Archive for 'Green Business'
Brands Matter for Green Products
Posted on 29. Jul, 2010 by admin.
I suppose the headline of this post is a bit of a, “duh.” We all know brands matter … that’s why we spend so much money building and defending them.
In all the discussions and theories, though, around why consumers choose green products, there’s little discussion of brand. And our soon-to-be-published Green Living Pulse study reveals that there is, in fact, a big correlation. There’s also a triumph of brand over initial gut-reaction.
Here’s the story:
We preceded our Green Living Pulse study with focus groups and, knowing from our Eco Pulse study that advertising and packaging are the primary source of information for consumers about what’s green and what’s not, we tested several TV commercials for green products and packages as well. In particular, the ad we showed for Clorox GreenWorks elicited several negative comments. Not about the product – about the brand name. If I were to show you a movie of clips from these focus groups, you’d hear the following:
“It’s Clorox – how could it be green?…I would have found it more believable if they hadn’t used the Clorox name…When I think of Clorox I think of bleach! Something I have to wear gloves to use can’t be green?”
Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/07/23/brands-matter-green-products#ixzz0v6HWrYBN
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UPS’s Green Shipping Program Goes Global
Posted on 06. Jul, 2010 by admin.
ATLANTA, GA — United Parcel Service is expanding its carbon neutral shipping program to 35 countries and territories in Europe, Asia and the Americas following the launch of the service last fall in the United States.
Under the program, shippers in the U.S. can offset the carbon footprint of their packages by paying a small fee that covers cost of the offsets, emissions calculation and administration: Five cents for a ground package, 20 cents for an air package and 75 cents for an international package. Outside the U.S., the flat fee varies slightly depending on the country of origin and the destination of the package and the service selected by the shipper.
Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/07/06/upss-green-shipping-program-goes-global#ixzz0svjM9dDr
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The Real Story Behind Some of the 10 ‘Greenest’ Brands
Posted on 14. Jun, 2010 by admin.
Yo
u probably would not think of corporate giants Clorox and Colgate-Palmolive as “green” companies. But they own two of top 10 “green” brands, at least in the eyes of consumers, according to new global survey of consumer perceptions by WPP, the giant marketing and communications firm.
Topping the list of U.S. brands is Burt’s Bees, which is a unit of Clorox — a fact that isn’t exactly trumpeted on Burt Bee’s extensive website. Instead, the company tells the story of how Roxanne Quinby started the company in rural Maine by making candles out of Burt Shavitz’s beeswax, after which they fell in love and moved into an abandoned schoolhouse to make more.
Her folksy little essay concludes: “The honey and candles are gone, the kids are grown, our friend sold the schoolhouse and now it’s a tattoo parlor, and Burt bought a classic motorcycle with his earnings, but otherwise everything’s pretty much the same here at Burt’s Bees.”
Well, yes, everything’s pretty much the same except that Burt and Roxanne split, she sold to 80 percent of the company to a private equity firm, which then sold it to Clorox, best known for its bleach, for $913 million in 2007.
Tom’s of Maine is No. 3 on the list. (Maine is obviously a green state, in the eyes of consumers.) Its marketing, too, features homey images from the company’s early years and talks about “putting the good of community and planet first.” Its toothpastes, mouthwashes, soaps and deodorants are all natural (no aluminum in the deodorant) and use environmentally friendly packaging.
Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/06/10/real-story-behind-some-10-greenest-brands#ixzz0qprkqme3
