saving ecological Buying green products is not only a way to respect the environment, but also a form of support to the traditional retailers also called "proximity", increasingly forced to resort to gimmicks to survive the tyranny of the supermarkets.
One example is a recent initiative undertaken by some provincial representatives of a major trade association that brought a small neighborhood shops specialize in selling products with low environmental impact characterized above all by the absence of packaging for disposal .
We started with cleaning the plug, but the goal is to reach to broaden its range with a wide range of products including food. The intentions are very clear of the association, and reasoning is flawless. The official representative of a provincial Piedmont tells me that the small operator needs to retrain and find new opportunities to survive in competition with malls, but unfortunately the constraint is that there are a lot of money to invest, although it is often the enthusiasm and lacks the capacity to respond. Sell \u200b\u200bbulk products does not imply large investments, the supply is not dependent on the conditions halter large producers, but from small Italian producers who are left out, by choice or misfortune, the circuit of the buyers of large retailers.
"Retailers have left an open space that could be filled by traditional distribution, "my partner assures me, referring to target those consumers who do not like it or not they shop in supermarkets, but the shop doorstep. One example is the elderly, self-sufficient, but prefer not to take the car to go shopping by opting for the trolley pulled along the sidewalks of the neighborhood. Being able to buy only a small amount of detergent rather than a can of five kilos to carry home, it's definitely very beneficial because you can not be dependent children, grandchildren and neighbors. Then there are those who do not want to use the car for the beginning and then are ideally opposed to supermarkets. In this case Shop doorstep that has embraced a cause that he believes his client can become an element of loyalty.
The distribution of detergents that began to spread in many retail outlets spread across almost the entire northern and central Italy, has found in John De Angelis a staunch supporter and an enlightened entrepreneur who was able to grasp the winners of this sector with obvious features of high growth and high potential. "The element of successful business," explains De Angelis "is to go by the owner of a small operation and propose to use a few square meters of space devoted to the sale by placing a simple machine that distributes products for cleaning. The cost is minimal, but it is necessary that the operator oversees the distribution system to explain and illustrate the benefits to the customer. " In support of this belief De Angelis explains the failure of some chain stores that specialize in only selling products for cleaning caused by the fact that no part of our buying habits go to a store just to buy a specific type of product, while we are more inclined to do so if there is a proposal made in a grocery store, the bakery, a hardware store or at a small appliance repairman. The large distribution seems to have failed the goal of consolidation in the sale of products low environmental impact. The Piedmont Region has invested considerable sums to place at large retail complex machinery for the distribution of detergents on tap, but the experiment did not yield the desired results despite the parallel promotion and communication efforts. It seems to be the key to the simplicity of it all. The buyer has to go to the store with its container, even the empty bottle of mineral water, and should not be forced to buy a specific, must be able to decide how much to withdraw and not quantity defined product. Obviously the process of price determination is more complex because the product must be weighed and you deduct the weight of the container, a practice at the supermarket checkout would not be feasible, but certainly workable in a small shop.
But the levers of success are not limited to the simplicity and the ability of traders to convince his client to make a responsible gesture: it is also in the quality and convenience. The popular combination of so many tournaments and advertising of yesterday and today. In this case, however, the cost is justified by lower costs which affect the product because it saves resources that would otherwise be dispersed in packaging, pouches, ideas, graphics, inks, and higher costs of transport. Without loss of quality because the characteristics of detergents distinguishes the prerogatives to be defined as a product of absolute quality surfactants of vegetable origin and not as the vast majority of synthetic detergents., no dyes (those that are the whitest white, for instance), Italian production and low environmental impact (in theory water that the exhaust exits the washing machine we could splash around a goldfish).
"The factors for a successful product, we are all" explains the head of the agency that is overseeing the promotion and development of the network of stores that share a commitment to the environment, "but in this case, above all, it is possible to convince consumers they are buying an excellent product at a very reasonable cost, and once it was found that, it is easy to convince yourself of the goodness of the consequences of their choices. "
would agree that perhaps a lesson to learn: respect for the environment than the first pass of our pockets.
