At Red Cowboy we believe in the value of sustainability. While this term means a thousand different things to a thousand different people (often losing it’s meaning in political power struggles) . . . it is part of the guiding framework of what we are about.

We like to define sustainability in the context of “people not profit”. Meaning things like people, relationships, the environment, equity, justice, sharing, and fairness, to name but a few, are all more important than profit. This is not to say that we aren’t interested in making a profit! But rather that making a profit at all costs seems like a rather shallow way of doing business, an unsustainable way. We think it’s a bit on the selfish side when companies focus all of their energy on bottom lines and profits at all cost.

We realize that in order to make a profit not only today but well into the future requires an eclectic blend of creativity, conservation, and investment back into the world.

Below are a few ways in which we are trying to practice sustainability. In many ways these are more than mere values, but are disciplines we use to remind ourselves that profit is not the only reason for doing businesses.

Kiva: One of the ways Red Cowboy seeks to create a more hopeful and sustainable world is by participating with groups like Kiva. This is one of the partnerships that we get most excited about participating in. We believe in it enough that we have pledged to loan 5% of all our profits to global businesses as featured on Kiva. To find out more about our relationship with other small businesses around the world visit our Red Cowboy Kiva page.

Gear: We make sure that we use gear that comes from companies that support a sustainable lifestyle and planet. We don’t shop from wholesalers. We use Apple computers and drive scooters. All of the lights in our office are compact fluorescents. We recycle our print cartridges, batteries, and paper. We leave our windows open when the weather permits and use natural lighting every day. These may be small things, but we think that before we can talk sustainability on a macro level, we should practice it on a micro level.

T-Shirts & Apparel: On all of our apparel and printing we exclusively use Alternative Apparel and American Apparel because of their developing commitment to organic and green products. This decision costs us additional income because some clients choose to use their own printer when it comes to T-Shirts & Apparel after we do the initial design work. We certainly understand this decision and harbor no ill feelings as we are aware of the constraints of having to work withing a budget. So we are more than happy to handle the design for the apparel, however if you want Red Cowboy to handle the printing, we exclusively print with on the apparel from the above two companies.

Printing: This is an area that we are attempting to improve on. Unfortunately, there just are not a lot of commercial printers that offer acid-free, environmentally friendly paper and inks. We are constantly on the look out for commercial printers who are both affordable and are committed to sustainable business practices. In the mean time we do our best to find and recommend printers who are local to our clients. By fostering this connection between our clients and their local printers we are able to further support local, small businesses as opposed to large, profit at all costs wholesalers. In addition, printing locally eliminates the need for expensive shipping from hundreds of miles away, thus eliminating air pollution and unnecessary packaging.

Ultimately, we are painfully aware that we’re not a perfect company. But we do try to creatively think outside of the box about how to grow without damaging people or our planet in the process. We do our best to tread lightly and to think globally as opposed to selfishly and individually. We also consider ourselves “learners” so if you know of any sustainable practices or have any ideas that you would like to see us incorporate in the future, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

And for further reading on how we’ve come to formulate our conclusions, check out some of these great books that we’ve spent reading and studying to get a better understanding of capitalism, globalization, systems theory, and profit:  The Starfish and the Spider, Deep Economy, Consumed, Culture Jam, Economic Apartheid in America, People Before Profit, & The European Dream.