It’s no secret that the word “green,” and even more so the phrase “go green,” have entered the ranks of cringe-worthy marketing cliches, as they continue to suffer widespread abuse at the hands of countless disingenuous advertising slogans designed to cash in our desire to be good environmental citizens. So, admittedly, it was with a dose of skepticism that I learned of the USPS’ “Go Green” stamps, first released a few weeks ago. However, after picking up a set at my local post office, I was immediately pulled in by the wonderful illustrations and the simple messages contained in each stamp.

It is perhaps the simplicity of those messages, coupled with the backlash to things dubbed “go green,” that has brought about some criticism of the stamps, including this rather snarky review posted by Fast Company. However, in my opinion, these stamps are right on the mark, largely BECAUSE of the simplistic messages this type of criticism points to. The stamps’ messages speak to the laziest of us, saying “These are thing you can do easily. Just try these simple changes in your daily habits and you’ll be making a difference in some small way.” Refreshingly, there are no messages for you to buy something, except for maybe local produce, as one stamp urges.

The stamps playful illustrations are the work of San Fransisco artist Eli Noyes. Noyes spent over six months creating the set, calling upon his own daily habits in developing the messages. “I’m a San Franciscan – I go to the farmers’ market. OK, farmers’ market stamp. I compost. Compost stamp.”

Noyes’ generously allows us to peek into his process in designing these stamps by sharing some of his great work on USA Philatelic site Beyond The Perf, including some of the early concept panes, and a slideshow of his sketches for the project.

You can also view a fun, animated video based on these stamps on the USPS’ site here.

FOOTNOTE: In addition to adding some positive vibes to the task of letter mailing, these stamps have reminded me to dial back my cynicism and resist the initial urge to react skeptically to anything containing to the phrase “go green” these days.

Recycling recently (finally) got a lot easier for residents of Haverhill, MA. Effective July 5, 2010, residents no longer need to separate paper & cardboard from glass, plastics, and metal. Instead, all recyclables can simply be thrown in the same container, then placed at the curbside for collection every other week.

No more sorting, no more Saturday trips to the Recycling Center, no more excuses!

Sproutreach is pleased to have played a part in this exciting new program by creating the outreach materials recently mailed to city residents. Each of the city’s nearly 30,000 households was issued a packet containing a tri-fold brochure with the program’s guidelines and a tear-off collection schedule, a large sticker to label a recycling container, and a letter from the Mayor.

Our studio also created a website for the program, HaverhillRecycles.org. The site is designed to serve as an online guide to the program, a collection calendar, a resource for additional information, and a place for community feedback and interaction.

The new logo we designed for Haverhill Recycling, shown above, was donated to the project as an expression of our support for this important local initiative.

The website, as well as the printed outreach materials, were all funded by Team Haverhill —the driving force behind this expanded recycling initiative. Team Haverhill is an independent, volunteer action group dedicated to making Haverhill a better place to live, learn, work and play.

Long before the current oil spill, the largest in US history, British Petroleum was working hard to greenwash consumers into believing they were an environmentally responsible corporation. At the center of that effort is their cheerful green flower logo.

In their Behind The Logo campaign, Greenpeace UK is leading an effort to rebrand BP with a logo more befitting their operations, and is welcoming your suggestions! They’ve created a Flickr photostream where they’re accepting submissions for revised BP logos. As sample entry is shown at right.

Last week, Greenpeace climbers scaled the front of BP’s corporate headquarters in London to brand them with a logo that better suits their dirty business (photo below).