Sina Banki, co-owner of Vector Shoppe Printing, is reflecting on how his business has survived the pandemic as well as the importance of creating a sustainable, affordable printing business.

Founded in 2018, Vector Shoppe Printing was created by Banki and his partner Hessam Homapour. Banki, who graduated with a degree in entrepreneurial management/commerce, stated his initial desire was to create a business that has a purpose greater than profit.

“I always wanted to have a business that had a little bit more of a position where they want to do more than just generating profit, a business that would have social impact, something that would inspire others to stand for more than just your everyday business, something that can actually make a difference in the world,” said Banki.

Banki states that he looked to examples set by businesses that utilized models of social impact. As a result, he reached out to Trees for the Future (TREES), a non-profit organization that works to end poverty for farmers by equipping them with the tools and education necessary to regenerate their land. At Vector Print Shoppe, for every sale that is made, a tree is planted through TREES. So far, Banki states that they have surpassed 10,000 trees planted since the business first began.

“They go and educate the farmers on better agricultural practices. And over a four-year span of time, what happens is that they get provided the trees from the donations that they received from the partnering companies such as ourselves, and then they go forward, and then four years after. actually see an increase in the annual income of the farmers, which ultimately helps the environment and people are taking a triple bottom line approach and that will help people the planet and profits,” said Banki.

Trees for the Future

Founded in 1989 by Dave and Grace Deppner, TREES utilizes a forest garden approach known as agroforestry. The four-year course involves a technician providing instruction to participants, as well as the participant being supported within a community of local farmers. Each group consists of 20-50 people and an elected lead farmer that acts as the point person of the community.

The aim of the foundation is to leave the community completely self-sufficient by providing education instead of aid, as well as setting up a web of communication and support. The education includes protection of the land, how to mitigate damage to crops, as well as diversifying crops for security. This approach is what Lindsay Cobb, Marketing and Communications Manager for TREES, says makes their program truly sustainable.

“So we work in farming communities that already are established. So what I think is really fantastic about this program, and what the farmers that we work with say about this program is it's not just an aid organization, coming into their community and telling them what they should do. We speak with members of the community and ask if there is interest in this program, to make sure that there's farmer buy in essentially, so that they're enthusiastic and excited about the prospects of what trees for the future, and the forest garden approach would mean for them for their family and for their larger community,” said Cobb.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a problem to the program as in person instruction was more difficult to carry out. TREES overcame this by utilizing many different kinds of technology to connect farmers with instructors. Computer tablets, smart phones and traditional phones allowed information to be relayed to the farmers and thus participants were able to keep on track with their program. In the case that in-person instruction was carried out, strict safety measures were taken to ensure the safety of everybody involved.

Cobb also spoke about how the pandemic highlighted the importance of the work that the foundation carries out.

“The results speak for themselves. I mean, we have farmers who were literally living in hunger and poverty when the pandemic started. And for the average smallholder farmer in the developing world in a global pandemic, and then an economic crisis, would not have access to food would not be able to go to market, wouldn’t have money to purchase the things that they need, that they couldn't grow for themselves,” said Cobb.

Cobb states that even farmers who had just entered into the program before the pandemic are already reaping the benefits of the course, including food stability. Cobb expressed that with that food stability, more families are able to achieve the financial stability necessary to invest in an education for their children since their basic needs have been met.

“In a global crisis like the one that we’re living though, we're seeing that trees, and agroforestry. and sustainable agriculture is really a game changer for these families. And that they're able to make it through and are competent that they'll make it through,” said Cobb.

Sustainability and business

Vector Shoppe Printing also faced difficulties staying alive during the pandemic. As Banki explains, when a business is young, networking events are vital as word of mouth is how many new clients are acquired.

“So when these networking events came to a halt and they were all online zoom meeting, it was a little bit more difficult to meet new people,” said Banki.

Banki says that before the pandemic they worked in collaboration with web developers to have their website completely functional “we wanted to grow to a bigger scale where we could sell to US and Canada, we had had the vision of wanting to shift into online and be focused on online sales,” said Banki.

Banki states that this shift an e-commerce space helped keep his business alive during lockdown despite dropping sales and the shutdown of partnered production facilities.

In regards to the link between sustainability and lack of affordability, Banki states that the correlation is a big misconception they are hoping to correct.

“That's a major misconception that going for the more sustainable option is often more expensive. And so we find that a lot of customers are surprised by the fact that we have such competitive rates. And so I think that's one of the really good added values that we can provide,” said Banki.

Because Vector Shoppe Printing is an online store with no storefront, this allowed them to have lower overhead costs which is one of the reasons why they can offer affordable pricing and sustainability.

“You know, we're in a business where trees are being cut down. And what we're doing is we're offsetting that but planting more trees," Banki said.

To learn more about Trees for the Future visit: https://trees.org/documentary/

To learn more about Vector Shoppe Printing visit: https://vectorshoppe.com/