Balloons and the Environment - How do you communicate Environment-Friendly practices to your customers?

Keeping your customers informed and giving them information on how they can enjoy their balloons responsibly is essential for all in the balloon industry, especially customers and balloon professionals. Sharing this information can be done in several ways:

Care Cards

A care card highlights the importance of enjoying balloons responsibly to best protect the environment. These are perfect add-on to give to your clients with their balloon purchase. Cards such as these highlight the following messages:

DON'T LET GO

Please don't release helium-filled balloons outdoors - helium balloons should always be secured to a weight. Always dispose of balloons responsibly.

Balloons are a much-loved product that brings joy and helps us celebrate the special moments in life.

As a responsible balloon business, we want to protect our environment from any unnecessary litter. We have therefore made the decision not to support the release of any balloons into the environment. We encourage our customers to support this position and not undertake or endorse balloon releases of any kind. 

INFLATE SAFELY

To remove the risk of injury, always use a balloon pump and NEVER inhale helium.

SUPERVISE CHILDREN UNDER 8

Uninflated or burst balloons can present a choking hazard - please supervise small children at all times.

BE LATEX ALLERGY AWARE

Balloons made of natural rubber latex may cause a reaction in those with latex allergies. Look out for symptoms and seek help if required.

ALWAYS DISPOSE OF BALLOONS RESPONSIBLY

Remember when you've finished with a balloon, simply snip the end of the balloons with scissors before placing in a suitable bin. 

Pioneer Europe, in conjunction with the European Balloon and Party Council (EBPC), has developed a collection of environmental marketing materials that we can use freely within our businesses to educate consumers to enjoy balloons responsibly, promoting the message: "Don't let go."

There are five downloadable flyers that you can use:

Posters - these can be displayed in your shops and stores.

Leaflets - Gives even more information than the Care Card

Carecards - see above

Weight Labels - Weight Stickers will stick on the underside of many commonly used balloon weights.

These are available in 24 different languages. Click on the appropriate language and it will take you directly to the link.

Bulgarian 

Croatian 

Czech 

Danish 

Dutch 

English 

Estonian 

Finnish

Flemish 

French 

Gaelic 

​​​​​​​German 

Greek 

Hungarian 

Italian 

Latvian

Lithuanian 

Maltese 

Polish 

Portuguese 

Slovakian 

Slovenian 

Spanish 

Swedish

Social Media Posts

Having a variety of posts is important for any business, and sharing environmental posts especially will be a very positive thing to do. It will act as a regular reminder to your customers and followers that you take environmental issues seriously! 

Once again, there are some great pre-made posts that are available from www.qualatex.com, which can be found in the SUSTAINABILITY section on the website. 

Here are a few examples of the types of posts that are available.

Have you ever seen a social media post from EU Partysafe? I would expect not, as unless you know about them, you probably won't be following them... start following them today! EU Partysafe is a consumer-facing page run by the European Balloon & Party Council, a Non-Governmental Organisation that represents all the key players in the balloon & party industry. Their aim is to raise awareness & educate consumers on balloon and party-related  products.

Here are a few examples of posts that EUPartysafe shares, and you could do something similar or even better! Sharing their posts on your business page clearly reinforces the message and will potentially guide your customers to their website, which gives even more consumer information on balloons and the environment as well as other information relating to party products.

EU Party Safe posts are succinct, and always feature important facts paired with an eye-catching photo. Free photo stock can be found on the Qualatex website in the Marketing Material in the Inspiration tab. CANVA has some great photo stock, some of which is free. Using an eye-catching, and appropriate photo will help to attract attention to your posts and hopefully their important messages too! 

Did you know

Latex balloons are plant-based

In fact, they are made from the sap of rubber trees, NOT from plastic as is sometimes reported

Always re-use before you recycle

Remember:

foil balloons are not biodegradable;

flatten and store your foil balloons when possible;

re-use your foil balloons. You may be surprised how good they will look!

Here are a few more important websites that will help you to source balloon-related environmental information and messages that you can use. 

The Balloon Council - http://www.theballooncouncil.org

Pro Environment Balloon Alliance (PEBA) - https://www.peba.com.au

Let us all enjoy the magic of balloons for many more years to come, but we need your help to make this possible! Please help us to promote the responsible use of balloons! 

A huge thank you to EBPC for allowing me to share material from their Facebook page.

Happy and responsible Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

Care Cards - A Great way to let your Customers Know how to take Care of their Balloons

Giving your customers information on how to care for their balloons can truly help, especially if something goes wrong! I often see posts on Facebook where someone asks for advice on how to deal with a customer who has complained about a bad balloon experience. Maybe some of those situations could be avoided if we supply our clients with a "Care Card" or a "Balloon Fact Sheet" at the time of purchase or when we are installing balloons for a client.

There are many things that we can include on our "Care Cards" or a "Enjoy your Balloons" fact sheet. I would recommend that you choose those that are most relevant to the types of balloons, and or decor that you are supplying.

1. Balloons and Temperature: Please don't leave balloons in a hot car - helium expands in the heat and this could cause your balloons to pop! We recommend that you use air conditioning in your vehicle when transporting balloons on a hot day. If your balloons get rained on and start to droop, don't worry – they'll float again when dry. When helium-filled balloons are taken into the cold, they will temporarily deflate and will re-inflate again when warm.

2. Balloons - Child and Pet Precautions: Balloons are not a toy. Uninflated or burst balloons can present a choking hazard and should never be left with children under the age of eight without supervision. Store balloons away from pets to ensure that they cannot get themselves tangled with balloon ribbons or accidentally ingest popped balloons or their decorative contents such as confetti, feathers, or other materials. If a balloon pops, clear away any broken balloons and it's decorative contents (if applicable) immediately.

3. Balloons and the Environment: At the end of a balloon's life, cut the end of the balloon with scissors to remove any air or balloon gas, then dispose of it in the bin. NEVER release balloons into the environment. ALL released balloons become litter. They can get caught up in trees or power lines. Remember - Don't Let Go & Pin It and Bin It 😊

4. Balloons and Allergies: Most balloons are made of natural rubber latex and may cause allergies. Please look out for symptoms in case of allergies and seek immediate help.

5. Inhalation of helium: Inhaling helium can be dangerous and it is not recommended. It can deprive your body of oxygen and can result in a fatality.

6. Balloons and Ceilings: Lights, paint textures, irregular surfaces and even static can all pop balloons. If you are planning on placing your balloons on a ceiling, ensure that you test it first.

7. Latex balloons and Oxidization: Clear balloons become cloudy quickly when exposed to heat and sunshine. Coloured balloons will take on a velvety, matte appearance.

8. Balloons can Pop: While we use the highest quality balloons and take every precaution necessary with your balloons to ensure they last through your event, once the balloons leave our door or we have left the venue, they are out of our control.

You can certainly go into much greater detail if you plan to publish this information on your website. You could cover more information regarding balloons, different weather conditions, the environment and how to dispose of balloon weights - especially if they are filled with water or sand!

Finally, I just wanted to make you aware of a great website called Party Safe. This is a dedicated party website for consumers, the education sector, retailers, artists, and decorators and is packed with so much great information!

About Party Safe: Partysafe is managed and run by the European Balloon & Party Council (EBPC)."We provide small products with a big impact that creates memories for life. With over 35 key manufacturers and distributors across Europe, our products span the globe.

This site is dedicated to children, parents, consumers, NGO's and industry providers. Basically - everyone who has ever been involved in parties. It provides an overview for some of our products as well as an education network for schools. If you wish to discover the meanings of some of our warnings, instructions, and labels - please take a deeper look through our site.

The EBPC has members who are technical experts in all aspects of their manufacturing and safety. As well as working within their main roles, some of them also contribute towards improvement of the EN71 - Safety of Toys, the safety standards for toys in Europe. This work, of course, aligns closely with the Toy Safety Directive.

If you would like any more information about the European Balloon & Party Council, please head over to our website at www.ebpcouncil.eu, take a look at our premier league member base and feel free to get in touch.

When it comes to party product information - we're the experts. Rest assured you're in the right hands."

I have really enjoyed working on this blog post. It has made me think about many different situations that can have an impact on balloons and balloon decor. While I have tried to highlight some of the "bigger" issues, I have certainly not covered everything in this post. If you have any suggestions that I can add, please let me know. 

Happy and safe ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler

Follow me - #suebowler