The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has been big news around these parts recently. The organization held a conference at Big Sky Resort and a few Mercurians attended to soak up the international business vibe.

One of the events was held at Bozeman pet product manufacturer West Paw Design. West Paw makes dog beds, chew toys, and such, largely from recycled and recyclable materials. West Paw President Spencer Williams (pictured at the podium) talked there about a pretty innovative program called "Join the Loop" that encourages customers to return used West Paw products to be turned into new West Paw products. This small-scale, closed-loop recycling idea is interesting. West Paw uses some proprietary materials that may not be easily recyclable by large-scale programs, but they have the ability in-house to use these materials over and over again.

This and other initiatives are working for West Paw. They export to 29 foreign countries and do good business here in the U.S. as well.

As U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (seated center in the photo, next to Senator Max Baucus) said at the West Paw APEC event, people will "pay a little more" for products made sustainably.

All it takes is finding the right audience and telling them the right story.