Green Options

A Green Printer interview with Carmen Spagnola, entrepreneur and owner of m.

1. What made you want to start m?
I started m because I was a frustrated consumer.  I decided that  if I want to have access to smarter, more beautifully designed, more  responsible products and amenities for my home and family, I was going
to have to create more demand.  Markets are a bit of a chicken-and-egg  relationship.  Many retailers will tell you that they only provide  what their customers want.  That is only part of my modus operandi.
I want to showcase the possibility of a better performing future, so  much of what I sell and promote is currently considered ahead of the market.  But how will the market know what it wants if we don’t inspire it to want more?

Can you afford to always buy eco-friendly products?  Really? Let’s face it, buying eco-friendly can be a budget busting experience at the best of times.

Now there’s a new eco-friendly place where you might be able to afford them.  Newly launched, Ecosteal.com sells modern, eco-friendly products featured one-at-a-time at 40-80% off retail price, until they sell out or 9am the next day.

Going green isn’t as difficult as it used to be with the array of vegetarian delights and eco-friendly products available on the market today, and environmentally-conscious clothing is becoming as popular as the fashions themselves. But M641 takes it one step further with a philosophical approach to designing clothes that are living, breathing representations of the spirit, passion, and friendship that created them.  For Ina and Subu, earth-minded fashion is about a lifestyle — not a trend — and the result is a stunning experience in heart couture. 

I had an opportunity to talk with Ina, one of the founders of M641, and learned more about the designs, the philosophy and the friendship that foster feel good fashions and plaid with a pulse.

There’s no doubt that carbon offsets are in the news.  Just this morning, the New York Times reported that Goldman Sachs jumped on the offsets bandwagon with investments in two offset companies.  But, you still don’t hear too much about retail carbon offset efforts, beyond voluntary add-on programs for airline and rental car companies.  TerraPass, a leading originator and retailer of carbon credits and carbon offsets, however, just released its 2009 carbon offset “portfolio,” including products for purchase through the TerraPass website. They also still host voluntary offset program for various travel and retail industry partners.

But, possibly more significantly, TerraPass also just announced the formation of TerraPass Carbon Management Services that has already signed 10 long-term contracts representing over 2.5 million metric tons of carbon reductions, and has built “a robust pipeline of new projects:”

The U.S. retail sector represented 4.5 trillion dollars in 2007 and so when retailers talk about trends we should listen. A new study released by The Aberdeen Group shows where retailers are going when it comes to going green. The good news is that the opportunities for eco-entrepreneurs will continue to grow.

According to Environmental Leader, the new report titled “Getting From Green To Gold: Retail Success Factors and Outcomes” lists the six key focus areas for retailers:

• Adopt enterprise-wide policies for green sourcing/procurement (59%)
• Institute eco-friendly mandates for waste management (54%)
• Institute eco-friendly mandates around packaging (48%)
• Redesign the retail supply chain to align with green/responsible mandates (41%)
• Offer eco-friendly end-of-life product programs to customers (41%)
• Redesign store facilities and infrastructure around sustainability goals (35%)

I am all about buying local and in particular, I am a big supporter of local farmers. I’ve always seen Wal-Mart as the antithesis of my beliefs in creating a more regionally economically sustainable culture.

When a press release came through from Wal-Mart announcing their commitment to increase their use of local farmers to provide fresh produce, I was skeptical.

However, in doing a little research for this post, I visited the Wal-Mart website and found that they have an entire section devoted to sustainability. Okay. That is good. You can see that they are going to great lengths to at least appear to be implementing more sustainable activities across the board. But one could argue that these are all either cost-saving measures or done to be SC or Sustainable Correct, which is important to their marketing and PR efforts.

This cynical view of things aside, one could also argue that anything Wal-Mart implements on a corporate level will have a pretty big impact on whatever local economies they might otherwise be harming.

Dominick’s grocery stores, which operates 99 stores in the Midwest, announced in January that it will become the first Illinois retailer to convert its entire truck fleet to biodiesel. By converting 78 tractors and 350 refrigerated trailers to B20 biodiesel, the grocer projects a 1,457,256 pound reduction in its yearly carbon emissions.

For many Chicagoans, this announcement may alter the perception of a large grocery chain not known for being particularly green. In the Second City, Dominick’s is sort of the Pepsi to to Jewel-Osco’s Coke. These two large mainstream grocery stores are known for having stores in many of the city’s neighborhoods, and for serving very large portions of the populace with conventional packaged food and some organic produce. If you’re not a dedicated organic foodie doing your shopping at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s (or at farmer’s markets or CSAs), chances are you’re a Dominick’s or Jewel regular.

When I had the chance to interview Beth Gerstein, co-founder of Brilliant Earth, I first wanted to ask her how they raised the money to start the company. I figured that retailing gold, platinum and diamond jewelry had to be a capital-intensive business and thought Beth could shed light on how a green entrepreneur can convince investors that there is a large market for products that are sustainably produced.

However, I got a very different story. Brilliant Earth has been entirely boot-strapped, although that adjective doesn’t seem apt for a company that sells beautiful products, has an elegant identity system, and does business via a beautiful website.

Brilliant Earth sells conflict-free diamonds, which are mined in Canada in accordance with environmental laws as well as jewelry made of “renewed” gold and platinum, i.e., recycled metals.

An http://www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

LATEST in CFL Debate: No Actual Data on CFL migraine scare in The Daily Green

Conservative bloggers denounce US Congresses’ move to CFLs as a mercury health hazard and a “High Priest Al Gore of the Church of Global Warming of Modern Day Idiots (MDI)” falsity while of course, sourcing the “science” behind their claim as, what else, another conservative blogger’s opinion.

Image source: http://blog.americanfeast.com

Strategies: Manage your supply chain

Just tip #8 of 10 tips from the Greater Vancouver’s Regional District’s “Smart Steps Strategies“

Your supply chain is made up of the companies that help your business secure materials and distribute products to the right place at the desired time in the quantities needed. The supply chain thus offers a unique and relatively easy opportunity for your firm to influence suppliers to the benefit of the environment.

Image source: http://blogs.zdnet.com

A http://greenprinteronline.com dispatch

If your post-holiday cheer and spending has put you in a slump about how to jumpstart your New Year’s resolution to make your business run more efficient and tree-friendly for less (and who doesn’t?), Ilana DeBare from the San Francisco Chronicle has the solution. The Chronicle green business reporter provides a few tips to increase your retail business efficiency in the long-term and “walk” your sustainability talk in 2008.