Green Options » green company

Essentia Natural Memory Foam: Everyone Deserves Healthy, Clean Sleep

Megan Prusynski — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:00:57 +0000

The first time I slept on a memory foam mattress, I was in heaven. When it was time to buy a new bed, I was thrilled to find out about a new green company called Essentia, who makes the only natural memory foam mattresses on the market. Most memory foam mattresses are made of petroleum products, which are not only harmful to the environment, they’re unnatural and unhealthy. I want my bed to be a place of sanctuary and rest, not a chemical-laden nest of disease! Luckily, Essentia makes it possible to sleep healthy and green without sacrificing comfort or quality.

My Essentia mattress arrived in a much smaller box than I was expecting, due to their sustainable shipping efforts. The mattresses are compressed and rolled so they will take up less space on shipping trucks. But this is just the beginning of Essentia’s environmental commitment:

At Essentia, we fully understand the responsibilities of being a manufacturer in today’s society. That’s why we develop and manufacture products that produce 93% less waste during production than most mattress manufacturers. Derived from renewable resources, our 100% biodegradable memory foam are good for both the environment and consumer health.

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Nobody’s Really Going Green – Most Companies Just Pay Lip Service

mcmilker — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:46:52 +0000

A new report from Arthur D. Little, Sustainable Performance shatters my perception that companies are whole heartedly going green. An analysis of the report at Greenbiz.com notes this conclusion.

“Sustainable Performance” from Arthur D. Little argues that regulatory and consumer pressures have not pushed corporations toward sustainability beyond superficial measures.

It’s not surprising that the report concluded that, in general, companies only take steps toward going green when it impacts the bottom line. Driven by shareholder concerns companies frequently implement those green solutions that maximize short terms gain. Forced to “report to stock markets” on a quarterly basis, it can be difficult for companies to proceed with longer term green objectives.

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Fun, Fair-Trade, Organic Company Speesees has Eco Babies in Mind

Susie Kim — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:30:26 +0000

I am in LOVE with this company, Speesees, which provides fun and stylish children’s things from beautiful kimono onesies to au natural baby hat. Here are the other reasons to love this Eco-conscious and green company.

It’s manufactured under fair trade practices in India and the owner has developed a close relationship with the farmers who live bio-dynamically and receive health care.
Everything is made from handpicked organic cotton, and knit and dyed with low impact dyes. All the products are made sweatshop free. “Natural light floods the premises and our energetic team, including disabled members, work decent hours for fair living wages. An organic garden surrounds the premises.”
They give back to the community by donating $1 to every $100 earned from online retail orders. The company has also implemented a recycling program.

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Is Anybody Watching? The Green Gap Survey Reveals Consumers Want Regulation of Environmental Claims

mcmilker — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:37:08 +0000

Some scary truths about consumers’ assumptions could lead to a “green” backlash concludes The Green Gap Survey, released this week by Cone LLC and The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship.
We in the business of making environmentally friendly and natural product know that little regulation exists around the terms, “green,” “environmentally friendly,” and “natural.” But, consumers don’t and are, perhaps naively, trusting.

47 percent trust companies to tell them the truth in environmental messaging
45 percent believe companies are accurately communicating information about their impact on the environment
61 percent of Americans say they understand the environmental terms companies use in their advertising

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Target Practice - Finding The Right Green Consumer

mcmilker — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:49:58 +0000

Many entrepreneurs I have worked with have insisted that everyone can benefit from using their product. While possibly true, I’ve always encouraged my clients to focus not on who could USE their product but, who would BUY their product … right now … today or in the very near future. Focusing most of the marketing time and money on those consumers results in immediate sales and the opportunity to spend more in the future to attract those perhaps more reluctant to purchase today.

Last week in my post, Which Organic Consumer Are You? , I wrote about a new report that can help green companies identify that “right now” consumer.

The Natural Marketing Institute just released their latest report on the state of the organic food industry … in other words … who’s going organic. It turns out more than half of us are buying organic foods at least sometimes.

For consumers, this report offers an opportunity for a little introspection. For green entrepreneurs it offers an important marketing tool – a chance to hone in on the right target market for your product.

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How To Package A Green Product

mcmilker — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:15:11 +0000

We’re green entrepreneurs right? We eschew over-packaging. We skip the plastic overwrap. We limit the packing materials. We think reusable.

But…will consumers pay for it?

A recent Nielsen study shows that half of all US consumers would give up all convenience packaging if it would benefit the environment.

- 58 percent feel that packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home is dispensable
- 55 percent would give up packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container
- 53 percent don’t need packaging designed for easy transport

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