It ain’t easy being green
December 8, 2009 – 11:51 am by Joshua SlatkoIn these dark days of layoffs and embarrassing legal settlements, it’s always nice to see a pharma giant looking out for its sales reps. Or looking out for its sales reps’ carbon footprint. That’s why I was thrilled Tuesday morning to receive the following press release:
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Pharm giant sales force goes green with high-fashion handbags
Raleigh, N.C.-based fashion designers Aaron Turney and Tracy Russomano are used to working with fashion-conscious women. But this year, they devoted their special talents efforts to addressing the special needs of a unique group of highly specialized handbag users – pharmaceutical sales reps.
GlaxoSmithKline asked them to design an environmentally friendly work bag specifically for their pharmaceutical sales reps to use on the job.
“It’s pretty admirable that they’ve set themselves a goal for using handbags that don’t hurt animals, don’t pollute the environment and don’t exploit anyone,” said Tracy Russomano. “We worked directly with the sales people to design the ideal pharm sales rep bag. When we were done, GSK’s onsite ergonomist gives the bags an excellent rating for ergonomic design.”
Redhanded Bags has created a line of beautiful handbags using green technologies, animal-free materials, and sweat-free manufacturing facilities and workforces.
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A few thoughts on this act of earth-friendliness. First, perhaps the industry’s radical downsizing of its sales forces is really just a clever way to reduce its carbon footprint, thus benefiting patients! After all, fewer sales reps means driving fewer miles on the road (less exhaust!), fewer photocopies (saving trees AND toner cartridges!), fewer samples being given out (less drugs in the water supply!), and less time spent distracting physicians (more time for patients!).
Second, how does someone get to be an onsite ergonomist for a pharma company? Apparently ergonomics is a major issue at GSK, and has been for some time. Who knew? Those interested in careers in ergonomics can go here for more information.
Third, I’m guessing they meant “sweatshop-free”, not “sweat-free.” Manufacturing a “sweat-free” handbag is a challenge that I doubt even the all-mighty GSK can meet.
But wait, there’s more!
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Bags retail for $189, but Redhanded offers wholesale prices for contract or account clients.
All bags have:
- Interior dividers (3 compartments)
- laptop padded compartment
- exterior pocket for coupons, samples, etc.
- mesh bottle holder on outside
- key clip on inside
- large zipper interior pocket
- shoulder strap and top handle (both removable)
- several interior velcro pockets
- outside zipper pocket for pda/supplies/phone
- lumbar padding
- convertible function for backpack style use for longer treks
“Handbags should turn heads, bring out inner beauty, and contribute to a sustainable environment,” said Ms. Russomano. “Pharmaceutical sales reps can look great and be eco-friendly.”
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Perfect – interior dividers, so you can separate the ghostwritten journal articles, the bogus clinical trial data, and the misleading marketing materials! Oh, wait, did I say that out loud? Maybe that lumbar padding will help boost employee morale. And perhaps that large interior zipper pocket can store all the irony. If I had known that big pharma cared so much about the inner beauty of its employees, I might have taken a sales job back in 2006 … and likely be unemployed now.
I asked GSK media relations director Mary Rhyne to comment on this development. To be fair, it does seem that the company genuinely cares about the well-being of its sales reps. “Our ergonomics experts in Human Resources were searching for a new option for bags in which sales representatives could carry their laptops and business papers,” Ms. Rhyne told me. “They happened to read an article in the local newspaper about a local firm designing bags that were green, did not use animal leather, and were fair trade. They contacted the company, which agreed to work with us on a few design modifications at a very competitive price. The result was that we have purchased a number of bags for some of our employees to test in the field.” Too early for any feedback from the field, though – and no reports on displays of inner beauty.
Tags: GlaxoSmithKline, green, PR fail
