As consumer interest in the environment has grown to an all time high, so too has that of businesses, which not only find themselves needing to meet the demands of the consumer, but having to do so in a commercial environment that is increasingly shaped by green legislation.

The growth in all things green in the promotional sector is likely to see record growth continue in 2008, predicts Eco Incentives.

Marketing is one of those odd subjects in business. It is something that everyone thinks they do but in reality don't or, if they do, then they don't give enough thought to it.

There is a simple and free way to improve your marketing effectiveness: avoid making the classic errors. Most of these are very simple, but they refuse to go away.

How old is your business? You may have been established for many years or you might have started up only recently. However long you have been trading, you will realise that you are in a very competitive sector and that the choice available to the customer is becoming ever wider.

In our wealthy, consumerist society we have all come to expect choice. In the printwear industry this doesn’t mean a choice of three T-shirts; more like a choice of 33. But can a very wide choice actually be intimidating?

If your staff wasted 98% of their time you'd sack them. If you wasted 98% of the raw materials you buy, you'd go bust. But when businesses use direct mail as a marketing tool, they cheerfully expect only a 2% response, indeed they're often pleased with 2%. What a waste; what a missed opportunity.We can all do better.

Unless you have a good technical understanding of how the internet works, it is easy to be misled by website designers and programmers, says Kevin Nester of Alpha Design and Marketing in Shrewsbury.

The word ‘brand’ is bandied around in advertising and marketing. As a verb, to brand something means to apply an imprint or stamp to it, as you would with a hot iron to a cow’s rear end. The mark shows who the animal belongs to. We trust ‘makes’ that we are familiar with and we believe we are taking a chance when we go for an unknown brand. As consumers, our trust in brands is so great that it takes much cost and effort to change our perceptions.

Small businesses, as many garment decorators are, don't do enough marketing. Not that I blame you. In the first case, it's perceived as expensive, and, of course, it can be, although it's not always the case. Then you don't have the necessary expertise in house (and bought in expertise is invariably expensive). Finally there's the fear that you'll charge off in the wrong direction and get nil result from your time and money. Any of these concerns are valid so let's address solutions.

Do you go for the comfy shoes these days? Have you forgotten the last time you had a wild night out? Do you know all the characters in Casualty? Me too. It's mid-life creeping up. And it can be just as much of a passion killer in the workplace.

“I'd like you to discuss this with my agency.” Do those words from a prospective client cause a pound of lead to settle in your stomach, or are they music to your ears? Paul Clapham explains how to use agencies to your advantage

The textile industry has seen the same changes as most other industries in the past two decades, with globalisation and technology presenting opportunities and threats in equal measure.