product and other information. With the use of smart phones slowly replacing regular cell phone use, it’s just a matter of time until every shopper will be able to question, at a touch, the ethics of the brands they buy — right at point of sale.

Addressing energy use and source impacts (and so also greenhouse gas issues); willingness to look at deeper supply-chain issues and account for true costs; willingness to become a value-add partner for vendors and clients, as well as to share eco-knowledge with the rest of their industry and being an advocate for change; these are all part of the criteria not just for today’s eco-leaders, but for any business interested in establishing (or reestablishing) market share and brand presence in this changing environment.

As we move toward a more sustainable future, how to apply the things we’re learning today will become much easier — a good thing, as more and more sustainability shifts will be mandated by clients, communities, and countries alike. In the meantime, those players willing to jump on the opportunities represented by helping to create change, rather than waiting to be forced into action, will find themselves best positioned for the long-haul.

We have, at this moment in time, the opportunity to remake everything we do — and get it right this time — if we’re willing to think not just out of the box, but completely beyond it.

For more information:

Article sections excerpted from Package Design Magazine 2009 webinar “Profiting from Sustainable Packaging Design.” To hear the full content of this annual online event visit packagedesignmag.com.

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PDM’s Sustainability Update is coordinated by:

 Wendy Jedlicka, CPP— Jedlicka Design Ltd., o2 International Network for Sustainable Design, Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s groundbreaking Sustainable Design Certificate Program. Books: Packaging Sustainability and Sustainable Graphic Design.