How and Why We Mailed 5,000 Reusable Bags for Bridge Street Market
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
SUSTAINABILITY IS BETTER WITH FRIENDS
At Swift Printing Company, we are acutely aware of the impact printing on paper has on our community and earth, so we do our very best to be sustainable at every turn. We source our stock papers from FSC-certified suppliers and are constantly educating our customers on how to make more sustainable choices for their projects.
We love it when we get to work with a like-minded client, and we found that tenfold with Bridge Street Market, our neighbor to the West and a staple in our local Westside community. Opened by Meijer in 2018, Bridge Street Market is a neighborhood grocery store offering fresh produce, local Michigan-made products, and everyday groceries at affordable prices. The store director at Bridge Street Market, Mitch Cook, also serves as the President on the board of the Stockbridge Business Association, along with Swift Printing President Jessica Gutowski-Slaydon.
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
BRIDGE STREET MARKET REMOVES SINGLE-USE BAGS
Swift Printing has a long-standing printing relationship with Bridge Street Market. Each of these types of stores for Meijer (now four in Michigan!) choose a local print shop in their area to work with in order to align with their mission of supporting small, local businesses. Since 2018, we have worked with them to print a variety of projects, some of which have ended up in your mailboxes and purses!
In 2022, Bridge Street Market decided to make a big change that would make a big statement and impact on the sustainability efforts of their store. They introduced a plan to remove all single-use paper and plastic bags from checkout starting on April 22 (Earth Day), a move that was a first for Meijer and their market format stores.
“It was a big undertaking, but the team agreed that it was the right next step for us to make our footprint a little lighter,” says store director Mitch Cook. “The biggest piece of the puzzle was communicating the why and when to our customers in a memorable and impactful way.”
When the marketing manager at the time, Daltyn Terpstra, had a wild idea for a mailer to support their Earth Day BYOB (bring your own bag!) initiative, we jumped at the opportunity to help.
“Swift Printing has been such a great partner and consistently exceeded my expectations for print quality, customer service, and delivery time, “ she says. ‘I knew just who to call with this unorthodox idea. If anyone could help me, it would be the team at Swift!”
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
“CAN I MAIL A BAG?”
The initial task was to find a way to mail a reusable and recyclable 10-cent bag to households within a few miles radius of the store. She was inspired by an article that listed all the crazy things you can mail with just a stamp because they meet weight and size requirements (think: a flip flop!). So, why not a reusable grocery bag? She wanted to make a statement and make someone do a double take when they opened their mailbox.
Spoiler: it worked!
The conversation started with Walt III (WG3) and we brainstormed various envelope options with windows that would show the bag inside. However, an envelope was not achieving the level of originality that Daltyn was looking for. With our knowledge of the mailing system through the USPS, we knew there were restrictions and in order to overcome them, we needed a strong partner to help us understand the rules. But more importantly, how we could bend them. Enter: Tamara Wade! (A legend, seriously. You’re the best, Tammy!)
A series of meetings and phone calls with Daltyn had Tamara inspired by this new and unique mailer idea and dedicated to making this dream a reality! Together, they landed on an idea of a plus sign-shaped wrap made from fully-recyclable paper that left only the corners of a folded bag exposed. With this format, we could meet the requirements for Every Door Direct Mail™ while also ensuring the mailer wouldn’t snag on sorting machines. It did not require an envelope and as a result, the entire package was recyclable.
“I distinctly remember the day when Tamara called me to tell me the design was approved. Four months of planning had finally paid off and I immediately called Swift to confirm the order,” says Daltyn.
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
A LABOR OF LOVE: MANUAL ASSEMBLY
One last hurdle was that this mailer required a lot of folding – folding the bags, folding the mailer “wrapper,” and securing it with glue. And it needed to be done completely by hand. Truly a labor of love!
“When I realized that yes, we could do this, we also had to figure out how because of the manual folding needed to execute this on a large scale,” says Daltyn. “We had originally hoped to send out more than 10,000 mailers in this style but ended up scaling down to meet budget restrictions and get the mailers out before our launch on Earth Day 2022.”
With the help of dedicated team members, Swift Printing hand-folded over 5,000 reusable and recyclable bags and mailers that ended up in mailboxes across the Westside.
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
To still achieve their goals of reaching a broad audience on the Westside despite their budget, Bridge Street Market opted to send a secondary mailer out to other households in the community. This mailer was a simple informative postcard with a coupon to save $10 on their next shopping trip and also receive a free 10-cent reusable bag.
“I know who to call with my wild ideas. I truly do not think any other printer in this state would have gone to the length of effort, planning, and literal work hours to make this happen. Swift is the real deal!” says Daltyn.
We are proud to continue this working relationship with Bridge Street Market and assist them with their printing needs while being mindful of our community and earth.
Photo courtesy of Daltyn Terpstra
