Kitchen Garden Forum

My March magazine arrived by post this morning enclosed IN A PAPER ENVELOPE instead of its previous customary plastic wrapping.

Delighted you've found an economic way of abandoning the plastic wrapper . Another small step for mankind! Hopefully all the fellow magazines in your publishing stable are also adopting this practice .

Primrose wrote:My March magazine arrived by post this morning enclosed IN A PAPER ENVELOPE instead of its previous customary plastic wrapping.

Delighted you've found an economic way of abandoning the plastic wrapper . Another small step for mankind! Hopefully all the fellow magazines in your publishing stable are also adopting this practice .

Mine still in a plastic rapper.

Perhaps they packaged mine specially in a paper envelope to stop me grumbling !

Hi Guys

Glad you like it! Yes from now on all subscriber copies will be sent out in paper envelopes which I agree is a big step forwards. Those n the shops are still in a type of plastic, but can be recycled at larger stores at plastic shopping bag collection points and we continue to look for a better method for distributing those too.

I guess the display and marketing problems for those on sale in the shops are a little more complicated as you need the magazine title and front cover to be visually accessible, whereas those which come through letter boxes to an individual subscriber don't require this.

Yes it is a bit more complicated in the shops Primrose. As well as allowing potential purchasers to see what's in the issue it also has to remain stable in storage, which has been our problem with starch-based bags etc. But still looking.

Well at least you've made the effort to tackle part of the issue and hopefully another solution will eventually present itself. That,s more than some organisations are doing and they probqbky won,t change their ways unless pressurised by their consumers.

Well Done KG!

Start small & evolve to get what suits both of your groups of buyers! I don't subscribe as like the visit to the local newsagents! As a member of the forum I would buy regardless of the packaging but many who are not, would like a pic of the front cover at least - or not the front cover but something intriguing, but haven't clue about marketing or veg dyes & the like. Dare to risk it for a biscuit with a limited trial run in a couple of spots with just a pic of some perfect veg & your logo in a paper bag? Best not include the South - I would compromise the trial!

Sounds like a good idea Westi. I'm not sure how the supermarkets or some potential customers would like it, but I'll put it to those who deal with these things and know much more about the marketing aspects than I do. You don't know unless you ask!

A great step forward and thank you for being different.

Regards the shop display issue, how about printing you magazine covers (front & back) on the outside of the envelope not laminated to make it look glossy though.

Perhaps promote this with a flash across it as the "first plastic free gardening magazine on sale" could increase sales from those that refuse to buy plastic wrapped mags.

Good idea Colin if it,s possible to implement.

Thanks for these thoughts chaps. I have passed them on and have also been told that we do have some other ideas on the stove too, so watch this space as they say!