When someone in the SPI office suggested that I do a blog post here, my initial reaction was “What could a graphic designer say about plastics?” I walked back to my office, sat at my desk and got busy with the next task on my “to do” list:  designing a new logo for one of SPI’s Industry Groups. But that question about graphic design and plastics kept running through my mind. After a few sips of my Grande Apple Chai, I realized the answer was literally right in front of me.

I did a quick count of the array of items on my desk (see photo and click on it for a closer view), and counted more than 20 different items that were made (at least partially) of plastic. More importantly, I realized I couldn’t do my work as a graphic designer without the benefit of plastics.

All computer set-ups these days use plastics much more than we realize. Even I, a former electrical engineer, was amazed. From the monitor – which often has a plastic case and sometimes a plastic screen –  to the keyboard and even the mouse (which is almost completely plastic except for the little metal conductors for recharging). For you nerds out there, once you start opening your PC tower or laptop and start looking at the guts of the computer – the motherboard, wiring, memory, cable connectors and even some of the component level items (such as FETs and diodes) you might be amazed at how much of that stuff  is made from plastics.  For example, look inside Apple Inc.’s  MacBook laptop here. Almost six minutes in, the video shows you the insides of the computer — be sure to note all the plastic parts. But enough of the electrical engineer stuff, let’s get back to plastics.

Why is plastic so prevalent in electronics? First, it’s cheap. Those $400 computers you’re able to buy online would be much, much more expensive if they were built using alternative material (if any alternative material could even be used.) Second, it’s lightweight. I highly doubt that laptops would be as ubiquitous as they are now if they were made out of steel or glass. I can guess how well a 20 pound laptop would go over in today’s marketplace.  Not well. Third, plastic is non-conductive. Those of you who have stuck paper clips into electrical sockets (come on, admit it)* will understand the importance of the thin insulation layer of plastic that surrounds each wire or cable. Finally, it is versatile. Plastic can take on practically any shape and any color, enabling our electronic devices to be high-tech, sleek and cool. 

So what does a graphic designer care about plastics? I don’t know about the other designers out there, but I certainly care a lot about plastics. Without the technology that uses plastics, I wouldn’t have a job, because I can’t design without my mouse and monitor.

*SPI does not condone sticking paper clips into electrical sockets. This is dangerous and hazardous to your health.

Everybody is talking about tough times and crying the blues. The question is: What are you going to do about it? Here at SPI, the NPE trade show team receives calls every day from people concerning the economy. As a matter of fact, we get the same call 20 times regarding the same subject. This makes things seem worse than they really are! So what are we doing about it?

We are going to continue doing what we’ve done for the past two and a half years in our NPE2009 planning. We are producing a great product. We are helping both exhibitors and buyers in any way that we can that is within our control. And we are being creative and experimenting with new ideas. You’ve heard it before — there are no bad ideas! Here are some of our ideas.

1. Bus in buyers from strategic regional locations (on its way).
2. Registration discounts.
3. Education on technology that buyers just can’t miss.
4. Ways for exhibitors’ customers to get recognition for their innovations. (Everybody loves recognition, so tell me how great this blog is)
5. On-site parties at McCormick Place for buyers to keep them at the show longer (“The NPE2009 Pub Crawl”)
6. Six ways to Sunday to make it easy to find what you need, and take action (www.npe.org)

There’s a lot more where that came from! We have a created an environment where a plastics industry professional can see everything they want and need under one roof!

So don’t look down, step away from the ledge, and get those creative juices flowing. And where is the best place to do that?

7. At NPE 2009, June 22-26, in Chicago!

I recently returned from Plastindia 2009 and the inaugural one-day plastics industry summit that we held in conjunction with the Plastindia Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry. Overall, the event went well and I believe offered the attendees useful information concerning the state of the industry in the two countries and some of the resources available to companies seeking to begin or expand exports to India. Perhaps more valuable, however, was the general sense of optimism from both the U.S. and Indian speakers concerning the opportunities presented by the Indian market.

And the numbers support the optimism:

• 5 kilograms (or 11 pounds) — The weight of plastics consumed by the average Indian consumer per annum. Conversely, the average consumer in the United States uses almost 110 kilograms (or 242 pounds) of plastics per annum. Demand in India is expected to double in the next three years alone.
• 7.3 percent — India’s GDP growth rate for 2008. Like the rest of the world, India, has certainly been affected by the global slow-down, but in India that means that GDP growth was simply down from the 9.0 percent increase seen in 2007.
• 30,000 – The number of additional machines that India will need over the next three years in order for it to meet the increased demand for plastics in India.
• 500,000 – The estimated number of mobile phones sold in India each day!
• 526,382,000 – The value of U.S. plastics exports to India in 2008, up more than 300 percent over the last four years.
• 1,147,995,904 – India’s estimated population as of July 2008, according to the entry for India in the CIA World Factbook.

When so many of the numbers that we hear on a daily basis are negative, I can tell you that it was refreshing to hear some numbers that we can all get optimistic about!

Two small words:  tax policy.  Taken together — and often separately — they’re almost certain to induce consternation and angst.  For most, tax policy is not…well…stimulating.

Even so, the recently enacted federal stimulus package contains some business-friendly items, and the potential rewards are worth venturing outside the mental comfort zone (where taxes don’t exist at all) and into a conversation with your company’s tax professional.

Sales forces would do well to explore some positive tinkering the new law has done with depreciation allowances.  Basic tax law allows customers to recover (tax jargon for “write off”) the cost of capital purchases over an extended time frame.  Most in the business community agree that this schedule is outdated, doesn’t reflect the rapid churn of the 21st century economy, and puts investment in the U.S. at a disadvantage in the globally competitive environment.   The new law jump starts that write off schedule by allowing customers to immediately write off 50 percent of purchases.  This so-called “bonus depreciation” is an incentive for customers to buy, and there’s more:  since this particular aspect of the stimulus package expires at the end of 2009, there’s also an incentive for them to buy soon.

Another element of the new law enables smaller firms (gross receipts under $15 million) to better recoup taxes paid in earlier, more profitable times by allowing them to “carry back” losses for up to five years.  That’s up from the normal two year allowance.  We’re talking about the functional equivalent of a rebate, meaning qualifying firms can see near-term cash infusions at a time when cash flow is a particularly crucial.   As an aside, with the ink still drying on this new law, SPI and others are already pushing for expansion of “carry back” in future legislation so that firms of all sizes can benefit.

More generally but nonetheless important, the stimulus plan seeks to bolster key plastics-consuming sectors.  Home construction gets a boost with an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, and the auto industry benefits from a new tax deduction for buyers of new cars, light trucks, RV’s and motorcycles.

This short blurb (and probably blogs generally) shouldn’t be construed as tax law or accounting advice – just advice to get with your tax lawyer or accountant.

Aveda™, the Minnesota-based manufacturer of plant-based hair, skin and beauty products, has started an innovative plastic cap recycling program that utilizes grassroots participation — particularly from kids and their schools. The Aveda program accepts caps that are rigid polypropylene (sometimes noted with resin identification code “5”), including the twist-on variety with a threaded neck such as caps on shampoo, water, soda, milk, laundry detergents and some jar lids (like peanut butter). Excluded from collection are pharmaceutical lids and non-rigid plastic lids such as those on yogurt containers and margarine tubs.

According to Aveda, the company has “been able to work closely with our suppliers to develop ways to make new caps and containers from the recycled caps. We hope to ship new products using this reworked, environmentally-friendly material later this year.”

Just this week, an article in The Independent (a community newspaper serving the New Jersey Shore area) illustrated how a community has successfully put the Aveda cap recycling program into action.

Want to get involved? There are two ways to participate in the program:

• Bring your collected caps directly to an Aveda store. Use this locator to determine if there is a location convenient to where you live or work.
• Get the local school in your community to participate in the program. Kids collect plastic bottle caps from their household and bring them to school, depositing them in a classroom collection bin. The school sends the caps to Aveda – and the company will supply the school with special shipping labels (possibly even postage paid ones).

Parents can learn more here. Teachers can get details here. Once your school is ready to enroll in the program, email Aveda here.

As many of you avid recyclers know, most municipalities in the United States currently do not accept plastic caps in their recycling programs. All the more reason to “tip your cap” to Aveda for a job well done. It will be interesting to follow the program and see how many tons of polypropylene caps Aveda recycles.