GREEN MARKETING: OPPORTUNITY FOR INNOVATION

Chapter 4: Green By Design

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Table of Contents Featured Cases Table of Exhibits

Environmental product issues are varied and complex. They span every phase of a product’s life cycle, and include a plethora of sub-issues such as conservation of natural resources like water and land, energy efficiency, and protection of natural habitats and endangered species, as detailed in Exhibit 4.1.

Upgrading products and packaging to minimize environmental impact can be tricky. What may appear to be an environmental benefit may actually result in little or no added value to the environment. For example, plastic trash bags that are technically designed to disintegrate in the presence of sunlight will not degrade when buried in a landfill. Sometimes, the presumed greening of one attribute can actually increase overall environmental impact. CPC, the makers of Mueller’s pasta, found that converting to recycled carton material would actually add about 20 percent to the width of their packaging material. This would at least partially offset savings to the environment, considering the added energy needed to ship the new boxes.¹ For these reasons, and also to prevent backlash from consumers, environmental groups and other stakeholders, all of whom may be quick to point out the shortcomings of products and packaging touted as green, a thorough approach to "greening" is required. A tool called life cycle inventory (LCI) can help.

An LCI, the first step in conducting a full life cycle analysis of a product, is a process that quantifies the use of energy, resources, and emissions to the environment associated with a product throughout its life cycle. It accounts for the environmental impact of raw-material procurement, manufacturing and production, packaging, distribution, and in-use characteristics straight through to after-use and disposal.

A LCI of cotton versus disposable diapers, for example, would quantify the amount of pesticides and water used to grow cotton, as well as the water and energy needed to manufacture the diapers and transport them to stores and homes. Finally, it would consider the amount of water and energy used to launder the cloth diapers. A LCI of disposable diapers would take into account the environmental implications of cutting down and processing trees for wood pulp, along with the environmental burdens of extraction and refining the petroleum required to produce the plastic backsheets. It would quantify the energy used in manufacturing and transportation, as well as the amount of solid waste eventually sent to landfills. Exhibit 4.2 highlights the results of an LCI commissioned by Procter & Gamble, comparing the relative environmental impacts of cloth versus paper disposable diapers.

Initially developed during the 1970s to help reduce the amount of energy used for developing and distributing products, an LCI is extremely useful for:

In the past 25 years, several organizations, including Franklin Associates (Prairie Village, Kansas), the Battelle Institute (Columbus, Ohio), Ecobalance (Rockville, Maryland), and the Tellus Institute (Boston, Massachusetts) have performed life cycle inventories in a wide range of industries including paper, paperboard, glass, steel, aluminum, plastic beverage containers and delivery systems, building materials, and transportation products.

Be careful about using life cycle inventory as a marketing tool! Life cycle inventories leveraged for marketing purposes have been criticized for favoring the sponsor. For example, the LCI sponsored by Procter & Gamble comparing cloth versus disposable diapers concluded that when energy and water associated with collecting and washing the cloth diapers were accounted for, the total environmental impact of the cloth diapers were roughly equal to the disposables. This research conflicted with findings from an LCI commissioned by the National Association of Cloth Diaper Services which found cloth to be environmentally superior to disposables. Experts in industry, government, and academia are now working to legitimize the use of life cycle inventory and other cradle-to-grave approaches as marketing tools. However, given the current state of life cycle analysis and consumer understanding of environment-related product issues, this is likely to be far off in the future.

Proponents of LCI collect all easily available data about a product’s life cycle, then prioritize and focus resources on fixing the problems that become apparent early in the analysis process. While improvements are being made, they collect additional data for later incorporation.

As presently developed, life cycle inventory focuses on the raw material requirements, byproducts, waste, and emissions associated with producing a product. However, as demonstrated by the diaper example, it cannot easily differentiate between alternative technologies for addressing the same consumer need. In addition, many environmental concerns are not addressed by LCI. According to Martin Wolf, a consultant on life cycle inventory and green product development, LCI must be augmented with a holistic evaluation of a product’s total environmental impact. Renewable or sustainable resource use, habitat destruction, biodiversity depletion, odors, visual pollution, noise pollution, toxicity, biodegradability, and other issues that are of concern to environmentalists and consumers but which cannot be evaluated by the quantitative approach of LCI and must be considered separately.

Strategies for Success

Many marketers now grow their businesses by addressing specific environmental issues that are most relevant to their consumers. In the process, they save money and enhance corporate and brand imagery while ensuring future sales for their products. Use the following strategies to create profitable new or improved products and packages that balance consumers’ needs with environmental considerations.

Minimize Direct Environmental Impact

Earth’s Best Baby Food. The use of pesticides and fertilizers in crops potentially pollutes soil, water, and atmosphere and also poses a potential threat to the health of humans and wildlife. According to the EPA, about 70 pesticides registered and currently in use are "probable" or "possible" cancer-causers.² Children, in particular, are highly vulnerable. On a body-weight basis, children may consume six times as much fruit as adults, and their developing bodies are unable to filter out many of the toxic chemicals.³

One company that is attempting to minimize threats posed by unsustainable and unhealthy agricultural practices is Earth’s Best, a company recently acquired by the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based H.J. Heinz Company. Earth’s Best organic baby food is grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, or growth hormones. It delivers flavorful taste without any preservatives, salt, refined sugar, or modified starches. Reinforcing the concept of a more sustainable product, the glass-jar packaging made from 30-40 percent recycled content, is recyclable.

Viewed by new parents as an investment in their children’s health and future, Earth’s Best generated $30 million in sales in 1995, and sales are increasing approximately 20 percent every year.⁴ In addition, in some parts of the country, the brand has garnered over 15 percent of the market for strained baby foods despite stiff competition from Gerber, Beechnut, and Heinz. Current sales may represent the tip of the iceberg. With the Earth’s Best trademark representing a "seal of approval" for the organic category, H.J. Heinz has plans to expand the line to adult foods such as soups and sauces, and offer accessories such as pacifiers and baby bottles under the name.⁵

Collins Pine. You don’t have to live near a clear-cut hillside to witness the environmental devastation wreaked by the forest-products industry. Conventional timber practices destroy wildlife habitat, induce soil erosion, increase water pollution, and create ugly scars. The alternative, monoculture tree farms, are vulnerable to insect damage and disease, and they require herbicides and pesticides to protect them. Collins Pine of Portland, Oregon has a better idea. It practices sustainable forestry management.

Their forests in California, Pennsylvania and Oregon represent complex ecosystems of multiple species - ancient trees, bald eagles and black bears - all managed with the goal of producing high-quality lumber and providing local jobs for generations to come. Each section of the forest is cut on a ten-year cycle, and no more timber is harvested than what was produced in the previous decade. Healthy, mature trees are left to grow while aged or diseased trees are felled. Species mix, tree spacing, animal habitat and other factors are taken into account in deciding which trees to cut. In five decades, Collins Pine has produced 1.5 billion board feet of lumber but their forests still contain as much wood as when timber harvesting began.

This highly eco-sensitive practice has helped the company gain distribution in Home Depot, a coup for a tiny company such as Collins Pine. Sales are estimated at over $100 million per year. Customers include Lexington Furniture Industries which uses Collins Wood for its Keep America Beautiful line of furniture. For its efforts, the company received the 1996 President’s Commission for Sustainable Development Award, one of the newest and most illustrious kudos in the field of green business.⁶

Use Sustainable Sources of Raw Material

The prospect of rapidly depleting stocks of natural resources and the resulting reality of price increases create opportunities for alternative technologies and new efficiency with product design. For example, paper doesn’t have to come from trees; in fact, alternative sources may be preferable. Promising new sources include kenaf, a fast-growing bamboo grown in the southern US, and hemp, which is naturally pest resistant, can be bleached with peroxide instead of chlorine, and produces a fiber more versatile than fiber from trees.

In 1995, the Tree-Free Ecopaper Company of Portland, Oregon, began producing hemp-based paper made from imported sources (hemp has been outlawed for cultivation in the US since 1937). The company has sold 700 tons of paper to date and has imported Chinese paper made from hemp and cereal straw. The ban on hemp has kept prices artificially high. The market for Tree-Free’s products is expected to grow as the price gap between recycled wood pulp and hemp-based paper narrows.⁷

Natural Fibers Corporation’s Ogallala Down. Farming communities from Nebraska through Texas face severe water shortages because the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast reservoir that supplies much of their water, is being rapidly depleted. To cut back on water consumption, some farmers in the region have stopped growing corn, a water-intensive crop.

Herb Knudsen, president of Natural Fibers Corporation, has convinced some of those farmers to grow milkweed - once viewed as an agricultural nuisance - instead. Milkweed is a deep-rooted perennial that conserves water and other natural resources and reduces soil erosion. It also reduces both fertilizer and irrigation requirements compared to raising corn ("Milkweed Could Spin Profit for Nebraska Farmer," AARC, p.1, no date.).

Knudsen combines natural downy clusters from milkweed along with conventional goosedown to create his branded Hypodown pillows and comforters. The combination of fibers makes the resulting product hypoallergenic because the milkweed tends to absorb the dust thrown off by the goosedown. The milkweed addition also makes the resulting product more breathable than goosedown alone. The cost is comparable to similar quality goose down comforters and pillows.

Hypodown is sold at environmental specialty shops, bedding stores, and major department stores. Since the first Hypodown comforters were manufactured in 1989, more than 30,000 have been sold. Sales doubled in 1995 and are expected to continue a steep incline well into the future. Reports Knudsen, "Syriaca (milkweed) is one of the most unused plants in the US, and every part of the Syriaca plant is usable."⁸

Strawbale Construction. Out on Bale, a resource center in Tucson, Arizona, us hard at work engineering a revival of sustainable construction technology with a long history - straw bales. Once used by Great Plains homesteaders who were confronted by a dearth of trees, straw bales are made of the dead and dried stems of such harvested cereal grains as rice, wheat, oats, and rye. The straw is tightly compressed into rectangular blocks and bound with bailing wire, twine, or synthetic cords. Stacked and pinned like bricks on top of a foundation to create exterior building walls, the bales can differ in size, weight, and shape. Interior and exterior finishes can be stucco, plaster or other materials - even traditional wood siding.

The environmental benefits of straw bale construction are considerable. A strawbale wall has an amazingly high R value of around 50, compared to R 19, the energy efficiency standard for most residential buildings, and its use helps to avoid the 61,000 tons of carbon dioxide that is released each year when millions of tons of straw are otherwise burned. The potential of straw bale is immense. If all the straw in the United States after the harvest of major grains was baled instead of burned, five million 2,000-square-foot homes could be build each year.

Source-Reduce Products and Packaging

In the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, the United States Congress declared "that pollution should be prevented or reduced at its source whenever feasible." Since the cost savings associated with source reduction are roughly parallel to the amount of packaging eliminated,¹⁰ the tenets of this law are not only good for the environment, they are good for business. Less packaging also means less energy required for manufacturing and transportation and less pollution from the production of packaging itself.

To source-reduce, consider lightweighting products and packages. For example, S.C. Johnson’s steel aerosol cans use 35 percent less tin than the cans of the late 1980s.¹¹

Concentrate products. Superconcentrated laundry detergents, including Lever Brothers’ Wisk Power Scoop, now account for half of the $2.1-billion powder laundry cleaners sold in America.¹²

Package in bulk for refilling. Refills used by all-purpose cleaners, to use less packaging per product and save consumers money. Multi-purpose products such as shampoo-and-conditioner-in-one also help to cut down on duplication.

Conserve Natural Resources, Habitats, and Endangered Species

Frigidaire Gallery Horizontal Axis Washer. In the United States, groundwater - the primary source of water - is being pumped out faster than it can be replenished. Frigidaire has an idea that can help slow the flow. Using a technology prevalent in Europe, the Frigidaire company has created the Gallery Tumble-Action horizontal-axis washer, which saves 19 gallons of water per load, or more than 8,000 gallons annually, compared to conventional top-loading, vertical-axis washers. This is significant because a life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of washing machines shows that the vast majority of the environmental impacts occur during the use stage of machine life, e.g., energy and water use (see Exhibit 4.3). Less water to heat converts into energy savings, too—to the tune of over $86 per year.

Here’s how it works. Rather than immersing clothes in water, the horizontal-axis washer automatically adjusts the water fill to fit the different load sizes. Instead of using a mechanical agitator, it uses tumble action to simulate hand washing by lifting and plunging clothes through the water over 50 times per minute. Without the mechanical agitator, there is more room for large items.

The horizontal-axis washer meets the anticipated energy standards for 1999 proposed by the 1992 Energy Policy Act. It is also the first full-size washer to fulfill the efficiency requirements of the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE)’s Efficient Clothes Washer Incentive Program. CEE is a non-profit organization of public utilities and agencies formed to promote energy efficient technology.

The product, which was launched nationally in October, 1996. has done extremely well in test markets, especially in areas with drought and high utility bills.¹³

Teledyne Water Pik’s Original Shower Massage Showerhead. The 1992 Energy Policy Act requires all retailers to sell showerheads that deliver a maximum of 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Teledyne has turned this water conservation mandate into a business. They have designed a complete line of water saving products, marketed under the Original Shower Massage brand name.?

Using a proprietary technology, Teledyne’s line-up delivers the performance of a 7-gallon-per-minute shower at the new low 2.5 gallon-per-minute rate. An additional pause setting conserves water during soaping up or shaving by decreasing the flow with a click of the control ring. Packaging is recycled and the product line has received the Green Seal, signifying its environmental merit (see Chapter 7).

This innovation helps to solidify Teledyne’s command of the market where the company has been a leader for the past two decades and boasts a 55-58 percent market share.¹⁴ As would be expected, sales of the low-flow products are particularly buoyant in drought areas such as southern California.¹⁵

International Paper’s Triton Paperboard Carriers. Improperly discarded plastic beverage rings kill thousands of waterfowl and other wildlife through entrapment or ingestion. Seizing an opportunity to quell consumer concerns over the unnecessary destruction of wildlife, International Paper now markets Triton-brand biodegradable paperboard six-pack carriers.?

Made of wood scraps from lumber used for home building and furniture materials, they outperform plastic rings in shake tests and drop tests,¹⁶ and the product is pliable enough to allow animals to break free if caught. If necessary, it can also be recycled with corrugated material. The innovation has attracted more than 25 customers in the bottled-water and fruit juice industries including Smucker Quality Beverages, R. W. Knudsen Family, Santa Cruz Natural, Cascade Clear, and Clearly Canadian.¹⁷

Use Recycled Content

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, recycling:

• cuts pollution and conserves natural resources
• conserves energy
• can be cost-competitive with landfilling and incineration if sensibly designed and implemented
• creates jobs and reduces costs in manufacturing sectors that are an important part of our economy.18

Recycling also melts away the guilt associated with the 4.3 pounds of garbage each American throws out every day.¹⁹ With the help of innovative technologies, the use of recycled content in consumer products has skyrocketed in the last decade. Products that formerly boasted 10 percent recycled content may now incorporate as much as 100 percent post-consumer content. Where even as recently as five years ago, recycled content was limited mostly to paper, glass, metals, and some plastic laundry bottles, now an entire array of high quality products including clothing, garden furniture, paint, and motor oil are closing the loop.

Wellman, Inc., EcoSpun Fiber. In 1994, Wellman, Inc., of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the world’s largest recycler of PET soda bottles, gave birth to its first branded product, Fortrel EcoSpunTM fiber, made from 100 percent recycled soda bottles. The fiber is sold to mills who turn it into high-quality fabrics.

Depending upon the end-use product, on average, it takes 25 plastic soda bottles to make one garment. Compared to virgin polyester, the production of EcoSpun use 60 percent less plastic, emits less carbon dioxide and less sulfur dioxide, and creates fewer hazardous air pollutants than the production of virgin polyester.²⁰ According to the company, the energy saved by recycling bottles instead of using virgin raw materials can power a city the size of Atlanta for one year.

Not surprisingly, garments made from EcoSpun™ fibers appeal to outdoor enthusiasts, children, and consumers who believe that protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility. More than 100 manufacturers now opt for EcoSpun over virgin polyester and/or other materials, translating into an exciting new business for Wellman.²¹ Patagonia, Levi Strauss, and Eastern Mountain Sports incorporate EcoSpun into their outdoor wear, sleeping bags, sweaters, coats, sportswear and children’s toys.

ScotchBrite Never Rust Wool Soap Pads. 3M seized an opportunity to use recycled content in an innovative fashion after focus groups suggested that consumers would love a steel-wool pad that wouldn’t rust. So, they invented ScotchBrite Never Scratch and Never Rust Wool Soap Pads, made of 100 percent recycled PET plastic impregnated with a phosphorus-free, biodegradable detergent. Using recycled material not only prevents soda bottles from going to landfills and saves energy, it also prevents steel shavings from going down kitchen drains, keeps raw material costs low, and helps extend product life. Packaging is made from 100 percent recycled paperboard, including 66 percent post-consumer paper. 3M's innovative mix of consumer and environmental benefits has helped ScotchBrite to achieve a 20 percent market share and sales continue to be "very good."²²

America's Choice Recycled Motor Oil. Each year an estimated 500 million gallons of used lubricating oil seep through landfills and sewers, contaminating local waterways with toxins such as benzene and toluene.²³ Legislation that controls the disposal of used oil is increasing.

Safety Kleen turns this problem into a business opportunity. Tapping into a network of over 125,000 service stations, car dealerships and industrial centers across North America, they collect used motor oil and recycle it into a high-performance, competitively priced product, called America's Choice. Their innovative re-refining process converts the components of 100 million gallons of used oil into new lube oil and other usable products. Volatile solvents become fuel for their manufacturing plant. Heavy distillation residue becomes an asphalt component. Water is treated and discharged as clean water.

With distribution in mass merchandise stores like K-Mart and Wal-Mart, Safety Kleen is now the number one supplier of re-refined oil in the United States, producing 100 million gallons per year in plants in Chicago and Canada.²⁴

Crane’s "Old Money" and "Denim Blues" Recycled Papers. Crane and Company of Dalton, Massachusetts, makers of high-quality, high-rag-content stationery, now recycle worn currency into a line of "Old Money" stationery. It captures the imaginations of designers, printers, and commercial paper distributors. Big customers include the United States Department of the Treasury; the Institute for Ecolonomics, a non-profit organization founded by actor and environmental advocate Dennis Weaver; and at least one Federal Reserve Branch which uses "Old Money" for its newsletters, annual reports, and letterhead.

Partnered with Levi Strauss and Co., Crane's also produces cotton-rag paper made entirely from denim scraps and marketed as "Denim Blues." Representing a new twist in paper recycling, these initiatives prevent millions of pounds of spent currency and denim scraps from entering landfills, while reducing use of virgin paper products.

Make Products Energy Efficient

Individuals directly consume about 40 percent of the energy used in the U.S. for such things as powering cars, lighting, heating and cooling homes, and running appliances. In the process, they contribute about 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year. However, many thousands of pounds can be eliminated by simple actions. In fact, the California Energy Commission estimates that cost-effective investments could reduce total U.S. electricity demand by 40 percent to 75 percent.²⁵

Philips Earthlight Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs. Approximately 25 percent of electricity generated in the U.S. is used for lighting, costing Americans $32 billion annually,²⁶ and representing the power of more than 100 large 1,000 megawatt plants. Thus, every 1 percent improvement in lighting efficiency can offset the need for a new power plant.

One easy way to save energy is to simply turn off the lights. Another is to switch to energy efficient bulbs. Philips Lighting now markets a line of compact fluorescent bulbs called the Earth Light Collection. Versatile and attractive, these bulbs save energy and prevent carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Although they cost significantly more than incandescents ($15 versus 75¢), their huge energy savings more than offsets the cost of the bulbs over their long lifetime. One Earth Light table lamp can save consumers $31 or more over its lifetime in energy costs as compared to a 60-watt incandescent bulb.²⁷ Because of reduced heat generated by the bulb, it also lowers cooling costs.

While growing slowly in the consumer market considering their high up-front costs, sales are on the rise thanks to educational efforts by Philips and retailers. Grocery stores and supercenters such as Wal-Mart are starting to carry them, too.²⁸

EPRI’s Microwave Dryer. Conventional dryers use heat from hot air (up to 350ûF) to vaporize water in wet clothing. Drying takes time and energy and is hard on clothing. Also, a great amount of waste heat is generated in the process.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) of Palo Alto, California, has a better idea. They have developed a microwave clothes dryer that dries clothing with a combination of microwave energy and conventional hot air. Moisture is removed quickly and gently at cooler temperatures. A residential model machine dries clothes six times faster than conventional dryers, while a commercial model works in two-thirds the time. Both are about 15 percent more energy efficient.²⁹

Because of shorter drying times and more efficient energy use, the microwave dryer helps reduce utility bills. Also, because it is gentler on fabrics, it helps extend the life of clothing. Lower drying temperatures also make the machines suitable for fabrics that would otherwise require dry cleaning, and metal does not pose a problem. Commercial availability is likely in 5-7 years at a projected cost of $900-$1,000 versus conventional dryers.³⁰

EV-1 Electric Cars from General Motors. Representing just 5 percent of the global population, Americans own one third of the world’s cars and drive about as many miles as the rest of the world combined.³¹ As a way to combat air pollution, the California Air Resources Board requires a gradual increase in zero emission vehicles to 10 percent of all cars marketed by 2003. Because they require only 60-70 percent of the energy consumed by gasoline cars, electric cars and electric gasoline hybrids could greatly improve overall fuel economy.³²

GM’s Saturn Division has announced that it will begin selling an electric two-seater car in four Western markets: Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson. EV-1 is a production version of the Impact electric car that GM first showed to the public in 1990. EV-1 will have a driving range of 70-90 miles and will sell in mid-$30,000 range.

Highly skeptical at first, GM is now a believer. "We didn’t think there were enough buyers out there to satisfy the mandate, but we do believe there’s an emerging market out there for these vehicles," admits Frank Schweibold, director of finance and strategy for GM Electric Vehicles in Troy, Michigan.³³

Maximize Consumer and Environmental Safety

Scientific data and empirical evidence continue to link various illnesses with consumer products made from synthetic chemicals. According to the EPA, formaldehyde in wood paneling causes wheezing, organic gases in carpeting cause liver damage, perchloroethylene used to dry-clean clothing causes headaches, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in cleaning products cause nausea. Many illnesses can be traced to indoor pollution, which has been proven to be ten times more toxic than its outdoor counterpart.³⁴

Consumers’ concerns about product safety translate into opportunities for alternative home construction and cleaning products.

AFM Safecoat and Safechoice Paints. Not too long ago, consumers looking for environmentally safe paints and cleaners had to turn to European products. But consumer demand has spurred domestic manufacturers to offer alternatives of their own.?

Nestor Noe, founder of AFM in San Diego, California, began investigating toxic-free building and maintenance products in 1980 when he and his employees were getting sick from conventional products. Today, AFM markets Safecoat and Safechoice brand products, a full-line of nontoxic coatings, stains, paints, adhesives and cleaners made with a water base, as opposed to a chemical base, to industrial and retail customers. They have found a receptive niche among consumers with chemically-related sensitivities, and among such conscientious companies as The Gap, Banana Republic, and Herman Miller looking to safeguard their employees.

Ecomat Wet Cleaning Process. Dry-cleaned clothing harbors a nasty residue: perchloroethylene (perc), a chlorinated hydrocarbon, originally used as an aircraft-degreasing agent in World War II. In significant doses, perc can cause nervous system disorders; headaches; and eye, nose and throat irritation.³⁵ It is particularly noxious to workers and individuals living or working in buildings that house dry-cleaning establishments.

Ecomat, a combination cleaners, laundromat, and wash and fold franchise founded in 1993, has a better solution. They have achieved a 100 percent reduction of hazardous-waste emissions compared to traditional dry cleaning by adopting their own brand of "multiprocess wet cleaning". It involves a combination of water, natural soaps and oils, steam, and labor skilled at targeting tough spots and stains.

The EPA reports that wet cleaning is economically competitive and performs as well as or better than traditional dry cleaning, and customers like coming to the pleasant facilities.

Now a multimillion-dollar operation cleaning thousands of garments weekly, Ecomat is rapidly developing the New York–New Jersey area as a platform for further growth. As of late 1996, eight stores are in operation, and twenty other franchises have been agreed upon, but not yet opened, and opportunities are being explored in Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia.³⁶ With legislation in New York, California, and Massachusetts being proposed limiting use of perc, and considering that wet cleaning represents an economically viable alternative to "dry" cleaning, Ecomat can look forward to a bright future.

Make Products More Durable

As demonstrated by historical sales pitches for Maytag Washers and Volvo Cars, consumers valuedurable appliances and automobiles. Thanks to environmental concerns, long product life will increasingly become a source of added value and an indicator of quality and convenience in many other industries as well.

Lexus Leased Automobiles. Lexus now gives cars a second life as "certified pre-owned cars." Their luxury cars cycle back from rental car companies or leasors, and wind up in new driveways. "Our problem was somehow to break down the mythology that a used car was someone else’s garbage," said Gary Marcotte, manager of special markets for Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, in Torrance, CA. The high quality and durability of Lexus cars impresses customers who would ordinarily desire a brand-new model. Customer testimonials refer to how difficult it is for friends, relatives and even strangers to tell a used Lexus from a new one. Best yet, selling the pre-owned cars opens a new market for Lexus which usually targets households earning $200,000 or more annually. Priced at $10,000-14,000 less than a brand new model, pre-owned Lexus cars are attractive to more middle-class customers.³⁷

Make Products and Packaging Reusable or Refillable

The throwaway convenience culture is making way for reuse and refilling as alternatives to landfilling, incineration, and even recycling.

Rayovac’s Renewal Reusable Alkaline Batteries. To power the estimated 900 million toys, phones, smoke detectors, watches, and other battery-operated gadgets now in use, Americans drain 2.5 billion batteries per year. Sending the heavy-metal laced receptacles to landfills, with the potential to contaminate groundwater. Traditional rechargeable batteries are not an acceptable environmental alternative. When disposed of, they are the leading source of cadmium in the waste stream, and because cadmium has been linked to kidney and respiratory cancer, many states outlaw their disposal in landfills.

Rayovac offers the battery-consuming public a solution — Renewal, a reusable alkaline battery. Powered with zinc and magnesium which the FDA categorizes as "Generally Recognized As Safe," Renewal batteries last longer per charge than nicad batteries and, with the help of a special device, can be recharged 25 times or more. Like all alkaline batteries, they are sage for landfill disposal.

At its introduction, Renewal ignited 31 percent growth in the rechargeable battery industry. It has leapfrogged Millenium and GE/Sanyo to become the number-one rechargeable battery with an impressive segment share of 63 percent. Duracell and Eveready, Rayovac’s competitors in the conventional alkaline battery segment, have yet to market a response.³⁸

Schroeder’s Refillable Milk Bottles. Since the early 1980s, Schroeder of St. Paul, Minnesota, has sold their milk in refillable high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers to SuperAmerica, a gas/convenience store in the Midwest. Customers return empty containers to the stores, which in turn return them to Schroeder’s for refilling. Schroeder now adds further value to this process by selling its milk products in returnable and refillable bottles made of LEXAN, a branded polycarbonate resin from GE Plastics.

LEXAN replaces the opaque HDPE with ease. Lighter in weight and with the clarity of glass, it gives milk and other products, such as orange juice, better protection. When the containers can be refilled as many as 30-40 times. When the containers can no longer be used, they are recycled into lawn furniture and other products.

Customers love the new packaging and they also like the price. Schroeder’s half-gallon-size milk, packaged in LEXAN, sells for several cents less than its refillable HDPE (as well as disposable paperboard) counterparts. Despite flat milk consumption in the upper Midwest, United States, the company's sales have tripled in the last ten years.³⁹ Revenues in 1994 were $60 million.

Design Products for Remanufacturing, Recycling, and Repair

Landfill disposal bans are in force across the nation for such highly toxic items as lead-acid batteries, tires, used motor oil, paints, and refrigerators. Due to such legislative pressures as well as extended producer responsibility laws in Europe, a growing number of manufacturers now design their products for remanufacture, recycling, and repair, and help set up the infrastructures for doing so. Smart marketers are turning these imperatives into opportunities to save money, enhance quality and get closer to their customer.

Eastman Kodak’s Recyclable Cameras. Eastman Kodak Company solved the problem of forgetting one’s camera when they introduced the Kodak Fun Saver 35 one-time-use camera. They later solved the disposal problem by initiating a camera take-back program. Fun Saver cameras are designed so consumers will not discard them; instead, they return the entire camera to a photofinisher for developing. After removing the film for processing, photofinishers are encouraged to return the cameras to Kodak for recycling and reuse. The company reimburses photofinishers for each camera returned and pays the shipping costs.

In late 1996, the company reported that more than 80 million one-time-use cameras had been recycled and/or reused, representing a 77 percent recycling rate—this rate makes one-time use camera recycling more successful than even aluminum beverage cans, which had a recycling rate of 65.4 percent in 1994.

In all, Kodak says it has diverted more than 10 million pounds of waste from landfills by recycling one-time-use cameras — the equivalent of about 800 tractor loads.⁴⁰

For Kodak, the camera recycling program has generated substantial savings in raw materials and energy since 86 percent of each camera (by weight) is reused; only the lens, battery, and packaging are new, everything else is reused.

Make Products Safe for Disposal

Amway’s SA8 Laundry Concentrate. Most cleaning products claim to be biodegradable. This implies that ingredients break down quickly and harmlessly after they go down the drain. But not all ingredients are expected to biodegrade. One of these is phosphates, a common ingredient in detergents. They are nutrients readily taken up by water plants. However, when too many of them get into rivers and lakes, they cause algae blooms, robbing the water of oxygen, blocking sunlight, and ultimately killing fish and other marine life. Chlorine is another problem. Although it breaks down, it can react in a harmful way with organic compounds.

Many U.S. detergent manufacturers use zeolites in place of phosphates, but zeolites’ environmental superiority to phosphates is under debate. According to European Chemical News, the Swedish Water Association found that zeolites produced excessive suspended solids - a source of water pollution - and high oxygen consumption, which can choke plant life when introduced to lakes and streams. Also, detergents with zeolites can fill sewage-treatment systems with up to 40 percent of their weight in solid waste.

Amway Corporation of Ada, Michigan, has created a detergent that makes it a little easier to sift through these issues. Amway’s Laundry Care System, SA8 (R) Laundry Concentrate with Bioquest ™ Cleaning System, uses naturally derived water softeners instead of phosphates or zeolites to do the cleaning. According to the company, this water softener plus biological enzymes removes stains such as chocolate, blood, grass, and eggs up to three times better than previous Amway non-phosphate laundry concentrate, and biodegradable surfactants do not foam in the waterways. Instead, they break down into carbon dioxide and water and other harmless naturally occurring compounds. Also, the natural water softeners it contains break down in the environment to water and naturally occurring minerals.

Given that 50 percent of the United States is currently under some kind of phosphate regulatory restriction and zeolites are under question, this product looks like it may just be a winner for Amway as well as the environment. Introduced in January, 1996, the company reports that initial sales are substantially exceeding expectations.⁴¹

Make Products and Packaging Compostable

In nature, everything is recycled. Waste for one organism becomes food for another. According to EPA, 40 percent of our solid wastes are biodegradable materials that can be effectively composted into humus, an organic matter that can enrich gardens and agricultural soils. This has important implications for businesses, and a number of innovative designers are developing products with this idea in mind.

EcoPLA Renewable Biopolymers from Cargill. Americans consume 60 billion pounds of plastics per year, but because plastics don’t biodegrade and are not widely recycled, an estimated 6 billion pounds wind up in landfills.⁴²

Plastic improperly disposed of on land or in water can seriously impact marine life and waterfowl, and, by one estimate, plastics, along with discarded fishing gear, kill one million seabirds annually - in 128 species around the world.⁴³ According to the Center for Marine Conservation, 58 percent of the 3 million pounds of debris collected in 1994 during an annual cleanup of U.S. waterways was plastic.

Now, fully biodegradable polymers made primarily from agricultural products such as corn hold promise for creating new recycling/recovery options for plastic packaging, food service and home products. EcoPLA (Eco for ecology, PLA for polylactide) made by Cargill of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a promising new biodegradable polymer developed by scientists seeking new uses for corn. EcoPLA, derived from corn seed, is both compostable and recyclable. It can be totally degraded through composting, eventually turning into water, carbon dioxide and humus just like paper.

Because EcoPLA is both strong and versatile, it can be transformed into sturdy bags for collecting yard trimmings and food scraps, and single-use disposables such as plates, cups, and straws and packaging materials.⁴⁴

Ideas for Action

Use the following checklist to explore the myriad of opportunities for refining existing products or developing new ones that meet environmental imperatives and satisfy consumers’ primary demands.

Raw Material Procurement

Manufacturing

Use

After-Use Recovery and Disposal

Notes

1. Gillespie, Robert S., "The Environment: Opportunites for Responsible Business," presentation to the Association of National Advertisers, October 28, 1991.

2. Lefferts, Lisa, "A Commonsense Approach to Pesticides," Nutrition Action Health Letter, Volume 20, Number 7, p. 5.

3. Reid, Craig, "Don’t Get Bugged by Insecticides," Vegetarian Journal, January/February 1995, p. 23.

4. Telephone conversation with Lisa Bell, July 9, 1996.

5. Cropper, Carol Marie, "Bringing up Baby with Its Parents on the Sideline," The New York Times, May 5, 1996, p. 12.

6. "The Company that Broke the Logjam," In Business, July/August 1995, p. 35, and personal communication with Wade Mosby, April 2, 1996.

7. "Paper Without Trees," Popular Science, March 1996, p. 32.

8. Natural Fibers Corporation press release, February 1996, p. 1.

9. Telephone conversation with Darren Port, Green Logic Design, May 22, 1997, and Judy Knox, Out on Bale, May 23, 1997.

10. Green Packaging 2000, February 1994, p. 4.

11. Johnson, S.C., Partners Working for a Better World, February, p. 10.

12. Household and Personal Products Industry, January 1992, p. 42.

13. Conversation with Cheri Shepherd, merchandising manager, July 11, 1996.

14. Personal communication with Kurt McKamy, March 9, 1992.

15. Personal communication with Russ Mackay, July 15, 1996.

16. Triton sales literature.

17. Conversation with Rob Heimbach, marketing manager, July 15, 1996.

18. Denison, Richard and John Ruston, "Recycling Isn’t Garbage," Environmental Defense Fund memorandum, July 19, 1996.

19. "Municipal Solid Waste Recovery Rate Surpasses 20%," Reusable News, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Winter 1995, p. 1.

20. Diesenhouse, Susan, "Polyester Becomes Environmentally Correct," The New York Times, February 20, p. B9.

21. Ibid.

22. Personal communication with Deborah Johnson, product representative at 3M, June 26, 1996.

23. Brinkman, Dinnis, "Used Oil: Resource or Pollutant," Technology Review, July 1985, p. 47.

24. Telephone conversation with John Paul Kusz, February 26, 1997.

25. Peterson, John, "Behavior Change," Road to 2015, p. 156.

26. Walker, Kenneth, "Power Boosters," Ohio’s Energy Efficiency Success Stories July 1995, p. 37.

27. "Earth Light Collection," Philips press release, Spring 1996, p. 3.

28. Personal communication with Steve Goldmacher, Philips director of public relations, July 24, 1996.

29. Electric Power Research Institute news release, April 1996, p. 1.

30. Telson, Laurie, "Microwave Dryer Wins Popular Science ‘Best of What’s New Award,’" Electric Power Research Institute News November 15, 1996.

31. "Energy Efficiency," Renew America, Sharing Success, Volume 1, Number 3, 1992, p. 1.

32. Peterson, John, Road to 2001, p. 174.

33. Fisher, Lawrence M., "GM, In a First, Will Sell a Car Designed for Electric Power This Fall," New York Times, January 5, 1996 p. A10.

34. Sheridan, Frances, "Is Your Home Healthy?" E Magazine, May/June 1996, p. 44.

35. Rachel’s Environmental and Health Weekly, Number 431, March 2, 1995.

36. Personal communication with Keith R. Emerson, vice president, franchise development, Ecomat, February 25, 1997.

37. Ramirez, Anthony, "Lexus Puts a New Spin on the Rundown Image of Used Cars," New York Times, August 10, 1995, p. D3.

38. Telephone conversation with John Daggett, Rayovac, July 1996.

39. Davies, Paul, "Shroeder’s Legacy," Twin Cities Business Monthly, March 1995.

40. Kodak press release, May 8, 1996.

41. Personal communication with Jim Kucera, manager of Home Living, August 8, 1996.

42. "Renewable Bioplastic a Reality," Green Design, Winter 1994, p. 5.

43. "Fridges, Fabrics, and Fowl," E Magazine, March/April 1996, p. 64.

44. Personal conversation with Steven Mojo, consultant to Cargill, December 10, 1996.