Green Options

Though the groundswell has not reached anywhere near the proportions we’d like to see, that is, not everyone in the world is working their darndest to be greener; it seems Earth day has all the commercialism as, well Christmas. Christmas, you know that holiday that used to be a celebration for a certain religious group that has morphed into a commercial circus that leaves children of “not Christmas” religions crying for a tree?

When this Media Post article came out, Consumers Want Proof it’s Green, I found this interesting kernel of information.

To find the necessary information, consumers are:
most likely to turn to consumer reports …..29%
most likely to look at certification seals or labels on products …..28%
most likely to consider the list of ingredients on products …..27%
least likely to look to statements on product [...]

The worldwide economic slowdown is having an unexpected positive impact in the fight against global warming: Emissions of carbon dioxide are falling, records collected by governments show.

Across the globe, a slowdown in manufacturing has resulted in lower CO2 emissions.

…the Gates Foundation is set to expand its involvement and spend more money on influencing popular culture through a deal with Viacom, the parent company of MTV and its sister networks VH1, Nickelodeon and BET. It could be called “message placement”: the social or philanthropic corollary to product placement deals in which marketers pay to feature products in shows and movies. Instead of selling Coca-Cola or G.M. cars, they promote education and healthy living.

Problem is…just this month The Environmental Working Group released a report, “No More Toxic Tub”. Lab test conducted by EWG found both Johnsons’ Baby Shampoo and two of their Baby washes include formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane, both ingredients linked to cancer and skin allergies.

I was recently asked to speak to The Eco Investment Club about marketing a green business. Since I’ve written before about How To Keep Your Green Business Afloat in 2009 and Recession Strategies For Eco Businesses, it was a matter of marshaling my thoughts and seeing what new ideas I might have discovered.

As the green community grows on Twitter, I find more and more people to follow and more and more people follow me. That is of course, how it’s supposed to work. It doesn’t however take place without some effort. And I get questions.

How do you find time to tweet?
How do you find new followers?
How often do you tweet per day?

Michelle Obama and local school children broke ground this morning on the first full size vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt maintained a Victory Garden during World War II.

I spent most of the last two days touring the exhibit hall at the Anaheim Convention Center, fighting crowds (an unusual occurrence these days) and marveling in how healthy the natural products industry still is. This is my second year at The Natural Products Expo West, one of the largest trade shows for the industry and it was, if possible even more crowded than last year.

One of the glaring absences in the discussion of how to use social media to achieve marketing goals is the lack of established marketing terms. Since green businesses are big users of Twitter, I think we need to have this conversation!