It’s Friday and frankly a week’s worth of “green” posts has me turning Linda Blair green (for you young folks, Linda Blair was the girl in the original Exorcist movie who became famous for her guacamole-colored projectile “emissions”). Suddenly, the fact that the Organic Trade Association is based in Greenfield, Mass. seems down right funny to me. Discovering that there is such a thing as organic leather from free-range cows strikes me as absolutely hilarious. I’m not making this up. Here’s what the Wall St. Journal reported yesterday:
Q Collection offers a chair made with leather from free-range cattle that is treated with vegetable dyes and isn’t processed with heavy metals. Organic Leather, a new company in Mill Valley, Calif., sells everything from bed headboards to leather bangle bracelets, made from the hides of wild animals or those raised to produce organic meat, says founder Rowan Gabrielle.
Okay, all silliness aside, the reason the WSJ is writing about this is that retailers, big and small, are seeking and finding competitive advantage by promoting products that are “green”, “organic”, “natural” and or “sustainable”. Here’s a bit more from the yesterday’s WSJ:
Consumer sales of organic fiber for things like clothes and linens totaled $160 million in 2005, up 44% from the previous year, according to the Organic Trade Association, an industry group based in Greenfield, Mass. Demand is being driven by retailers all over the country who are introducing or expanding lines of “green” or “eco-friendly” products. Demand is being driven by retailers all over the country who are introducing or expanding lines of “green” or “eco-friendly” products.
Williams-Sonoma Inc.’s Pottery Barn is rolling out a new line of duvets, sheets and towels made with organic cotton this spring. Furniture and textile designer Q Collection will soon introduce a line of organic bedding for children. Retailer Gaiam has even added organic cotton shower curtains to its product line.
And as long as consumer demand remains strong, retailers like William-Sonoma will continue to introduce and promote assorted “green” products. But what happens when demand slows as has already happened with hybrid cars? Will shareholders forgive the CEO’s who are pushing a greener agenda when earnings start to dip? Frankly, I don’t thing so. Maybe a few of the “green” mutual funds like the Green Century Funds, Winslow Green Growth Fund and Sierra Club Funds will cut those CEO’s some slack but don’t count on it. Would you invest in a mutual fund that promised green behavior over greenbacks? Probably not. You want both–green investing AND green returns.
This is the only way Marketing for Good will succeed in the long run. We must embrace the AND. We must find ways to grow the business AND save the planet. That’s one of the reasons I’m a big (RED) fan. Despite the incredibly flawed report on (RED) from AdAge, (RED) is on track to help marketers like Motorola and The Gap sell lots of product AND raise big money ($25 million is hardly chump change) to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. So car makers are free to build more hybrids AND make them more affordable. Clothing makers can choose to make their products from sustainable materials AND price them for maximum ROI. AND consumers can continue to make choices, electing to support companies that do good or not. AND before I leave green behind for a week or so, I will toast to all your good health tomorrow with some green beer. Cheers!