Putty from Wind Power?

People have been asking me about the environmental benefit of our products. 

I always felt like Thinking Putty didn't have anything particularly good about it environmentally.  Nothing bad really, just nothing exceptionally good.  It isn't grown from end-of-life rubber trees.  Though our colors are beautiful, they aren't made from harvesting rainbows (which are a renewable resource ;-).

Then I did some thinking.  Maybe our product has benefits I hadn't previously considered:

- Thinking Putty is made from sand (quartz), the most common and plentiful mineral on earth.
- Our product does not contain petroleum products.
- Our office uses 100% wind energy.
- Our metal tins are made from a high percentage of recycled material and are 100% recyclable themselves.
- Our printing process is dry and is VOC-free (volatile organic compounds). 
   (VOCs can harm air quality and human health)
- Our putty lasts a LONG time. It doesn't dry out.  So you don't end up consuming more than you need.
- Over 99% of our raw materials are sourced inside the USA.  That means their manufacture is bound by USA environmental regulations.  We are not supporting the manufacture of raw materials offshore to avoid environmental responsibility.

Am I being silly?  Are these real benefits that matter?  If you have an environmental bent, I'd love to hear your comments.

Also, I am considering converting our factory to 100% wind power.  I'd like to do it but, there is significant expense.  It would need to be offset by gaining customers who appreciate our environmental efforts.  Do you think that would happen?

Comments

[Veronica]

My grandkids (and I) love your "thinking putty" and have hours of fun playing with it. But can you suggest how to remove putty that gets into carpeting or otherwise stuck on surfaces like clothing, hair, etc.?

[Katherine]

I have purchased thinking putty for myself and my 9 year old. I was interested in spreading the joy, so I inquired as to the cost of 'sample sized' portions. The cost proved to be prohibitive. I understand the cost of printing - sort of, but have to assume that the bulk of the cost is the tin canister packaging. Because I am SO fascinated and entertained by the strange attractor thinking putty, I couldn't let the idea of handing it out as a holiday treat to my 40 coworkers go. I found really inexpensive plastic hinged-lid containers, purchased bulk bags of thinking putty, and printed my own stickers using Avery labels. I also found really dirt cheap itty bitty sized neodymium magnets online to give with the small portion.
I do think it is important for companies to lead the 'examined life,' and therefore would support any move toward greater environmental stewardship. However, I can only use so much putty personally, and I can't afford your custom samples, so I definitely wouldn't be able to support even higher prices.
Not sure this offers much of a solution. Maybe, if the wind thing is THAT expensive, you should do something different instead. Have you heard of 1% For The Planet? It's a pretty super 501-3-c organization started by Patagonia. It would be a nice first step toward giving back.