Let's play a guessing game; how many tons of clothes-related waste do you think get dumped annually? Was your answer anywhere near92 million tons ?

Yes, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothing gets discarded every second.

Given the rising awareness on climate change and the need to preserve the planet through sustainable practices, such high waste volumes have not gone unnoticed. Consumers are developing new behaviors, requiring organizations to put more effort into proving their sustainability practices.

As a company trying to foster environmentally friendly practices, you can incorporate technology like Flowcode QR codes into your marketing strategies.  Use them in your product packaging, information sharing, and traceability attempts to let your customers know how your brand is contributing to the preservation of the planet.

In this article, we explore sustainable marketing and how QR codes can help boost your efforts.

What is sustainable marketing?

Sustainable marketing is how you promote environmentally and socially responsible products, services, and brand values. It entails being transparent about your economic and environmental practices to your consumers. More and more consumers value sustainable actions, with72% actively buying sustainable goods now than five years ago .

Sustainable marketing is not about using big beautiful words that relate to sustainability. Instead, you must show the consumers how you put the planet before profits or lose the millions ofpeople who don't buy due to sustainability concerns .

So what are some ways to demonstrate sustainable values to your consumers?

Paper is continuously becoming disadvantageous to organizations, with printed customer service materials like manuals and guides usually end up in bins as waste. Despite our best efforts, recycling is an imperfect solution to the problem of deforestation.

One way to cut back on the use of paper is by utilizingQR codes . You can place the QR code on your business premises, advertising material, or packaging where consumers can easily scan it. Code scanners can access a menu, guide, or manual on their phones and have the option of sharing it with their friends, all without utilizing paper products.

QR codes for traceability

Most consumers want to know the story of the product they are about to use. Luckily, you can tell it through QR codes.

After scanning, your customer will find information about the origin of the product, the origin of raw materials used, its carbon footprint, and the manufacturing process. This information is increasingly important to sustainable consumers. Transparency in your production process is a great way to share your values and practices with your customers, and hopefully guarantee future purchases!

You'll be able to provide URLs to videos, articles, and blogs about the product alongside access to your website and social media sites. This way, you’ll be showing them rather than just telling them about your sustainability efforts.

File and information sharing

In any business, there's a ton of materials you need to share within your organization. Why not cut down on all of that paper use and go digital? Using a QR code will not only help you share information quickly, you’ll also be saving on printing costs and decreasing your company’s reliance on trees!

QR codes for packages

Stand out from your competitors by digitizing product information on your packages.

If your packaging is small, it may be challenging to provide all the relevant product information. A QR code lets you provide users with the information without increasing package sizes.

You'll provide your customers with access to videos, PDF files, and audio with details about the ingredients and their origin.

Why should you use QR codes for sustainable efforts?

In your life, how many pamphlets have you handed out at conferences? Or business cards to potential colleagues? Let’s be honest, these all got thrown in the trash, right? QR codes provide a perfect way to conserve paper use. There are more pros than just minimizing your carbon footprint, you’ll actually grow your business too. Here’s how:

1. No cost to set up and use

That’s right, there’s no fee to use QR codes for your business. WithFlowcode you can create 3 QR codes for free that can be scanned forever.

Your customers can scan codes using their smartphones and access any destination of your choosing. Because Flowcode makes dynamic codes, you can always update the destination of where the smartphone cameras they already own or QR code reader apps that are usually free.

2. Minimize printing costs

Whenever you have new information you want to share, you'll have to send it out to the consumers. If you go the paper way, you'll have to consistently spend on printing. QR codes help you avoid these costs.

You'll edit your content with dynamic QR codes, and the content automatically reflects on your existing QR code. You do not have to reprint the code and use resources to redistribute it to the consumers.

3. Drastically cuts on paper consumption

Did you know paper contributes to around26% of waste in landfills ? Paper alone accounts for over 12,500 tons of waste in the United States.

The result of incorporating QR code is reduced paper consumption and, consequently, a lower carbon footprint. That’s an easy source of sustainable progress!

4. Collect insights on your customer

QR codes will help you understand how your customers interact with your content. Once the code takes them to your website or social media sites, you get analytics on the real-world engagement. That way, you'll know which codes are performing well.

Secondly, a QR code will help you conduct surveys and request reviews from your customers. You can then use the data to make informed marketing decisions.

5. Collect information across all points of sale

Your business will not always interact with customers. Sometimes your products are sold by third parties, via apps, and online stores. Since you can't connect with customers directly, QR codes can do the work for you. Whether a customer is scanning a QR code on your packaging or a physical good, adding them to your products allow connections to your digital destinations.

6. QR codes can trace product origin

One major concern for consumers is knowing the difference between an authentic product and a counterfeit. Additionally, you'll want your customers to know what is and isn’t yours to avoid the reputational damages from counterfeits.

You can use QR codes as digital IDs to allow you to track products and alert you on incidents of counterfeits. You'll get the information when a consumer scans a non-valid ID.

7. QR codes can share files

If you hold several meetings with your staff, you'll need to produce several files, documents, and PowerPoint presentations. A QR code will let you share these files in a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly way.

Examples of Sustainable QR Codes for brands:

1. Eco-friendly t-shirt packaging

The fashion and apparel industry has come under attack due to production practices. Consumers want to know who made the cloth and under what conditions. Placing a QR code on the packaging of the t-shirts will help the buyer get the necessary information, including shipping and source or raw materials used.

2. Eco-friendly food packaging

Adding QR codes to your food packages lets the consumer know the farming practices used to produce their food. They'll verify if the food is natural and that no harmful pesticides, fertilizers, or farming methods are used in production.

3. Eco-friendly jewelry packaging

Jewelry is a perfect product for sustainable packaging. Smaller, easily bendable pieces create prime opportunities for little gift bags, drawstring pouches, and more.

Using aQR code will help you provide all the necessary details to help buyers make their decision. For example, you'll give the country of origin or the mine where the minerals were mined, the processes used, and the supply chain.

QR codes keep people informed about products

More and more consumers are valuing sustainability as a factor for their purchases and partnerships. If you have information to share with your customer, use it! The more you can share with them, the better. As one survey showed,85% of global consumers are making more green purchases in recent years.

Use the best QR code provider in the market to deliver this key information to your customers. TryFlowcode today and let us help you promote sustainable processes within your business!