Author: Drew Neisser

On Tuesday I said I’d dedicate this week’s posts to small success stories. Well, it’s Friday and I want to talk about Wal-Mart–so sue me. Why the sudden defection to the 800 pound gorilla of retail? Frankly, because it would take hundreds, maybe thousands of little green success stories to rival the potential impact of Wal-Mart’s most recent green initiative.

On their new microsite at WalMart.com/green, Wal-Mart offers up a section called “10 Things You Can Do to Save Money and Make a Difference” supported by three cute little videos. In each video, a Wal-Mart “customer” touts the collective power of 180 million Wal-Mart customers. One notes that if each Wal-Mart customer used one energy saving light bulb it would be the ecological equivalent of removing one million cars from the roads. That’s a lot of cars. Another describes how by buying 180 million organic pajamas, Wal-Mart customers could “stop over one million gallons of pesticides from going into the earth.” That’s a lot of pesticides. The third “customer” notes that every Wal-Mart shopper bought one package of concentrated Tide they could “cut out over 50 million pounds of packaging waste.” That’s a lot of waste.

The point is, Wal-Mart isn’t simply riding the green wave, they are basically creating their own tsunami. By promoting “earth-friendly products at budget friendly prices” Wal-Mart is making green accessible, affordable and ubiquitous.  This is Marketing for Good on a galactic scale.  They are making it easy for their customers to be a little green simply by substituting one everyday product for another.  At the same time, they are enlightening millions, 180 million to be precise, about the reasons to think green and buy green. Undoubtedly this effort will be good for Wal-Mart AND the world they share.

Learned about a growing clothing company called Under the Canopy from a fellow Dukie. He heard the founder, Marci Zaroff speak at an event he attended earlier this week. Here’s his report:

I went to the LVHRD EVNT BFLD GRN last night–and I thought of
Marketing for Good–Marci Zaroff gave an interesting talk because she was VERY honest–her whole pitch was “you don’t have to give up something to give something”–while this idea is a bit problematic it is a notion that could fall in line with contemporary western ideology–our culture does not want to compromise ‘the cool’ factor in order to go green– Zaroff accepted this truth and has begun to use it to her advantage–I was very impressed. (Thanks Victor.)

With that kind of build up, I expected to find an ultra-green website but instead found a rather understated e-retailing site that happened to sell clothes made from organic materials. In fact, other than the subhead “style. quality. organic.” you had to work to find the organic underpinnings of this brand. Here’s a brief look at their About Us section:

Under the Canopy® was born in 1996 with a mission to make a positive impact on the future of the planet, creating a product line that utilizes the Earth’s resources in an ecofriendly, sustainable manner.

A little more web research made the story complete. According to a very thorough article on That’s Crispy, Marci is moving organic clothes from hippy to hip which helps explain why her website emphasized fashion over fabric. Though this wouldn’t be the obvious marketing choice (most would want to shout out their greenness) given the realities of clothes buying, this is undoubtedly a wise approach–if the clothes don’t look good, no amount of greenness is going to move them off the virtual shelf. And though it took 11 years of trailblazing, Under the Canopy became profitable for the first time in 2006. That’s Crispy also reported that “Zaroff predicts $10 million in sales” in 2007. Marketing for Good applauds Zaroff’s dedication to making green clothes AND making them stylish enough that their greenness is essentially immaterial. This combination of product enhancements should yield a truly sustainable competitive advantage as the demand for organic clothes continues to rise.

One of the challenges of trying to go green either as a business or as a consumer is sourcing green energy that doesn’t break the bank. Seeing an opening in the marketplace, Green Mountain Energy has become the leader in this field providing “100% pollution free electricity.” In addition to providing green power in their local markets, Green Mountain also works with utilities across the country to deliver green power. In New York, for example, Green Mountain works with National Grid (a regional power company) to supply green energy. But here’s the rub, green costs extra green. According to Green Mountain’s website:

The price for Pollution Free electricity is 1.5 cents more per kWh, which amounts to an estimated premium of $9 more per month in addition to your National Grid charges for electricity, based on average usage of 571 kWh.

As we have seen in the hybrid car market, price is a factor–a strong factor. Just as most US consumers seem unwilling to pay a $3000 premium for a hybrid car (both the Accord and Escape hybrids are $3k higher than their “brown” brethren and aren’t selling particularly well) it is easy to predict that not all consumers will pay more for green energy. Fortunately for Green Mountain, enough consumers and businesses have put their green money where their green mouth is, shelling out the extra 1.5 cents per kilowatt. They have also done a good job covering all the green bases, selling carbon offsets along with residential and commercial energy:

Commercial Customers: Through our eMission Solutions division, Green Mountain is uniquely positioned to deliver innovative and cost effective carbon reduction solutions to commercial sector clients seeking to improve their environmental position. In addition to carbon offset/renewable energy credit products, Green Mountain offers a comprehensive suite of services including assistance with voluntary emissions and corporate sustainability reporting, green branding and marketing strategy, and carbon sequestration projects.

Individual Customers: The eMission Solutions division also offers individual consumers the ability to offset the carbon footprint from their household’s activities through BeGreen Carbon Offsets.

From a Marketing for Good standpoint, Green Mountain Energy has an enlightened positioning that gives it a clear competitive advantage versus its brown rivals.  Assuming it can figure out how to drive its costs down (or its competitor’s up), it will surely enjoy energetic growth for years to come.

I’ve decided to dedicate this week’s posts to little MFG success stories. I find them inspiring and instructive. Little companies tend to innovate because they really don’t have a choice. Little companies also don’t have to battle entrenched “same old, same old” behavior that inhibits innovation at larger companies. Little companies don’t need billions in sales per product category to move the needle since a few million can often represent double-digit growth.

So while yesterday I talked about worm poop, today I’m moving into the trash pile with a quick peak at a company called Recycline. Here’s what BRANDWEEK noted:

They say one person’s trash is another’s treasure, and that holds true with yogurt cups, as well. For the past five years, Recycline, makers of the Preserve brand of environmentally friendly consumer products, has partnered with Stonyfield Farm, a maker of organic yogurt, in a program that recycles used yogurt cups into Preserve toothbrushes, razors, even a new line of reusable and recyclable plates, cutlery and tumblers. The company also makes flavored toothpicks from sustainably harvested and locally grown white birch wood.

Recycline’s effort to turn yogurt cups into toothbrushes is absolutely brilliant. First of all, many cities like mine don’t recycle yogurt cups. My household alone probably consumes over 400 yogurt cups a year and has no choice but to let these used vessels clutter our landfills. According to the BRANDWEEK article, Recycline “has given new life to over 2 million Stonyfield farm cups.” That’s a lot of cups. In exchange for recycling their cups, Stonyfield promotes Recycline’s Preserve brand toothbrushes on their lids providing Recycline millions of “free” and highly-targeted impressions. Stonyfield, an organic brand, has a strong following among green fans who would be predisposed to using a recycled toothbrush. If you are Recycline, you couldn’t ask for a more targeted and cost-effective medium for their message.
Recyline’s commitment to the environment runs deep. A quick visit to their website provides a wealth of information on their efforts to be green and how other companies and individuals can do the same. I’m hard pressed to think of a more inspiring example of Marketing for Good.

NOTE: This week’s BRANDWEEK has a great special section called “Hearing the Eco” which reported on a number of enlightening green marketing initiatives.

Today’s AdAge has an interesting David versus Goliath story, in this case pitting a small purveyor of worm poop called TerraCycle versus gargantuan rival MiracleGro from Scott’s. According to AdAge:

Upstart organic plant-food brand TerraCycle has wriggled up in the past six years with no media spending, but with copious publicity that has landed it features on CBS Evening News, CNN, CNBC and many other outlets. It’s also gotten more than 3,000 schools and churches to collect empty plastic pop bottles and milk cartons, which are used to package its products, paying the institutions 5 cents apiece.

TerraCycle has taken a “grass roots” approach that has forced Scott’s to dig in and sue its worm-sized competitor for trade-dress infringement and false advertising. Undaunted, TerraCycle made hay with Scott’s suit, launching an amusing website called SuedbyScotts.com. Talking about turning lemons into lemonade, TerraCycle has a field day at Scott’s expense:

The site includes side-by-side comparisons of the companies’ CEOs. Mr. Szaky’s main perk: “Free worm poop.” Scotts Chairman-CEO Jim Hagedorn’s: “Personal use of company-owned aircraft valued at $555,465 last year.” The site also lists 81 other lawn-and-garden products that use green-and-yellow packaging like Miracle-Gro’s.

TerraCycle organic offering has grown dramatically over the last few years which has threatened Scott’s home turf. This story proves once again that even in markets dominated by huge players, a nimble upstart can make enroads with a clear point-of-difference (like worm poop!) and a well-crafted story:

Tiny TerraCycle has won distribution in such behemoths as Wal-Mart Stores, Home Depot, Target and CVS and, despite its size, is growing at a 300% compound annual rate, which Mr. Szaky believes is what’s really behind Scotts’ suit.

While Marketing for Good does not encourage marketers to seek lawsuits, as the cliche goes, every challenge comes with an opportunity. TerraCycle turned a lawsuit into an “underdog” campaign that is sure to capture the attention of the press, members of the green movement and lawn tenders near and far. Because of TerraCycle’s green foundation, they are in a strong position to win new fans for a product which is essential crap, worm crap that is. What a world!

Poker games aren’t typically the source for intellectual capital but given my sloppy play last night I’m thrilled I came away with anything. One of my buddies mentioned Thomas Friedman’s article from last Sunday’s New York Times magazine called “The Power of Green” as a must read. Hearing about it again on NPR this morning provided further confirmation this was an important piece and alerted me to the upcoming (4/21/07, 9pm) documentary featuring Friedman’s reporting on green technology called “Green: The New Red, White and Blue” on the Discovery Channel.

Okay, so what could be so interesting that it would trump the usual trash talk at a poker game? Well, first of all, Friedman frames the green debate as the means “to reknit America at home, reconnect America abroad and restore America to its natural place in the global order — as the beacon of progress, hope and inspiration.” Wow, that’s lofty stuff and it gets better:

Well, I want to rename “green.” I want to rename it geostrategic, geoeconomic, capitalistic and patriotic. I want to do that because I think that living, working, designing, manufacturing and projecting America in a green way can be the basis of a new unifying political movement for the 21st century. A redefined, broader and more muscular green ideology is not meant to trump the traditional Republican and Democratic agendas but rather to bridge them when it comes to addressing the three major issues facing every American today: jobs, temperature and terrorism.

Friedman’s suggests we need 50 green states to replace our divisive red and blue segmentation:

Because a new green ideology, properly defined, has the power to mobilize liberals and conservatives, evangelicals and atheists, big business and environmentalists around an agenda that can both pull us together and propel us forward. That’s why I say: We don’t just need the first black president. We need the first green president. We don’t just need the first woman president. We need the first environmental president. We don’t just need a president who has been toughened by years as a prisoner of war but a president who is tough enough to level with the American people about the profound economic, geopolitical and climate threats posed by our addiction to oil — and to offer a real plan to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

The article goes on to detail the history of petropolitics, the impact of China’s growing energy needs on the world, the rise of “green hawks” in the US military, how Wal-Mart among others is helping to reduce energy consumption and why the US needs a “Green New Deal” that supports clean power development. To wrap up this amazing piece, he concludes that this generation needs to step up:

An unusual situation like this calls for the ethic of stewardship. Stewardship is what parents do for their kids: think about the long term, so they can have a better future. It is much easier to get families to do that than whole societies, but that is our challenge. In many ways, our parents rose to such a challenge in World War II — when an entire generation mobilized to preserve our way of life. That is why they were called the Greatest Generation. Our kids will only call us the Greatest Generation if we rise to our challenge and become the Greenest Generation.

After reading such a profound and thorough piece, my commentary feels superficial at best. That said, I have no doubt that marketers can play a profound role to inspire the Greenest Generation with greener products, services and messaging.  A modern-day Joshua, Friedman has blown the horn–now it’s time for action.

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