GREEN SALON #3 / COMPOSTMODERN

Last month I went down to San Francisco to go to AIGA’s Compostmodern event. It was an enriching trip. I heard some great talks from amazing speakers like Saul Griffith, Ph.D., Allan Chochinov, Emily Pilloton, and Dawn Danby and even got to speak with some of them one on one. On April 8th I have been collaborating with others in the AIGA to put together our third Green Salon where we will be showing via webcasts these speakers once again. Not only that but we got a tremendous opportunity to have Algalita Marine Research speak at the event. Have you ever heard of the Island of Trash? Check out this video.

Eating our trash?

Please come to the event next week if are intrigued. It will be interesting, informative and entertaining. Click here to register. I would love to see you there.

The World Without Us

I just finished a great book called The World Without Us by Alan Weisman http://www.worldwithoutus.com/index2.html

While this book is not directed at the sustainability movement, it includes a great deal of the information and data that supports the effort. It brings to light how much we as humans have effected the planet and how long lasting our effects will be on the earth if we were suddenly removed from its’ surface. There are passages in the book that are beautifully moving with detail and imagination about what the world will look like without us.

“As pavement separates, weeds like mustard, shamrock, and goosegrass blow in from Central Park and work their way down the new cracks, which widen further. In the current world, before they get too far, city maintenance usually shows up, kills the weeds, and fills the fissures. But in the post-people world, there’s no one left to continually patch New York. The weeds are followed by the city’s most prolific exotic species, the Chinese ailanthus tree. Even with 8 million people around, ailanthus—otherwise innocently known as the tree-of-heaven—are implacable invaders capable of rooting in tiny chinks in the subway tunnels, unnoticed until their spreading leaf canopies start poking from sidewalk grates.” Alan Weisman

The book introduced a few new things to me like the island of trash in the pacific and the planned nuclear waste storage center in Nevada. Another concept that it cleared up for me was clean coal. The name itself seemed counter intuitative when I heard it for the first time. Clean coal? Really? The way Alan Weisman describes it, it proves to be counter productive and putting off the inevitable. Clean coal does not change our need to move away from the carbon it produces. We cannot hide the waste beneath the carpet so we look better. The new ads the Coen brothers put together for Reality Coalition has the right take on this problem.

This article from The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/01/green-revolution-slows has an interesting outlook to the green movement in 2009. As hurt as we all were by the high gas prices of last Summer, people are quickly jumping off the renewable energy band wagon for the current low gas prices. It is no wonder big oil have been sucessfull for so long. People are willing to abadon new ideas for the quick and easy solution We paid upwards of $4 a gallon during the summer. Out of that frustration, momentum towards alternative energy grew. People changed their habits so as not to hurt their pocket books. Those habits and ideas are quickly forgotten when there is an easier and cheaper alternative. As nice as it is to have these lower gas prices I hope it does not last.

We all know how much green washing has infiltrated our lives. You see it everywhere. Businesses are using marketing and branding techniques to capture the “green” audience and make a profit. All in the name of the environment and sustainability. In the end these businesses will only hurt themselves for the quick buck. What these businesses fail to understand is that the socially conscious consumer might purchase their product or services once based on trust. If the consumer’s trust is not reinforced they will not only lose that customer, but that customer will also tell all their peers and friends.

A great example of this is a deli and coffee shop in Downtown Seattle. In the last year they recently re-branded their look (which worked perfectly well to the begin with) to appear green. They changed their colors from yellow, red and black to shades of green and incorporated a leaf into their logo. I had never eaten there, but had noticed these changes from the outside. They are well known for their roast beef french-dip style sandwich. I had some extra time one day between appointments and decided to get a drink and a snack. They had a nice space and I enjoyed a comfy few minutes before moving on to my next appointment. As I left, I looked for a recycling bin to leave my glass bottle. I could not find any form of recycling anywhere. I took the bottle with me to recycle elsewhere.

How could an establishment that claims to be “green” not offer recycling? I have not researched their food or business practices. They might be doing something tremendous for the environment that far outweighs recycling. In the end it does not matter. What matters is how you present yourself and how you follow through with your actions. This is how we judge companies and organizations. You tell us what you are about. We try your product or service. If it does not match with what you presented to us, then you have broken your promise to us.

This deli did not need to change their approach in branding. They are well known for a particular product. If anything, they should utilize the recognition they have and promote their great product even more. Promise what you do best. This will gain your customer’s trust. Once you have their trust you can reinforce it with other messages. The trust circle will grow greater with everything your organization does. Consumers like to buy things that support their tastes and beliefs and gravitate towards companies that promote these things. If you organization believes in sustainability or being green, you better make sure to back it up. Examine everything you do with green goggles. The companies that do this honestly will be the companies that grow and flourish. They are building from a foundation of trust created by promises that can be delivered upon.

Green washing will not last because it is not a sound business decision. In today’s time you cannot survive on tricks, gadgets and manipulations. Stick to talking about your business honestly. Then you will not need to lie or promote wishful thinking.