Increased recycling and reuse of advertisement material
AdVinylize is an innovative upcycling business that repurposes vinyl used in advertising into various useful products such as shoulder bags, wallets and shopping totes etc. and thus reduces landfilling of vinyl used in the advertisement industry
The challenge
Because of the short lifespan of outdoor advertisements and the lack of knowledge as regards the opportunities of recycling advertising vinyl, large quantities of discarded vinyl end up in landfills. The environmental practices in the advertisement industry therefore need to be improved.
The innovation
AdVinylize business model is based on close collaboration with large corporations that use billboard vinyl for advertising and marketing. AdVinylize offers billboard removal and re-design into promotional products that can be used by the same corporations as luxury gifts or give-away conference/promotional materials (branded with the corporation’s logo).
Why did it work?
AdVinylizeTM line of products is an extension to a range of sustainable promotion solutions offered by Your Promo Place including promotional items constructed from biodegradable products and organic cotton. Sue Rigler, the president of Your Promo Place, founded AdVinylizeTM in 2007 using private equity funding for development, demonstration and commercial exploitation. She was convinced that waste vinyl billboards are not only problematic but can also be seen as an opportunity. The aim of the company is to create sustainable promotional products from discarded advertising vinyl. Billboard vinyl is repurposed into durable, high-quality goods (e.g. totes, wallets, coolers, beach slings and messenger bags) that are both highly useful and provide an option to keep the material out of landfills. The company offers corporations a complete solution to discarded advertising vinyl from pick up to redesigning into desired promotion materials up to delivery to the final destination.
In addition to close partnerships with corporations, AdVinylize entered in 2011 into a strategic partnership with MetroMedia Technologies (MMT) – the industry leader in large format printing, outdoor advertising graphics and billboard printing.
Advinylize work contributes not only to waste reduction from the outdoor advertisement industry but also to changing environmental practices in this industry, including refitting bulletin structures with LED lighting and using alternative energy sources to power billboards at night.
Further deployment
AdVinylize plans to continue expanding geographically by targeting advertising agencies and their clients in Southern California and Arizona. The maturity of this eco-innovation is estimated to be 9 on GML scale.
Links:
- Website
