Signarama Promotes Eco-Friendly Initiatives to Encourage the Sign Industry

This month, America and the whole world will turn "green" for a day in observance of Earth Day on April 22, but at Signarama Fort Collins, every day is a green day. An eco-friendly business leader, the store is also a member of ClimateWise, a program offering solutions and strategies to address the impacts of climate change.

"Our business is in a community that takes leaving behind a positive carbon footprint very seriously," says Patti Westfall, who co-owns the Signarama Fort Collins franchise with husband Wes. "We are heavily invested in the eco-friendly movement and not only do we offer sustainable materials in the manufacturing process, but our store is powered 100 percent by green energy."

Being eco-friendly in 2019 is not easy, as sustainable materials often become discontinued. The Westfalls rely on two eco-friendly types of banner material: PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a resin byproduct of recycled plastic bottles, and recyclable banner material manufactured by Hewlett Packard.

"We make sure the returned banners are properly disposed of by returning them to HP for recycling," says Westfall. "The city's recycle bin is not made to be a receptacle because it's designed specifically for plastic bottles."

Despite the challenges of finding usable eco-friendly materials, Patti and Wes' Signarama store has started to use a new material for its retractable banner and trade show stands.

"We offer a PVC-free wallpaper using eco-friendly inks from an HP latex printer, and the UV digital flatbed printer we use has the ability to print directly to substrate without solvents," Westfall says. Another eco-friendly service offered by the store is the recycling of aluminum or steel sign frames, aluminum signs, and aluminum banner stands.

Signarama Fort Collins has customers that specifically request eco-friendly options. While the shop can't offer eco-friendly options for everything, Patti and Wes are always evaluating options by attending major trade shows to see what the suppliers are offering.

Other Signarama locations, such as Signarama Saco in Maine, follow the green initiative by reducing waste when possible.

"We encourage our customers to return any outdated signs that may not be in use anymore," says the Signarama Saco franchisee, Jonni Peace. "We try our best to repurpose signs as much as possible. Instead of trashing the used product, we will letter over it or remove any vinyl if it comes off easy enough."

Signarama Saco also donates materials to schools, nonprofits, and even local shooting ranges. Scraps of vinyl that aren't enough to put through the printer are delivered to neighboring schools and organizations.

Signarama motivates its franchisees to follow environmentally friendly best practices such as these and bolster them to be solid, contributing members of communities who strive to make an impact with their stores' eco-friendly options.