J.Ottman Consulting

Beyond Green: Winning Over Consumers by Putting Primary Benefits First

By Jacquie Ottman

Triple Pundit, April 2010

Greener products are now available within every industry and are a part of our everyday lives. But they didn’t get to be so ubiquitous just because they are better for the planet. Whether they were promoted as such or not, sales of green products grew because they were appreciated by a growing chorus of consumers for the value they provide—expressed as safety, comfort, good taste, or simply convenience.

Despite some lingering misperceptions that “green products don’t work as well” (leftover from the days when the natural laundry detergents left the clothes dingy), many of today’s green products actually work better than the alternatives they are designed to replace. Indeed, thanks to advances in technology and design, green is now becoming synonymous with quality, and can often command premiums because of it. Consider that a compact fluorescent light bulbs not only save money, they are more convenient since the bulbs don’t have to be replaced as often. “Organic” is the new gourmet.  Drivers line up to buy a Prius with its quieter ride and fewer fill-ups.

Sensing the opportunity, many green products are now promoted with messages that lead “beyond green” and underscore such primary benefits as health, superior performance, good taste, cost effectiveness or convenience. Tide Cold Water for instance, underscores how much money consumers can save on energy bills. Similarly, the Energy Star label grew to be the most recognized eco-label because consumers made the connection between energy efficiency and saving money. AFM claims their Safecoat brand is ‘The only paint that is doctor recommended.’ The Toyota Prius was launched on the premise of a quieter ride, and later when gas prices spiked, stressed superior gas mileage.

This central message of primary benefits is critical to winning over the mainstream consumer, and it is associated with the potential to drive growth as well.  Consider the success of Clorox GreenWorks, a line of natural cleaning products. The name “Green Works” supported by the well-established Clorox brand name assures consumers that the product does its job, while the natural ingredients provide proof of safety. Testament to its success, Clorox GreenWorks has helped to expand the market for all greener cleaning products, even the deep green ones.

Further evidence of the success of green products has been their resilience in the current recession. Everyone is pulling a little tighter on their money belts, yet sales and purchase intent of green products have remained strong because of the perceived value of many greener brands that lead with the messages of primary benefits. Moreover, many brands are not only competitively priced but saving consumers money, either in the short or long term.

Despite these successes, many deep green as well as mainstream marketers do not stress primary benefits, likely for two reasons. In the past, many of the products offered by deep green companies didn’t work as well as their “brown” counterparts, so messages to the consumer tended to be a simple: “our product does everything your current brand does but in a greener way”.   Over time, mainstream companies entering the market espoused what I call the “planets, babies and daisies” approach (despite doing otherwise on established brands) mostly likely believing such imagery represented a price of entry into a market they didn’t understand and were not quite comfortable playing in.  Now such brands as GreenWorks or Tide Coldwater are realizing that the name of the game is doing what they do naturally—leading with messages of primary benefits, while bringing in environmental messages as secondary.

This emphasis on primary benefits is sure to continue. This trend will bring more sophisticated attempts to integrate primary benefits with the environmental ones. An example of this is a current Lexus print advertisement: On the left side we see a stylish new car with the headline, “Indulge your senses,” and on the right side we see a leaf with the headline, “Respect the Planet.” The key takeaway delivered in a simple yet sophisticated way: we can have our cake and eat it, too.

Looking ahead, one day green will likely be so integrated into design and culture that we won’t have to trip over it when crafting marketing messages that resonate with consumers. For now, our challenge as green marketers is to articulate a distinctive expression of a consumer promise that can capitalize upon the inherent consumer benefits of a product’s environmental attributes to reinforce a brand’s overall positioning.

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How Nike Reduces Toxicity to Balance Consumer Needs with Enhanced Corporate Reputation

By Jacquie Ottman

Sustainable Brands Weekly, February 2010

Phthalates, BPA, mercury and PVC aren't the only toxics associated with everyday consumer products. Chemical agents in common cleaning products thought to pose a significant risk to children and pets is fueling a robust market for greener cleaners made from plants such as GreenWorks and Method. And concerns over pesticides on foods has caused a steady run up in sales of organics for the past twenty years. Heeding consumer demand for healthier products, the U.S. Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in August 2008 banning phthalates in children's toys. Retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys R Us began requiring suppliers to follow similar standards for all children's products by January 2009.

Reducing toxicity is good for business. It can reduce the liability associated with risks to workers, and via alternatives that are safer to handle, can enhance productivity and cut workers' compensation claims. Less (or non) toxic materials save money on handling costs, while speeding time to market since there may be fewer legal hurdles to navigate. And of course, there's the opportunity to market to the growing number of mainstream consumers looking for safer alternatives.

Such risks and opportunities are not lost on Nike. They are working hard to reduce toxicity by incorporating the principles of its Considered line which eliminated most adhesives to join uppers and lowers into many other products, such as Air Jordan XX3. The new Air Jordan XX3 is constructed using material from old recycled sneakers, manufacturing scraps, and jigsaw-like components for the inner construction that uses less glue. This shoe even inspired the invention of a sewing machine designed to produce sneakers using more stitching and fewer chemical-based glues.

However, rather than underscoring its green attributes, the Air Jordan XX3 is targeted toward the same audience as the rest of the Air Jordan line, with the emphasis placed on performance. The green factor is included as an added bonus for those who are interested. Consumers are buying: Nike brand chief Charles Denson reports that during the first quarter of 2009, the company's basketball shoe division grew by double digits, propelled by Air Jordan sales.

Is Nike losing out on a good green marketing opportunity by opting out of boasting about its environmental achievement to consumers? Not a chance. Nike knows that its largely urban young male audience is primarily interested in performance, not the details of how a product is made. However, communications targeted to employees, investors and other important stakeholders do discuss reduced toxicity, and as such enhance the Nike brand and corporate reputation -a slam dunk of an approach for sure.

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Green Marketing Really Has Gone Mainstream

By Jacquelyn A. Ottman

Harvard Leading Green Blog, July 21 2009

At the Sustainable Brands '09 conference in Monterey earlier this month, I couldn't help noticing how far green marketing has come since I started my consulting business in 1989. Back then, we didn't call what we did "sustainable branding" — we practiced "environmental" or simply "green" marketing. And we didn't have a conference to go to in Monterey!

The shift reflects the fact that the target demographic for green marketing is not the "educated women, 30-49, with children" of yesteryear, but one of many possible segments of a dynamic consumer base that now embraces 66% of all U.S. adults. Twenty years ago, many green ads featured daisies, babies, or images of the Earth from space. Thankfully, those have all but vanished today. Take the cleaning category as an example; Method pitches its soap to hip twentysomethings. With a combination of artsy package design, contemporary scents, and green certifications, they attempt to convince skeptical consumers that their dishwashing liquid is not their mother's Palmolive.

Where marketers used to lump all "green customers" together into one indistinguishable, hemp-clad crowd, they now focus on differentiating amongst many shades of eco-minded buyers. But back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, green brands were fairly one dimensional — literally. A product made news if it had just one green attribute. Continuing with laundry and cleaning products as a case in point, Procter & Gamble's Downy fabric softener refill literally made marketing headlines. Many products that were touted as environmentally superior were simply familiar mainstream brands that had been "greened up" — Tide bottles were made of recycled content and the detergent inside labeled as "biodegradable."

Today's customers are more demanding. (Read more about who consumers trust to make green marketing claims here.) With green marketers having sullied their images with all manner of greenwashing, today's communications are likely to be accompanied by one or more of the 299 ecolabels offered by trusted third parties — NGO's, environmental groups, retailers, and government agencies — and even "self declarations" provided in the interest of "transparency," another rising theme. (Click here to read more about eco-labels and their alternatives.) (In Monterey, for instance, the Clorox brand manager boasted of his company's recognition from the U.S. EPA's Design for Environment labeling program, as well as an endorsement from the Sierra Club. His competitor from S.C. Johnson pointed to his company's website where consumers can find a list of ingredients for many of their brands.)

Simple product labels and ingredient lists, however, are no longer enough. While green marketing has moved well beyond brands that appeal to the "deep green" niche, at the same time the relationship-building tools of social media allow marketers to tap into a gold mine of passionately green customers for market research tidbits. Seventh Generation, the granddaddy of green cleaning products, has an "Inspired Protoganist" blog and a "Seventh Generation Nation" social network on its website with thousands of members providing feedback and suggesting new product ideas. Method has its own Facebook page complete with a wall of comments from many of their over 6,000 "fans" and a Twitter following of over 2,000 users. Not bad for soap.

Where once green cleaners gathered dust on health food store shelves, contemporary sustainable branders are finding an exciting new market opportunity in the mainstream. In the cleaning category, it's hard to get more mainstream than Clorox. Clorox's Greenworks line is being fueled as much by its well-known brand name as it is by the same natural ingredients that characterize so many other green brands on the shelves. The Clorox rep in Monterey announced sales and market share increases even in the face of a recession, declaring that GreenWorks now represents 45% of the natural cleaning category, muscling out the venerable, "deep green" Seventh Generation, which was introduced, well, twenty years ago.

Read the original article on Harvard's Leading Green blog here

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Whom Do You Trust to Make Green Marketing Claims?

By Jacquelyn A. Ottman

Sustainable Life Media, Summer 2009

Deservedly or not, industry gets accused incessantly these days of greenwashing. That industry can’t be trusted to make truthful green marketing claims and provide information that is credible, straightforward, and useful is not surprising for several reasons. Industry has a long history of polluting the water, land, and air. The environment is intangible—we can’t see the fumes that don’t come out of the power plant when we use a CFL. Plus, the science of making claims is imprecise; for instance, packages may be recyclable in theory but not in practicality. And consumers don’t know a lot about environmental issues. So it’s easy for manufacturers to play on consumers’ good intentions to recycle and cut down on waste.

So how do we restore trust in industry’s green marketing claims and eco-labels? Can industry get its act together and bolster its credibility on its own? Or does it need help from other groups? Several candidates offer different levels of credibility and suitability. NGOs, environmental groups, and government are obvious choices. Product safety giant Underwriters Laboratories (UL), for example, has over one hundred years of credibility vouching for the safety of electrical products. Good Housekeeping just launched a green version of its well-known seal. And of course, there’s Consumer Reports.

At the Sustainable Brands ‘09 conference in Monterey, California in early June, representatives from EPA (creators of the Energy Star label for energy efficiency and the Design for Environment seal for cleaning products) UL (who recently announced their new environmental claims certification service), and Air Quality Systems’ GreenGuard (indoor air quality certifiers) met for my annual panel on eco-labeling. The speakers presented their programs, put forth data supporting their own credibility, and left it to the 350 participants at this sustainable branding and green marketing summit to decide whom they could trust to make green marketing claims, and why.

The Participants Weigh In

We specifically asked participants to rate the following five groups on a scale of 1 (most trustworthy) to 6 (least trustworthy): environmental groups, NGOs and other third parties, retailers, the federal government, manufacturers, and others.

In a nutshell, the results divided into three categories:  NGOs and environmental groups came out squarely on top (with NGOs a bit in the lead); the federal government settled somewhere in the middle (a little surprising to me, quite frankly), and retailers and manufacturers ended up on the bottom of the pile.

That retailers scored so poorly makes sense given what may be construed as a conflict of interest between green and sales—what retailer wouldn’t want to label every product on its shelves with an eco-label to make it sell faster? Such a poor merchant showing suggests that the many retailer eco programs may be misplaced—examples include the Home Depot’s Eco-Options, Staples’ EcoEasy, and Office Depot’s Green Depot.

If our informal poll is correct, the future of eco-labeling and claims certification belongs to players like UL and GreenGuard—i.e., independent third party certifiers with a stake in ensuring transparency and credibility. UL, in particular, may represent the most sustainable of the players given their longevity (115-years strong), reach around the world (especially in China and other countries where most products are manufactured), and formidable technical expertise. (Full disclosure: UL is a client of ours.)

Despite surprisingly middling credibility in our poll—perhaps tracing to controversy over the USDA organic label—the federal government is filling in a much-needed gap that has not been addressed by NGOs or the private sector to label critical industries such as organic food, energy and water-using products, and transportation. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California is readying a bill that would empower the federal government to create a multi-attribute eco-label—much in the spirit of the eco-labels generated by 25-plus other countries around the world.

The Power of the Write-In Vote

What surprised me most about the poll—and I recommend we all keep our finger on the pulse of this—is the write-in vote. It’s easy to check a box or circle a number on a questionnaire, but it’s much tougher to write in a remark (that’s why businesses pay so much attention to consumer letters even though submitted by such a small percentage of total). As we compiled the results, we noticed that questionnaire after questionnaire included “trusted friends” or  “informed peers” among the "Others" that conference participants would give high credibility marks to—perhaps more so than formal groups. This suggests to me that eco-labelers will likely proliferate in the future, and that awareness for eco-labels will no doubt grow.

But at the end of the day, the most potent source of credibility and purchase influence may exist just over consumers’ garden fences and cubby walls. The increased transparency that consumers are demanding these days—evidenced in ingredient disclosure and even access to the very farmers growing one’s potatoes—will only fuel this trend. In the end, the power may rest with the people. END

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The 5 Simple Rules of Green Marketing

By Jacquelyn Ottman

Design Management Review, Fall 2008

When it comes to shining a spotlight on specific sustainability issues, count on NGOs and consumer groups to target the most respected and trusted brands in the world. Overnight issues will make front pages and leaders will be pressed to make changes. The list of recent targets reads like a Who's Who of branding: Home Depot (sustainable harvested wood), Nike (child labor practices), McDonalds (Styrofoam clamshells and now obesity), and Coke (sugar and packaging). What does this all mean for your business? Simply stated, if you don't manage your business with respect to environmental and social sustainability, your business will not be sustained!

But the converse is true, too: A strong commitment to environmental sustainability in product design and manufacturing can yield significant opportunities to grow your business, to innovate, and to build brand equity. All you have to do is get the word out...right?

As with any other major business endeavor, easier said than done. Many a responsible company has run into trouble with these very same sustainability minded NGOs and consumer groups thanks to a poorly planned and crafted marketing message. Protect your company from these common pitfalls and start taking advantage of new opportunities by heeding my Five Simple Rules of Green Marketing:

1. Know your customer. If you want to sell a greener product to consumers, you first need to make sure that the consumer is aware of and concerned about the issues that your product attempts to address. Whirlpool is just one company that learned this lesson the hard way. Even after winning a $30 million "golden Carrot" prize for being first to market with a CFC-free fridge, they discovered that consumers wouldn't pay the premium because they didn't know what CFCs were - and there were no other value-added benefits.

2. Empower consumers. Make sure that consumers feel, by themselves or in concert with all the other users of your product, that they can make a difference. This is called "empowerment" and it's the main reason why consumers buy greener products. This powerful principle underlies so many campaigns laden with tips.

3. Be transparent. Consumers must believe in the legitimacy of your product and the specific claims you are making. Caution: There's a lot of skepticism out there that is fueled by the raft of spurious claims made in the "go-go" era of green marketing that occurred during the late 80s-early90s - one brand of household cleaner claimed to have been "environmentally friendly since 1884"!

4. Reassure the buyer. Consumers need to believe that your product performs the job it's supposed to do. They won't forego product quality in the name of the environment. (Besides, products that don't work well will likely wind up in the trash bin, and that's not very kind to the environment.)

5. Consider your pricing. If you're charging more for your product - and many environmentally preferable products cost more due to economies of scale and use of higher-quality ingredients - make sure that consumers can afford the premium and feel it's worth it. Many consumers, of course, cannot afford premiums for any type of product these days, much less greener ones, so keep this in mind as you develop your target audience and product specifications.

The "Rules" In Action

Let's take a look at some eco-designs (improvements over existing products), and eco-innovations (new types of products) that do a great job of winning over green consumers while grabbing market share.

Tom's of Maine

The husband and wife team of Tom and Kate Chappell created this full line of personal care products about 30 years ago. Ten or so years later, the brand broke out of the "deep green" niche to achieve distribution in CVS, Duane Reade and other mainstream drug outlets. The company is now owned by Colgate-Palmolive, (representing just one of many "deep green" brands that are increasingly being purchased by mainstream marketers. Others include: Estee Lauder's purchase of Aveda, Danone's partial purchase of Stonyfield Farm, and Unilever's acquisition of Ben and Jerry's ice cream are just a few other examples.)

The messages on the sides of the Tom's of Maine toothpaste carton are just one reason for their success in winning over green consumers. On one panel, check out the letter from Tom and Kate stating their company's mission. Signing the letter lets customers know there really is a Tom, there really is a Kate - just like there really is a Ben and there really is a Jerry, i.e., two real live people "minding the store" and staking their personal reputations on the quality of their products. (Refer to their website to see a similar letter http://www.tomsofmaine.com/about/ from Tom and Kate.)

Another panel lists all of the ingredients in the toothpaste - all natural spearmint oil for instance, and next to each ingredient is the role each of the ingredients plays in the toothpaste. There's even a third column that lists from where each ingredient is sourced. (Refer to their website for an in-depth look http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/ifs/at the ingredients in all Tom's of Maine products.)

This is unprecedented in the history of consumer goods! Can you do this with your product's ingredients? How many of them contain warning labels? (Crest and Colgate each do.) underscores credibility and trust For Tom's, listing the ingredients, e.g., natural spearmint oil, helps get consumers over any price barriers at the point of sale and. They are choosing a brand with natural ingredients and recognize that it must come with a price.

Toyota Prius

Toyota's Prius is likely the most successful "green" product in the world today (along with the ubiquitous CFL). And for many good reasons. First, it provides consumers with all they seek in a sedan and more - attractive styling, fuel efficiency, the ability to drive for an unlimited amount of miles only stopping for fill-ups (versus, for instance, having to stop for a
12-hour recharge if the engine were only electric). Because of the hybrid engine, the car is beloved by car enthusiasts for its quiet ride. Examine the dashboard a note a most unusual feature: a screen that lets the driver know which of the two engines is in use and how much fuel efficiency is being had at any
given moment; anecdotes report that Prius owners try to beat their previous record each time they drive!

When the car was introduced, ads focused on superior performance evidenced in a quiet ride, while supplemental ads touted its environmental bona fides. With energy prices on the rise, the Prius the pitch has shifted to superior fuel efficiency, while a crafty PR machine links the car to environmentally conscious celebrities and causes. Some owners, it is reported, even buy the car for what is being called "Conspicuous Conservation" - letting all know that they are environmentally astute. In fact, as of the second quarter of last year, "Because it makes a statement about me" was the number one reason owners said they bought their car.

Tide Coldwater

Tide Coldwater is a line extension of Tide that is helping it build brand equity and staying fresh -and green-in the marketplace. A "Life Cycle Assessment" commissioned by Procter and Gamble found that 80%-85% of the energy used to wash clothes comes from heating the water. P&G calculated that U.S. consumers could therefore save $63 per year by washing in cold water rather than warm. So, with the proviso that they could persuade consumers that coldwater washing was efficacious, they positioned the product as a way to save on energy bills.

Marketing efforts first reassured consumers of the product's efficacy. Then, on a special website designed to empower consumers, visitors could calculate the amount of energy they could save personally and in conjunction with all the others who took the same "Tide Coldwater Challenge".

Advertising showed how long major U.S. landmarks such as the Empire State Building could be lit with the energy that could be saved if all of the consumers in those cities switched to cold-water washing.

Finally, a website engaged consumers with helpful energy saving tips and resources, starting with information about switching to Energy Star certified compact fluorescent lighting. It included tips from the Alliance to Save Energy environmental group, and encouragements to "Consider buying a Different Kind of Car" namely, the Prius.

By leveraging word of mouth via the Tide Coldwater Challenge and associating with notable third parties, any barriers of skepticism were overcome. And Tide Brand found a fresh new message in step with consumers needs to control rising energy prices.

Millicare

In 2003, carpet and chemical manufacturer Milliken & Co. was in search of a new branding strategy for MilliCare, their franchise carpet and textile maintenance division. Recognizing the rapid growth of the green building industry and widespread concern over employee health, recruitment, and retention, The Moderns, New York based branding and design agency, drafted a positioning document that showed how MilliCare could own "clean" in all of its dimensions - something MilliCare's competitors weren't doing.

With the help of sustainability experts, MilliCare and The Moderns moved forward with a brand positioning that articulated the many benefits of sustainable maintenance and set up MilliCare to speak not just to facility managers, but also to architects and designers, developers, human resource professionals and CEOs. In so doing MilliCare's brand recognition was significantly enhanced nationwide. In addition to a significant increase in telephone inquiries, new business opportunities, and sales (up 30%), MilliCare has extended their national network by increased franchise partner recruitment. More partners have joined the franchise in the last two years than joined the six years prior.

The new positioning for MilliCare was captured with a new identity, tagline, stationery, training manual, presentation tools, modular marketing kit, product packaging, uniforms, vehicles, signage, franchise office design and tradeshow design.

To counter the fact that maintenance service is done at night (in absentia) and as a result is essentially invisible, various promotional initiatives were developed including sponsoring a book entitled, Green Clean, the Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home, a community "Clean Up" program sponsored by local Millicare franchisees, and an "on-the-ground" presence with branded vehicles which acted as a compelling billboard promotion and resulted in a significant increase in telephone inquiries and new business opportunities.

Publicity efforts on behalf of MilliCare were multidimensional and impactful. The new brand was launch at World Workplace 2004, the premier trade show for the company's primary audience of facility management professionals. Subsequent efforts have included strategic placement of bylined articles in trade magazines to support the company's thought-leader positioning; pitching feature stories in vertical market publications to introduce the concept of sustainable carpet and textile maintenance in such industries as education and long-term care; and local and regional business coverage to promote the brand and its individial franchisees.

Internal Communications. An important step in the rebranding of MilliCare was gaining the acceptance and buy-in of the organization's 80+ franchisees. A comprehensive rollout campaign included an interactive game to create intrigue, a series of launch events to provide education and a monthly e-newsletter to reinforce brand messages. As a result, the external launch saw nearly flawless implementation of brand standards, from incorporating new materials to revitalizing the entire sales process.

Method Line of Household Cleaning, Laundry and Personal Care Products

The environmental movement is about doing things differently. Method is a brand that is trying to express this "differentness" in nearly every way possible, starting with how the product looks and smells. The bottle for the dish soap (pictured) looks like an upside down teardrop. It was specifically designed by a well known fashion designer Karim Rashid so consumers would feel comfortable leaving it right at kitchen sink, helping the user project a sort of status to visitors.

The product label sports a very understated lower case "m" in a circle, with "method" also in lowercase just beneath. No splashy lettering. No flashy starbursts like those that were designed to capture consumers' attention at mainstream store shelves. What attracts consumers to this product is the distinctiveness of the package shape and the unique coloring of the product inside. This product may look expensive, but it actually sells at competitive prices at Target, Office Depot and Safeway.

Method doesn't advertise. They attract consumers via strong price value and word of mouth that is generated in a number of highly effective ways, starting with the uniqueness of the product itself. Visit their website and read how they tell visitors what they stand for: A page each is devoted to the elements of the Method "mantra": Efficacy, Safety, Environment, Design (do your brands consider design?), and Fragrance. (In-home interviews I conducted for a client recently attested to the importance of light scent to this brand's purchasing decision.) Do your brands have mantras - or simply a list of benefits or possibly just a marketing and creative strategy?

Another thing you'll find at their website is a campaign called "I Fight Dirty." (Note the "anti" tone.) This campaign empowers users to not only fight against dirt itself, but also dirty practices by industry. Thus, its captures the essence of what the brand is about from both the functional as well as emotional standpoints. (Another breakthrough.)

Refer to their website http://methodhome.com to see a sample of a newsletter that is sent to consumers who sign up. Recent issues have proffered tips on how to compost Christmas trees, locate brands of reusable diapers, save pristine beaches by fighting dumping in oceans of plastic laundry bottles. The website talks about the places where Method has been spotted - like the "Green Festival" hosted by Coop America each year. And it even gives visitors the opportunity to buy merchandise like tee shirts emblazoned with the method name! How many of your users would wear clothing with your brand's name on it? How many of you would even think to offer it?

Putting the "Rules" to Work for Your Business

To start capitalizing on the many market opportunities represented by sustainability, consider the following:

1. Think and act holistically. It is no longer enough to focus on functional benefits alone.
ASK: What are we making (product or service? Green or not?) How are we making it?
Who are we working with?

2. Take advantage of the opportunities that green marketing represents to engage consumers on an emotional level and thus, build brand equity. ASK: how can we make...our passion and vision relevant and engaging? our consumers into advocates? How can we empower consumers to make a difference by providing them with education, infrastructure, events and experiences?

3. The way you communicate will be critical to success (and will help you avoid
"greenwashing"). ASK: How to ensure that our approach is viewed as authentic?
Transparent? Are all stakeholders aware of our intentions and progress? Is our vision embedded into the fabric of our company?

4. Eco-innovation represents new ways to grow top line sales. ASK: How can we inspire consumers? What technology and partners do we need to gain access to?

5. Strive for an ideal goal of "Zero" environmental impact. Strive to eco-innovate rather than simply eco-design. ASK: What would it take to achieve zero environmental impact and still meet our consumers' needs? Can we make consumers more "responsible"? It's one thing to design better products and technologies. But at some point, industry's efforts will only go so far. Achieving "zero" environmental impact will only come about if changes in consumer behavior can be made; thus the genius of Toyota's dashboard, and websites that engage consumers in more responsible forms of behavior.

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Green Marketing “Broke Through” in 2008 - So What’s Next?

By Jacquelyn Ottman and Abigail Cohen

January 14, 2009

Wall Street had a stormy 2008, but there is a silver lining: Industry leaders are now turning to all things “eco” as a new source of (genuine?) green. Here are the top five green marketing stories from a volatile year - and what they may mean for your business in 2009.

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#1: Advertising Goes Green and Gets Noticed

The Story: Despite budget cuts across the board, cause-related marketing still enjoyed 3% growth in 2008, and now represents 1 in 9 dollars spent on sponsorships. Wal-Mart, GE, and HSBC won the first-ever Green Effie awards for effective green marketing, while other companies like Innocent Smoothies, Cotton USA, and Fiat and EasyJetgot accused of making false green marketing claims. With eco-savvy shoppers on the prowl for truly environmentally sound companies and products, a new site,www.greenwashingindex.com, pops up to allow consumers to rate companies’ green ad claims.

The Spin:Green marketing campaigns are proving to be a good investment, but had better hold up under public scrutiny, as consumers wise up to “greenwashing.” The prospect of free PR from Green Effies and other green marketing awards that are popping up will make green an easier sale for marketing departments.

#2: Federal Trade Commission Updates Green Marketing Guidelines

The Story:With so many environmental claims sprouting up, the FTC put their updates to their Green Guides, last reviewed in 1998 on a fast track. Among the key green marketing topics, carbon offsets weremulled over, green packaging requirements were reevaluated, and green building claims came under scrutiny.

The Spin:Keep an eye out for revised FTC Green Guides in 2009, and heed their advice. Not legally binding, they are the best guidance available for would-be green marketers looking to keep claims on the straight and narrow.

#3: Bottled Water Industry Takes a Hit - and Strikes Back

The Story: With environmental consciousness informing consumerism, critics shunnedbottled water for its inherent wastefulness and contribution to climate change particularly in cities with perfectly acceptable drinking water. Michael J. Brune, executive director of the Rainforest Action Networktold the New York Times: “Bottled water is a business that is fundamentally, inherently, and inalterably unconscionable. No side deals to protect forests or combat global warming can offset that reality.”

In order to quench scrutiny, Fiji reported that its bottled water was truly “carbon negative” and allied with Conservation International for technical advice and oversight of Fiji’s investments in renewable energy andconservation efforts in the Fiji rainforest. To reassure consumers, Fiji plans to disclose carbon footprint on new website. Nestle, too, retaliated against industry criticism with their “next-generation” water bottle— claiming it is the lightest bottle on the market. With Ethos water, Starbucks and Pepsi take a different approach to ease consumer conscience bypushing eco-philanthropy.

The Spin:According to some critics, no matter how strongly bottled water brands try to minimize packaging and recycle, the idea of depleting ground water and transporting it over thousands of miles may just be unsustainable, and many consumers will continue totap into other sources instead. Pay close attention to consumers’ concerns with your own product’s environmental impact. Consider an assessment of environmental impacts over the lifecycle of your product (unite with industry competitors to share costs) to identify areas of greatest vulnerability.

#4: The Crash of Detroit and GM Introduces Chevy Volt

The Story:The auto industry has been hit hard in the current bleak economy — a fiasco that could have been averted if, like their Asian counterparts, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors had seen the writing on the wall decades ago. Not surprisingly, many say that a bailout should include an eco-makeover,creating new opportunities for green transportation technologies and effective green marketing. Forging a partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute, GM is one of the many automakers racing to clean up their act and among other things, take steps to ecologize production. GM now pins its hopes on a Chevy Volt intro, pushed up to 2010. Its lithium-ion battery can be recharged right off the grid. GM has also announced plans to devote an entire design studio to cleaner vehicles.

The Spin:Expect more cleaner, greener, smaller cars on the road in a hurry. Plan ahead. Monitor long-term changes in your own industry. Five-year timelines are too short for a planet that’s 6 billion years old!

#5: Administration Change

The Story:With the soon-to-be replaced Bush/Cheney regime taking its last bow comes major change for environmental politics. Environmental groups have long criticized the Bush administration for its ecological ignorance andrefusal to support clean energy alternatives, but change may be in sight; executives saythat with an Obama White House, green business will flourish. The new administration has plans to bolster clean energy, provide 5 million green-collar jobs, andset strict regulations for businesses.

The Spin:A renewed focus on environmental issues in Washington will surely strengthen the green market and require cleaner and greener marketing strategies for all industries. Expect green marketing to move from a niche to a mainstream business necessity.

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Power of Green Lies in Marketers’ Hands

By Jacquelyn Ottman

September 9, 2008

Many people think the power to restore our environment—to curb greenhouse gases, to clean up our air and water, to cut down on precious resources ending up in landfills—lies in the hands of technical types like scientists and engineers, even lawyers and legislators ready to clamp down on polluters.

But the real power of green lies in the hands of marketers—we, the creative folks who have the power to design and promote cleaner products and technologies and help consumers evolve to more sustainable lifestyles. As an environmental marketing consultant, I’ve been personally banking on this opportunity to make a difference for 17 years! Consider the evidence.

It may be hard to fathom, but over 75% of the environmental impact that a product throws off during its lifetime is determined at the design stage, when, for instance, the materials are chosen, the recyclability of a product is determined, and when the amount of toxic chemicals it embodies is decided. And it doesn’t stop at the design stage. Marketers often determine the concept, too. That’s where the real leverage for our innovative skills comes in!

Consider a toothbrush. Want to lessen its environmental impact?  Start by making it out of recycled plastic, plastic made from corn, and educate on how to recycle or compost it. Then make the head replaceable and recyclable, too.  Cut down on its packaging by only wrapping the bristly head. Think you’re finished? Not a chance!  That’s because the toothbrush is part of a system—the water, the toothpaste and the box the toothpaste comes in.

Now multiply all of these impacts over one consumer’s lifetime and then again for all the consumers on earth at one time. These cumulative impacts may pale in comparison to substituting an entirely new concept; let’s say a stick of edible chewing gum laced with germ fighting enzymes.

Now strategize its way into consumer’s hands. Thinks it’s too much of a leap to market this idea to adults who might be set in their ways or creep out on the idea of enzymes in their chewing gum?  Then start to seed the concept into society by appealing to children. Enlist the help of a Sesame Street character and target parents looking to end the nightmare of getting the kids to brush.

Ever heard of a chemist thinking this way. Hell no!

Marketers, start your engines! We’re the ones who can dream up new product concepts, and we’re the ones who can sell them to mainstream consumers (not just the deep green consumers who are born predisposed to all things “eco”.)

Take the Toyota Prius. A fine car with a hybrid engine. Premium price, not too likely to be offset by fuel savings. So what gets consumers over the premium price hump as well as the risk posed by new technology? Answer: A distinctive silhouette that helps owners project their values, on the mark advertising that focuses upon such direct benefits as super quiet ride and fuel efficiency.  And a publicity machine that engenders the priceless support of Hollywood celebrities showing up at the Oscars in a Prius rather than a stretch limo.

Want to start making a difference on your job? Consider the many other solutions that are waiting in the wings with the potential to capture the attention of consumers with your help. For instance, we already know how to design homes and offices that use energy sparingly. We already know how to make construction materials and commercial and household furnishings that reduce the threats of indoor air pollution. We know how to design kitchens to make it easy for people to recycle and compost waste. We know how to reuse water from indoor plumbing systems to make lawns and gardens thrive. We know how to grow food using fewer or no chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Some of these technologies are being embraced by deep green consumers. But to really make a difference, they need to be embraced by the mainstream. That’s where marketers can come in. Ask: What will it take to: Make greener products and behaviors cool? Get all consumers paying the small premiums necessary to bring such products to market?  Look to some recent green marketing history for help.

Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater wasn’t cool, and it didn’t motivate consumers to turn down the thermostat. But the Energy Star label is cool. Why? It relies on technology to create products that are highly efficient as well as high quality (read: requiring no trade-off in consumer habits.) A decade’s worth of advertising focusing on such benefits plus the attendant savings on home and office electric bills now make the Energy Star label the second most recognized eco-label behind the three chasing arrows denoting recycling.

Herman Miller’s Mirra Chair is cool. It not only adheres to strict protocols for eliminating toxics in its manufacture, it can be disassembled for recycling in 15 minutes with normal tools. It is now on its way toward becoming a design icon in its own right, environmental attributes or not.

Tom’s of Maine line of personal care products, now owned by Colgate-Palmolive, stresses all that consumers desire in today’s personal care offerings: natural (read: safe), good-tasting, and trustworthy (How many toothpastes do you know that come with an ingredient statement with a full explanation of each ingredient’s role, as well as a letter from the head of the company?

Take a shot at applying your own creativity to develop and market new products that allow consumers to live their lives more sustainably—and make some green marketing history yourself!

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Jacquelyn Ottman’s Keynote at Sustainable Brands ‘08

By Jacquelyn Ottman

Opening remarks at Sustainable Brands '08

Sustainable Branding in the 21st Century
Keynote for Sustainable Brands 08
Presented by Jacquelyn Ottman
June 3, 2008

Good morning to you all. Welcome to Monterey. It's so great to be back at Sustainable Brands. Koann and her team are not only wonderful to work with, but they have an amazing sense of what's important to everyone in this room. And they know how to run a conference in a first class way.

Those of you who were with us in New Orleans are likely back this year because of the amazing experience you had last year. For those of you who are new, be prepared for one of the most extraordinary times you will have at a conference - with the exception of course, of what we will all find when we come back next year.

Speaking of years, It's been quite a year!

• In the blogosphere, the buzz around sustainability jumped 50 percent from last year. It was fueled by dozens of books, TV specials, Earth Day events, and stories in the press.
• A record number of consumers is now worried about global climate change. But water is fast becoming the number two issue on everyone's mind.
• Coke has set a goal to become "water neutral." The company came under attack when wells ran dry near one of its bottling plants in India. In the past year, its Dasani brand, among many other brands of bottled water, became a target of activists for its carbon footprint.
• Other industries under fire are plastic supermarket trash bags, children's toys laced with lead paint, and water bottles made with BPA.
• I predict when we reconvene next year, disposable diapers will be back in the hot seat. That's because the "G Diaper" has come to town. It's not only trendy and convenient, it's flushable. That's important because it dumps the contents not into landfills where they can pollute underground water, but right where they belong - into water treatment systems. Wait until city planners figure this out!
• The American car market continues to shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Indeed, the number of drivers on the road has declined to lows not seen since the 1940s, when gas was rationed during World War II. That's because drivers have finally reached their breaking point-gasoline that's now well over $4 at the pump.
• Last month, Toyota's Prius became the hottest car on the market-experiencing +54% sales over last year. Last week, Business Week announced that General Motors has finally recognized that it's time to "Live Green or Die". This coincides with a cutback of 19,000 jobs announced this past weekend. Someone wasn't managing their business so sustainably!
• Consumers remain concerned about toxics. In response, Clorox made headlines this past year when they introduced GreenWorks. It now sits on store shelves next to Seventh Generation and Method. Representatives from all three brands are here to tell us their stories.
• Major advertising and PR agencies are finding there's green to be had in green. They are ramping up to serve needs of clients that are pioneering such fields as clean tech, natural personal care, and green building products. Some are starting up green divisions, like Saatchi and Saatchi S; Adam Werbach of Act Now was here last year.

But not all clients seem to be so well served!

Marketing communications are laced with terms like "renewable" and "sustainable" that consumers don't understand. Almost all sport meaningless terms like "environmentally friendly" and "eco-safe". The FTC's Green Guides declared these inappropriate in 1992!

Many campaigns offer carbon offsets. Carbon offsets is now a $54 million dollar unregulated industry that's drawn fire for lack of accountability.

So it's not so surprising that polls are finding that more green marketing campaigns than not can be classified as "greenwash". Indeed, the green marketing industry is now being likened to the Wild-West. In response, the FTC has moved up its review of its Green Guides by a full year. Hearings were held in January and again in April.

Finally, a new term has slipped into the marketing press: "green fatigue." It's a syndrome supposedly being expressed by more and more consumers who are so inundated by green products-from recycled jewelry to organic mattresses-that they can't decide what represents genuine progress and what's just a green-marketing gimmick.

How many of you think that your customers suffer from green fatigue? How many of you are confused about how to market green initiatives in a legitimate way? How many of you lie awake at night worrying that your own well intended efforts might be labeled greenwash? even be subjected to law suit?

If these are some of your concerns, you're not alone. My own feedback from clients and colleagues tells me that these sentiments are rampant in our industry.

Ladies and Gentemen: If we don't fix the issues associated with "green washing" and "green fatigue". And if we don't stop the advocates from bashing ever more industries for not having done our homework, then the entire green marketing revolution that's fully underway will come to a screeching halt.

This has happened before. Back in 1992-93, I saw the brakes put on green marketing by corporate lawyers who feared the type of lawsuits that were being levied against Hefty "photodegradable" trash bags and GE "Energy Choice" light bulbs.

It can happen again. The fact that consumer concern is even more elevated now, suggests that it will take longer than 15 years to rebound - 15 years that we might not have.

So how can we keep the green marketing revolution-and our companies' reputations, our jobs, and our hopes for conducting business in a better way on track?

This conference will provide us with many of the answers. Over the next few days, you will be exposed to the best examples of sustainable branding. The latest research on the key trends. And the people who are genuine leaders in the field. And it's not just the speakers who are leaders. We are all leaders, because we are all pioneers. Each one of us has much to offer each other in this room, as well as to everyone else whom we influence in our professional and personal lives.

What I'd like to offer you are some strategies you can use to make your own green marketing campaigns credible, and effective. Some strategies relate to things that we can all do now, and others to things a little further into the century.

Strategy: Focus on Primary Benefits. Some of you have heard me say this before. But I think it's worth saying again: Skip the Babies. Kill the Daisies, and Pulverize the Planets.

One reason why I think consumers have "green fatigue" is because they're just plain tired of seeing so many green marketing pitches with the same trite images. Also, consumers know that products that are displayed with such imagery can't all be that green.

One brand that has avoided the "babies, planets and daisies" syndrome is Toyota's Prius. The car may have been inspired by green concerns, but right from the start, branding for the Prius has focused on benefits such as "quiet ride" and "fuel economy" that are much more meaningful to consumers than "saving the planet."

Gallup Poll took a poll in March. Respondents were asked what were the main "Problems facing the country that they worry about a great deal". They found that the "Environment" trails the more important issues of "Quality of economy" and "Availability and affordability of health care."

This says to me that you can make your messages much more relevant to consumers if you can link your environmental attributes to such primary benefits of your greener products such as the savings that can accrue from Energy Star qualified appliances, or the health benefits of organically grown produce. It also underscores the opportunities to link your corporate environmental initiatives to social benefits like better jobs and health care. Some of you may know that this past spring, Coke, Ford and Anheuser-Busch all launched campaigns focusing on their employees.

A second strategy that I think is Important is: Transparency. My vote in this category goes to Timberland for the label they unveiled this year that provides detailed factual information to their consumers about each pair of shoes.

Here's the label for those of you not familiar with it. You'll see it shows such information as energy use, renewable energy and material efficiency for each of pair of shoes.

It also includes information on global warming contribution. This is the first time I have seen this on a consumer product. I predict that this is a sign of something much bigger to come - and it will come soon. That is labels that link consumption to carbon footprint. We already have a taste of what educating consumers about carbon footprint of familiar products has done to the bottled water industry. There are many other product categories where carbon is a critical factor. When someone figures out a way to compare "our carbon footprint with yours", all hell will break loose!

My third strategy is "Start from the Inside Out." It relates to ensuring the credibility of corporate campaigns. Tomorrow night, the winner of the first-ever "Special Effie Awards for Environmental Achievement" will be announced at a dinner in New York. The winner will be chosen from three semi-finalists.

Presentations were made about each of these campaigns at this conference last year. Each campaign is so strong in its own way, it's hard to predict which one will win the Gold Effie. But what's important for us today, is not who will win, but what we can learn from all of them.

I had the honor of working with JWT on HSBC's campaign. It is based on a very simple idea: empowering consumers to take small steps to reduce their carbon footprint. But they don't offer consumers carbon offsets. They chose to focus on the chief strategies that HSBC Bank itself uses in its industry leading Carbon Management Program: energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.

Wal-Mart's Personal Sustainability Project leveraged the potential sustainability impact represented by over 1 million associates.

GE's Ecomagination campaign shone a spotlight on leading edge technologies, and in doing so, provided tangible evidence to customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders that the GE is making progress in a way that will help the environment and the bottom line.

My first three strategies demonstrate great examples of good green marketing. However, they represent what is working now.

I'd like to conclude my remarks with strategies that I believe will be necessary for any business looking to build a sustainable brand for the future.

Strategy: Promote responsible consumption. From now on, think like a beer marketer on New Year's Eve!

Responsible consumption has many aspects:

• It means conserving resources associated with using products. Like encouraging consumers not just to buy CFLs, but to turn them off when they're not in use.
• It means selling consumers front-loading washers, and encouraging them to run them only when fully loaded.

Responsible consumption can be encouraged through design, like the special feature on every Prius dashboard that helps drivers monitor their fuel economy.

Responsible consumption can occur through technology, too. How many of you have met Wattson? This little device sits on your coffee table and lets you know how much electricity your home is drawing at any moment of the day. Shut off a light and the device adjusts downward. Run the dishwasher and the device spikes upwards. If you think about it, our electrical meters were designed, not for the people who actually consume the electricity, but for someone else to read. And this has been going on for an entire century! I'm sure you'll agree that Wattson has a brighter idea for the next one.

Finally, responsible consumption ultimately must mean buying less stuff-encouraging consumers not to buy more of your products than they actually need. I can't tell you how many clients ask me for advice on how to green up their products and design green communications but draw a line on this issue.

But their shortsightedness prevents them from seeing opportunities for developing products that last longer and have higher consumer value. Their shortsightedness also prevents them from exploring new business models that can help you develop long term relationships with your customers.

A second thing we must all do is to become brand stewards. By this I mean we all need to incorporate product stewardship concerns as part of our jobs. Product stewardship means being responsible for our brands at every phase of their life cycle, from raw materials procurement and manufacturing, right straight through to disposal.

Could the bottled-water crisis be averted? How about bans on supermarket trash bags? Lead in children's toys? The answer is Yes!

Being a brand steward starts with conducting a baseline life cycle assessment- an LCA for short-to identify environmental problems and then to manage them proactively.

The people at Procter and Gamble conducted an LCA on Tide. They found the greatest lifecycle impacts occurred during the use phase when energy is used to heat the water. It became the inspiration for Tide Coldwater.

Being good brand stewards may entail working on with suppliers for competitive advantage. Or it may involve working with competitors to ensure that markets stay open for one's products. At a minimum it means working in teams, because managing life cycle impacts requires multidisciplinary skills.

My third and last strategy might put you out of business - sort of. It's called "Eco-Innovation" and it involves inventing new products, new materials and new technologies, rather than simply making incremental improvements to existing ones.

It's the Apple iPod that replaces CDs. And even the videoconferencing technology that makes carbon-producing trips to Monterey unnecessary!

And for all we know, Tide itself may one day morph into a cleaning agent that doesn't need water at all. We're starting to see signs of this with the Mr. Clean dry eraser.

To recap what I think are some of the most important points I'd like you to take away:

1) Things are changing quickly in the world of sustainable branding. The topics we talked about last year are being replaced by new topics, representing even greater challenges.

2) The same tried and true strategies that apply to marketing in general apply to green marketing in particular: Build great products, highlight underlying value-and consumers will come.

3) We pioneers have an opportunity, indeed an obligation, to incorporate product stewardship considerations into our job responsibilities. With our homework done, we will find our way to legitimate products and credible messages that we can be genuinely proud of.

4) Finally, at the end of the day the companies that have the opportunities to reap the greatest rewards will truly innovate. They will develop new products, new materials and new technologies that will tackle the challenges that await us in the years and decades ahead.

I hope these remarks gave you some new and important things to think about. I wish you a great conference!

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Marketers, Follow That Prius

By Jacquelyn Ottman

Advertising Age - CMO Strategy, May 29, 2008

Ever since its introduction in 2000, Toyota's Prius has been making headlines. The car has been wildly successful, attracting a broad swath of consumers -- and not just "deep green" ones -- like a powerful magnet, all the while creating a new definition of automotive cool. Let's start with the car itself. Its distinctive styling and unique silhouette doubled as a moving billboard for the new technology. Inside, passengers get all the creature comforts they expect from pricier vehicles (including BMWs, from whom they stole some market share), like ample legroom and trunk space. They also found a dashboard monitor letting them know just how many miles per gallon they were getting moment to moment. This feature, in essence, made tangible the environmental benefits while making the car that much more fun to drive.

Celebrity thumbs-up

Helping to reinforce the car's image as cool were appearances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow and other Hollywood celebrities organized by the Environmental Media Association. Such deft design and marketing underscores why "Makes a statement about me" is the number-one reason Prius owners buy their cars, according to CNW Marketing Research. These results also suggest that Toyota was ultimately successful at bringing in a mainstream audience. So how did they do it? In seven years of marketing efforts, Toyota at various times targeted not just the "deep green" consumers who would be wowed by the car's 55-mph performance and lower emissions, but rather, various car-buyer market segments, either simultaneously or at different times.

Quiet ride

Consider, for instance, the multi-pronged $1 million marketing campaign that kicked off with an appeal to early adopters of new technology who would appreciate the car's quiet ride.

A supplemental campaign reinforced the car's green bona fides and secured the green audience by talking about endorsements from such groups as the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation.

Later on, when gas prices spiked to $3 and counting, the message shifted to fuel efficiency, where it remains today. And it didn't hurt that various federal and state laws provided financial incentives and even preference for hybrid cars in highoccupancy lanes.

What does this mean for your green brand? That you should avoid the temptation to lead with environmental benefits. As I mentioned in an earlier column, "How to Stay in the Black While Going Green," while this may help you cull market share among the deep-green consumers, identify your product's more direct, primary benefits in order to draw in a more mainstream audience.

Tie-breaker
Everyone's an environmentalist at heart, so bring in the environmental benefits secondarily, because they can supply the net extra value that can break a tie at the shelf.

While you're at it, underscore your green credibility by using trusted eco-logos (Energy Star, USDA Organic, Fair Trade and Forest Stewardship Council are among the top) or associations with big-name environmental groups.

One last point -- and it's the one that put Prius over the top -- invest in design. Nike's Considered line, Method's teardrop-shaped dishwashing-liquid bottle and Apple's iPhone are examples of consumers responding to good design for products they consume in public, as well as at home.

Adapted from an article originally published on sustainablelifemedia.com.

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Don’t Greenwash Your Marketing:

By Jacquelyn Ottman

Advertising Age, March 04, 2008

How the Green Landscape Will Shift in the Coming Year -- and Affect Your Industry

I expect we'll see some tectonic shifts this year in the world of green marketing. Well-intentioned marketers should heed these shifts if they want to stay off "greenwashing lists" and legal-department memos. Some marketers are influenced by the Federal Trade Commission's recent hearings on green-marketing claims and eco-labels, others on the outcome of large retailers' efforts to persuade suppliers to come up with trimmed-down products and packages. Here, then, my top four predictions:

1. Discredited Green Claims Lose Traction

   Expect some now-meaningless marketing terms to fall by the wayside. For instance, expect to see fewer claims of biodegradability, especially with regard to some types of corn-based plastics, which have been found not to degrade in backyard compost heaps or even municipal systems.

   There will be a virtual shutdown on claims of carbon offsetting until standards can be set and the for-profits and non-gevernmental organizations that sell the offsets can be verified. This year will also see the seeds planted to severely curb the use of self-imposed eco-labels such as Home Depot's

   "Eco-Options" and Canon's "Clean Earth." Please folks, let's stick with only those labels, such as Energy Star, FSC and organic, that have been issued by trusted third parties.

   Finally, I hope and pray that standards will finally be set for terms such as "natural," so that consumer confidence can be restored in this most basic of green attributes.

2. Electronics Suppliers Tout Eco-Performance

   Expect electronics companies to start marketing their green bona fides, earned by creating programs to take back their products at end of useful life, and by reducing the use of toxic chemicals in response to two directives from the European Commission, the Waste for Electric and Electronic Equipment and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances. We've already been approached for help in crafting green strategies by no less than three of the big electronics firms (perhaps Wal-Mart has something to do with it?).

3. Companies Make More Green Products ...

   Many more green products will hit the shelves in 2008 as the industry takes additional, more confident steps to satisfy retailer demands for products with less packaging, less energy use and reduced toxicity -- no PVC or heavy metals, for example. Many of these products will put primary benefits -- higher performance levels, aesthetics and cost effectiveness -- front and center in marketing materials, while green claims will recede, reflecting reticence from potential greenwashing backlash, and a simple growing awareness in good green marketing practice.

4. ... and Companies Sell More Green Products

   Green products sales will soar, boosted by the marketing heft of major consumer products firms that have been on a green-brand shopping spree of late. Examples include Clorox, which snapped up Burt's Bees in 2007 and launched its own GreenWorks brand; Colgate (Tom's of Maine); Procter & Gamble(Crest Naturals and Tide Coldwater); and Danone (Stonyfield Farm). Expect continued growth for deep green stand-alones, like Method and Seventh Generation, as they continue to grow behind mass-market distribution. A myriad of green product trade shows -- Coop America's "Green Festivals" in Chicago, Washington and San Francisco; the "Go Green Expo" in New York -- will introduce more consumers to greener alternatives.

Copyright © 1992-2008

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