MC Milker, Lead writer for Ecopreneurist, spent ten years in corporate marketing, including stints in a variety of both start-up and Fortune 500 companies. Using the knowledge gained in her career (starting as a lowly Assistant Product Manager and progressing to Director of Marketing for a division of a several billion dollar company), she now consults for companies focused on developing and promoting healthy and natural products.
In 2006 she started writing at The Not Quite Crunchy Parent to raise awareness of those issues with ordinary parents. More recently she can be found writing on various Green Options Media sites. She uses her marketing background to delve into the business decisions that impact products offered to consumers and discusses ways for businesses and consumers to make smart buying and selling decisions.
Ms. Milker holds an MBA from The Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a B.S. in marketing ,and has completed,degree work in child development. She has taught marketing and public relations at The University of California, Berkeley and The University of Hong Kong.
email her at: mcmilker@gmail.com
Sometimes it’s nice to communicate verbally for a change. I had that opportunity this week when I was a guest on PR 101 Radio - Marketing Advice for Small Business. Erika Taylor, from Three Girls Media conducted a great interview where i was able to discuss some of the pleasures and pitfalls of green marketing.
Check out my interview here […]
Are you considering adding on or updating that old bathroom or kitchen? As housing prices climbed, more and more families have turned to renovation instead of moving to increase their living quarters. Popular TV programs glorified the trend and contractors were kept busy round the clock.
I know, we were one such family!
Unfortunately, a new study, found fixing up ‘This Old House’ may increase exposure to lead in young children.
The study conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center found that interior renovation of older housing is associated with a modest increase in children’s blood lead level (BLL) and associated long-term health risks.
If the house in question was built before 1978, before the federal ban on lead-based paint, tearing out walls and ceilings could expose children to lead hazards, the study concluded.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Food service Industry these days. A recent article in Environmental Leader noted that of all of the industries tracked by Climate Counts , an organization that produces a company scorecard , Food Service scored the lowest.
Overall the average company score increased from 30.6 in 2007 to 39.3 this year - a 22% increase. Twenty-three companies were ranked as “striding” (making progress toward change) vs. 18 last year. Ten companies are still ranked as “stuck” vs. 18 last year.
However, the Food Services sector had the lowest average (11.5 out of 100) of any of the eight sectors measured with smallest overall improvement.
Why is it so difficult for food service companies to go green?
Jacob Malthouse doesn’t have a plan to make a profit. His business, Big Room,Inc. has just released its first product, ecolabeling .org to address a need in the market, a need for some way to make sense out of all the labels making green claims… not to make money.
Spoken like a true social entrepreneur, I told Jacob when I spoke with him this week.
Ecolabeling.org addresses the challenge that many of us have: What do all of these certifications, seals of approval, standards and verifications actually mean. Is it truly green or is it just greenwashing? The independent database of over 300 labels (and growing) seeks to provide a one stop site for information on all types of green labels.
It seems like your local grocer has reason to go green. Not only are we living in an era where words like “global warming” and “climate change’ have entered the common lexicon, we have, it seems reached the tipping point where green living is driving consumer purchase.
A walk down the aisles of Kroger or Safeway or any chain grocery store confirms this as natural and organic section signs pop up in spots previously reserved for salty snack foods and frozen sugar laden sweets. Packaging is shrinking. Light bulbs are energy saving. And the words “eco” and “green” leap out at consumers at every turn.
Obviously the retail grocery industry has gotten the message. An article in Progressive Grocer gives some insight into what’s next on the agenda.
Once consigned to reading tech magazines, green entrepreneurs in the tech space now are drifting to business sites - as it should be. More and more tech sites are covering business issues and more importantly, business sites, particularly those focused on green business are delving into the technology, particularly computer technology, fields.
Green entrepreneurs of every stripe face similar business challenges.
How to write a marketing plan.
How to handle inventory.
And in a tighter money era, how to find financing.
A new study released by The University of Texas demonstrated a clear connection between industrial mercury released and autism. Researchers studied Texas school district data and proximity of children to a mercury emitting site and found the prevalence of autism in the community was reduced the further away it was from the site.
Raymond F. Palmer said the study showed — for the first time in scientific literature — a statistically significant association between autism risk and proximity to the mercury source
The Olympic torch on its journey to Beijing is leaving a historic trail of CO2 emissions.
Slate.com, tracking the emissions of the torch, reports that… Through Thursday’s stop in Canberra, the relay has traveled an estimated 40,875 miles, burned 220,725 gallons of jet fuel, and released 5,270,913 pounds of CO2.
Related Post:
We all know that e-mail is far superior to faxing or God-forbid, snail mail! But, how much greener is it?
That’s what a new project at Sun Microsystems is trying to find out. This new initiative attempts to measure the carbon footprint of individual e-mails with the hope of being able to quantify it for individuals and companies.
According to the report, Trends in Trademarks, applications for patents on trademarks, logos and taglines reached an all time high in 2007. And chief among the requests…those related to green business.
New filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2007 topped 300,00 beating the previous record of 289000 in 2000, driven in part by new marks for eco-friendly products. The word GREEN was the most popular vehicle for communicating environmental friendliness. Applications more than doubled in 2007, increasing from 1100 to over 2400.
