Green is beyond green.
April 26th, 2008 by Carolyn Parrs & Irv Weinberg , Mind Over MarketsThe green world isn’t just about things that are green. It’s about the values that come along with caring like social justice; and people and planetary safety around the globe. All of these are green thinking. What better way is there to reach your market than by reaching out?
An integral part of green marketing should be an alliance with a worthy cause. Advocate for one you believe in and if possible, one with a link to your overall message and positive image.
For instance, Patagonia, the outdoor clothing manufacturer, is all about protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=1809), Stonyfield Yogurt is for supporting family farms and organic agriculture (http://www.stonyfield.com/EarthActions/) and Timberland, the foot ware company, is about cooling global warming http://www.timberland.com/corp/index.jsp?page=csr_env_stratgic_partnership).
These causes and they way they work with them are displayed as prominently as their products are on their website.
There is no great shortage of great causes to align with, from the global to the local. But it has to be authentic or don’t bother. The green consumer will see right through it.
Now your social responsibility doesn’t end there. Examine your own practices. Are you carbon neutral? Are your facilities toxin-free? Is there a better way to do what you’re doing? Are your working conditions safe and fair? Not only are these worth supporting, the cost of not supporting them in the hearts and minds of the green consumer can be even more costly.
These are all necessary parts of your green communication but first see what you believe in and what you can do better. Then communicate it. Walks gotta go with the talk.
How are you walking the talk? We’d like to know!
May 9th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Hey! Thanks for all the great info. I agree that companies need to follow up on there green talk with green actions that make a difference. Talk is cheap!
I was browsing through a bunch of green websites and blogs and I came across yours and found it very interesting. There are a bunch of others I like too, like the daily green, ecorazzi and earthlab.com. I especially like EarthLab.com’s carbon calculator (http://www.earthlab.com/signupprofile/). I find it really easy to use (it doesn’t make me feel guilty after I take it).
Are there any others you would recommend? Can you drop me a link to your favorites (let me know if they are the same as mine).
May 9th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Hey! Thanks for all the great info. I was browsing through a bunch of green websites and blogs and I came across yours and found it very interesting. There are a bunch of others I like too, like the daily green, ecorazzi and earthlab.com. I especially like EarthLab.com’s carbon calculator (http://www.earthlab.com/signupprofile/). I find it really easy to use (it doesn’t make me feel guilty after I take it). Are there any others you would recommend? Can you drop me a link to your favorites (let me know if they are the same as mine).