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Greenbiz.com does a terrific job of covering the greening of mainstream business. As part of their annual State of Green Business coverage, they published an article by Joel Makower on marketing to the American consumer. Makower says it is a challenging situation for three reasons. One is that premium pricing is a "non-starter" for most shoppers in this economy. Second, there is still widespread confusion over environmental terms which tamps down purchasing. His third (and most intriguing) reason is that people must be shown a personal benefit as well as a planetary one in order to make green purchasing decisions, i.e., "products that aren't just greener but better... whether they're cheaper to buy or own, have enhanced features or higher performance, are more convenient, less wasteful, healthier for their families, or simply cool." Makower observes that, in regard to point three, we are more like a developing country than a developed one. He quotes Tim Kenyon of the respected GfK Roper "Green Gauge" consumer surveys who makes a similar point about American consumer behavior: "In a developing economy, there's much more of a personal self-interest involved in making green purchasing choices, and less emphasis on the greater good."
— Gordon Kaye
The European Union's new green logo will have to be shown on all
pre-packaged organic products produced in Europe starting in
July. "I'm delighted that we now have a fresh EU organic
food logo," said EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer
Boel, as she announced the selection of the green leaf design
incorporating the 12 stars of the EU flag. The winning logo emerged
from a pan-European contest open to art and design students. Almost
3,500 logo designs were submitted and evaluated by an international
jury. The Euro-leaf designed by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from
Germany, was the overwhelming favorite. The EU's organic farming
regulation will be amended in the coming weeks to introduce the
new logo into law. Other private, regional or national logos will
be allowed to appear alongside the EU label.
The Biggest Loser
A few years ago, Kraft Foods decided to lose some weight —
150 million pounds from its packaging supply chain to be exact. It
has reached that goal two years early. Says Jean Spence, Executive
Vice President, Research, Development & Quality: "We've
invented a tool to help us design more efficiently. And we're
finding smarter source materials, reducing our footprint and
thinking differently about packaging end of life. We're sharing
ideas, challenging and motivating one another, so this is truly
a collaborative team effort." Among the examples: development
of a Packaging Eco-Calculator for creating efficient and optimized
packaging; redesign of Oscar Mayer Deli Creations packaging with
30 percent less paperboard; and a move of Maxwell House and other
coffee brands from steel cans to composite paperboard or refill bags.
Natural Step
Arcadia, the largest publisher of local history books in the U.S.
has become the first major book publisher to use 100 percent FSC
certified paper across its entire line. This will include 700 new
releases in 2010. Richard Joseph, ceo, says this is a natural step
for the company. "Consistent with our commitment to help
communities preserve history through local and regional history
books, we have extended our efforts to improve the impact we have
on our environment," Joseph says.
Be True To Your School
A youth mentoring initiative by Design Ignites Change asks high
school students — in collaboration with professional or
college design mentors — to reimagine their school as a more
sustainable institution. Its called "For School: by
Design." Valerie Casey of Designers Accord, a partner in
the initiative, explains: "Our goal is to make sustainability
relevant and integrated in the lives of our mentors and students.
We will do this by using our schools as a canvas, and design
thinking as our toolset. We will push beyond the customary notions
of green design and eco-friendliness, to the more meaningful
aspects of cultural, social and economic sustainability."
Professional design organizations, design studios and college
programs in the areas of Graphics, Interactive, Industrial and
Architectural Design are considered likely source of mentors.
http://designigniteschange.org
Lead Clients
SPARK and the AIGA/NY are coming together to host a green
event for graphic design on April 6. As the current president
of Spark and Director of Outreach for the AIGA's Center for
Sustainable Design, MSLK's Sheri L Koetting will moderate the
panel discussion on "How to Lead Clients Towards Being
Green." Panelists are Research Fellow Don Carli from the
nonprofit Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC), Cheryl
Heller of Heller Communications, and Hugh Hough of the Green
Team. It takes place at Bumble and bumble in Manhattan.
http://mslk.com
Quiznos Rolls Green
Quiznos is rolling out new packaging ("Eat Toasty, Be
Green") made from renewable or recycled content that will
reduce the chain's environmental footprint. Quiznos says the
new packaging includes: 100 percent compostable wax-coated paper
cups; pulp salad bowls made from renewable sugarcane; plastic
lids made of 30 percent post-consumer recycled PET bottles;
napkins made from 100 percent recycled material and fibers;
and catering lunch boxes made of 100 percent recycled paperboard.
"Sustainability is part of our brand value. Our customers really care about the issue. We see increasing our sustainability as a necessity, not an option."
— Jim Weber, president and CEO of Brooks, explains why the running shoe company is increasing the sustainability of its running shoes and has introduced "Green Silence," a sustainability concept shoe.
March 18 (postmarked) is the deadine for the 2010 American
Inhouse Design Awards. It is, quite simply, is the premier
showcase and recognition program for outstanding work by
inhouse design / marketing / communications departments. You
can request a printed from by emailing awards@gdusa.com. Or
you can download an entry form immediately at...
http://www.gdusa.com/contests/aida.php
AIGA Education Conference
This AIGA Design Educators Conference, respons_ability, is set
for May 15-16, 2010 in Toledo OH. The conference aims to foster
an ongoing dialogue and debate about design ethics, sustainability
and design education. How can teachers create students who feel
a responsibility to their world? How can they instill the capacity
for our students to become thinking, ethical designers? And can
educators translate the ideas of AIGA's The Living Principles in
the classroom and beyond? These questions and more will be
explored through a series of group discussions, workshops,
lectures, speakers and learning sessions.
Picturing Climate Challenge
IDEO, the global design and innovation firm, has teamed with
Design 21, an online platform which promotes design for the greater
good, to launch the Living Climate Change Video Challenge.
"Living Climate Change is an open invitation to designers and
non-designers alike to think creatively about an issue that impacts
us all," says Jennifer Leonard, IDEO designer. The Living
Climate Change Video Challenge calls for an original video that
envisions how climate change will impact life on Earth over the
next 20 to 30 years. IDEO and Design 21 are looking for new thinking
and thoughtful ideas on a sustainable future and are particularly
concerned with which behaviors need to change or be preserved. The
deadline is May 25.
Smoking Babies
Moveon.org has produced several controversial advertisements which
attack moderate Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson and
Blanche Lincoln for supporting a Republican plan to block the
Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases
under the Clean Air Act. The television ads, which will amount to
a six-figure buy and run in Arkansas, Louisiana and Nebraska,
feature unsettling images of Americans, and especially children
and babies, smoking so as to highlight their exposure to air pollution.
Toys Get Serious
Last month's Toy Fair featured a "green" pavilion that
showcased environmentally-friendly toys for the first time. This
year's winner for The Toy of the Year in the category of specialty
toy was Captain Owen's Dolphin Explorer Boat, by Sprig Toys, made
with earth-friendly materials. At the show, it was clear that big
industry players like Mattel and Hasbro are increasingly
"green" in choosing their packaging material. As an
example, Mattel is working to reduce the size and amount of
materials used in its product packaging, to raise the recycled
content, and to incorporate sustainable packaging into the design
of new products. As for Hasbro, the toy maker topped the Climate
Count's survey last year on the toy industry's actions to reduce
its impact on climate change.
Cartonless Care
Bayer Consumer Care is introducing its products in new packaging
with several points of difference. Designed for Genuine Bayer
aspirin, Bayer Low Dose aspirin and Aleve products, the shape of
the bottles are now a larger, sleek oval, they are topped with an
easy-open/easy-grip cap covered with a soft-touch, rubber-like
thermoplastic elastomer, and tehy are color-coded to match the
graphics for each SKU. Most noteworthy, however, is that this is
Bayer's first venture into cartonless bottles in order to minimize
packaging waste associated with cartons.
VISIT
See great products from leading designers...
http://gdusa.com/gdusastore
SPEAKERS AT UPCOMING GREEN EVENTS
AIGA response_ability
Joshua Onysko
Pangea Organics
Rick Valicenti
Thirst/Chicago
Rick Poyner
Writer, Educator, Teacher
Nathan Shedroff
Designer, Speaker, Teacher
SPARK/AIGA Event
Sheri L Koetting
MSLK
Don Carli
Institute for Sustainable Communications
Cheryl Heller
Heller Communications
Hugh Hough
Green Team