New Persuasion

Plastic Bags are a Waste

Inhabitat had a great post this morning about declining plastic bag usage in Ireland...

Ireland plastic bag usage drops dramatically after plastic bag taxes are instated!

With all the recent bans on plastic bags around the world, it’s natural to wonder just how effective all the bag banning will be. Instead of simply enacting laws to phase out plastic bags - which seems like a wishy-washy attempt at most, Ireland has implemented a tax-based incentive to cut plastic bag useage — and it seems to be working wonders. Between the government tax on bags, an effective advertising campaign, and public support, plastic bag usage has dropped 94% in a matter of weeks.

I am so glad to see some of the new things being done to decrease the use of plastic bags around the world!  I know what a huge problem they have caused and continue to cause to our environment, and can't wait to see the types of things we will do in the U.S. to make a difference for ourselves.

We Are Not the Only Ones...

I discovered a very surprising article released by BBC News recently regarding the obesity epidemic around the world (below):

Overweight 'top world's hungry'

There are now more overweight people across the world than hungry ones, according to experts.

US professor Barry Popkin said all countries - both rich and poor - had failed to address the obesity boom.

He told the International Association of Agricultural Economists the number of overweight people had topped 1bn, compared with 800m undernourished.

Speaking at an Australian conference, he said changing diets and people doing less physical exercise was the cause.

Professor Popkin, from the University of North Carolina, said that the change had happened quickly as obesity was rapidly spreading, while hunger was slowly declining among the world's 6.5bn population.

The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia with certain populations more susceptible than others Professor Tony Barnett, of Birmingham University

He told the conference at the Gold Coast convention centre near Brisbane: "Obesity is the norm globally and under nutrition, while still important in a few countries and in targeted populations in many others, is no longer the dominant disease."

He said the "burden of obesity", with its related illnesses, was also shifting from the rich to the poor, not only in urban but in rural areas around the world.

China typified the changes, with a major shift in diet from cereals to animal products and vegetable oils accompanied by a decline in physical work, more motorised transport and more television viewing, he added.

And he urged governments to begin to develop better strategies to combat the problem.

He said food prices could be used to manipulate people's diets and tilt them towards healthier options.

"For instance, if we charge money for every calorie of soft drink and fruit drink that was consumed, people would consume less of it. "If we subsidise fruit and vegetable production, people would consume more of it and we would have a healthier diet."

And University of Minnesota's Professor Benjamin Senauer, who has compared lifestyles in the US, which has high obesity rates with Japan, which has low rates, agreed.

"The average Japanese household spends almost a quarter of its income on food compared to under 14% in the US."

'Cheap food'

While a direct tax on food in the US to reduce obesity would not be politically acceptable, agricultural subsidies which resulted in cheap food could be reduced, he added.

But he said other factors, such as exercise, also played an important role.

"Japanese cities are based on efficient public transport and walking. The average American commutes to work, drives to the supermarket and does as little walking as possible."

Professor Tony Barnett, head of the diabetes and obesity group at Birmingham University, said: "It is becoming increasingly clear that the number of overweight outnumbers the malnourished.

"What is also clear is that this is not just happening in developed countries, the developing world also has serious problems.

"The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia with certain populations more susceptible than others. If we do not get to grips with this, problems associated with obesity, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are going to increase rapidly."

It is very shocking to know that although we see so much in the news about America when it comes to obesity and overweight citizens, other countries are having big problems too.  This is a serious problem with serious consequences to come...

Filter for Good

While doing some research this morning I came across a website representing a campaign called "Filter for Good."  According to the website,

Brita and Nalgene have partnered to present FilterForGood. Take the pledge to make a small change in your life that could be part of a big change nationwide.

If you're ready, take the pledge. Still not convinced? Learn the facts about why reducing bottled water waste is so important.

And, if you purchase a FilterForGood refillable bottle, you'll also be supporting the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to provide safe drinking water to 200 million people for the rest of their lives by 2027. For every FilterForGood refillable bottle purchased between August 10th and December 31st, 2007, a donation of $4, up to a maximum of $25,000, will be made to the Blue Planet Run Foundation.

This site offers some really great statistics about why bottled water waste is a concern and what we can do as individuals to help the big picture.  This shows that our society is aware of the environmental issues gaining media attention as well as ways in which we can make a difference.  I think that emphasis on the environment is only going to become more and more important over the upcoming decades-- especially because of the continuous coverage of the impact humans have on global warming.  It is good to know that companies are teaming up to give us options as consumers without taking away the convenience element that we love.

Free - A Rising Business Model

A couple years ago, I wrote about free.  And now that I'm finally catching up with my daily blog reading, I find that Chris Anderson of The Long Tail, is writing a book about free.  He's delving into the economics of free and how it can work in many different industries.  One quote - from an old Financial Times article - caught my eye:

"Never in history has so much innovation been offered to so many for so little. The world’s most exciting businesses – technology, transport, media, medicine and finance – are increasingly defined by the word “free”. Whereas WalMart, the world’s largest retailer, promises “everyday low prices”, entrepreneurs and ultra-competitive incumbents develop business models predicated on providing more for free. It is a difficult proposition to beat."

It is hard to beat free.  It's become part of our changing expectations.  We expect things to be free - especially when it comes to the Internet. 

How Big is Your FOODprint?

There was a great TreeHugger post last week about conflicting opinions and reducing your global economic footprint when it comes to food and meal habits.  Vegetarians often feel that they are doing the best possible job of reducing their global impact by avoiding all types of meat, but a study using the state of New York showed that this may not be true-- depending, of course, on where you live as well as other outside factors.

In New York, the diet combination with the smallest possible footprint includes portions of both dairy and meat products.  According to the post,

Cornell scientist Christian Peters is the lead author on the study showing that although a low-fat vegetarian diet has a much smaller footprint than a typical New Yorker, a little meat can go a long way in reducing the ecological footprint. By taking advantage of crop rotation and better land management strategies, grazing animals actually decrease the amount of land needed to obtain the same calories.

The recommended 'dose' for a sustainable small foodprint is to eat only about 2 oz cooked meat or eggs a day. A single serving of meat is often estimated to be about 3 oz, or the size of a deck of cards. (insert quick math calculation here) This, leaves you with eating about 2 servings of meat every 3 days.

It is great that someone took the time to research many different aspects of a person's ecological footprint and has calculated other options for people that love the taste and the health benefits of eating a diet which includes meat.  Americans are usually willing to make minor changes as opposed to major lifestyle alterations, and knowing that it's not necessary to completely cut out meat in order to do something good for our planet is a big step.  While we are becoming more aware of our surroundings and of the health of our planet, it is important to note that there is sometimes more than just one option to consider-- many of which are positive. 

Baby steps add up to big strides over time.

Firsts

Here at McGinn MS&L we find it important to keep track of the first time important things occur in our society.  These changes tell us a lot about things that may be surprising or even overdue, and are a great indication of where we stand.

Some recent firsts that are significantly important are:

Ø      On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world's first successful "test-tube" baby was born in Great Britain.

Ø      For the first time at least since World War II, there were more failed marriages than lasting ones at the 25-year mark: Slightly more than half of the men and women who got married in the late 1970s were separated or divorced -- or widowed -- before they reached their 25th anniversary.

Ø      The 2008 edition of “America’s Best Black Colleges” marks the first time U.S. News & World Report has released a stand-alone ranking of historically black colleges and universities.

Ø      John Edwards appeared in the first MySpace/ MTV candidate forum. The Democratic presidential hopeful was the first in a string of candidate dialogs planned by those two stalwarts of modern culture.

Ø      The number of violent crimes increased by a larger amount than expected last year, extending the first significant rise in murders and robberies in a dozen years.  Robberies surged by 7.2% and murders rose 1.8%.

Ø      The number of people living past 100 in England and Wales reached almost 9,000 last year for the first time ever.  The number of Centenarians had increased ninety-fold since 1911 when there were only 100 total in the country.

What does this all mean?  Well, advances in technology have made things like the "test-tube baby" and the record number of Centenarians possible.  It also is the main factor behind the MySpace/ MTV political influence which signals a huge shift in society and the things that we emphasize as a nation.  Technology is changing everything about our world and we are taking notice.  It's great to see that we are taking advantage of our ability to communicate to mass audiences and political leaders are taking the time to speak to these audiences-- young and old.

The rise in the number of murders and robberies could be because of a larger issue, such as Hurricane Katrina or the terrorist attacks on September 11th.  We are starting to realize that we should stop and enjoy life, and how important is really is to remember that everyone is an individual with their appreciation for the world around them.  This could be the reason for the record number of failed marriages as people begin to explore what they find most important in life.  We are encouraging individuality and uniqueness, as well as embracing positive changes such as the first edition of U.S. News and World Report releasing a ranking specifically for the nations Black Colleges and Universities.

As new firsts emerge and these changes continue to become an integral part of the way we live, it's important to just stop and take in these shifts before years go by and we never even realize they occurred.

The Green Umbrella Part 2 - Opportunities for Entrepreneurs

Dr. Karel J. Samsom, a specialist in environmental and sustainable entrepreneurship and author of Spirit of Entrepreneurship told Entrepreneur magazine that green business is “… a highly underrated opportunity for small business.”   

What are the opportunities for small businesses that want to “go green”?  Every industry, every hobby, every action can have a shade a green.  Broadly, green means either improving the planet or improving its people or both.  Any process, product or service that saves natural resources or re-uses these resources is considered green.  Any effort to help people live healthier lives is green.  The green umbrella also includes the growing field of social entrepreneurship – a business which sets out to solve a social problem while at the same time making money. 

Are people really buying green?  The answer is yes – although many green businesses find it helps to sell quality and price first, and green bona fides second.   Some 63 million American consumers are classified as LOHAS (those with “lifestyles of health and sustainability.”)  According to the Natural Marketing Institute, this means that they
“have a profound sense of environmental and social responsibility... these consumers are also the most likely of the segments to buy environmentally and socially responsible products.”  These are the customers who, according to Fast Company magazine, “…have proven themselves willing to spend up to an astounding 20% premium on clean, green products…”  Add to that another 38% of consumers who “are less resolute in their LOHAS attitudes, though still show moderate levels of related concern and select LOHAS behaviors (such as recycling, among others), and you have an incredible consumer base which at the very least open to green ideas and products.

So where are the best opportunities for entrepreneurs?  Here are five areas:

1.  Organic Products- We’ve all read about the exploding organics industry – There are organic cosmetics, toiletries, vodka, pasta, tea, waffles, peanut butter - but there is still tons of room for growth here particularly since, as Andrew Zolli wrote in Fast Company, “With two huge generations dominating American society--the baby boomers, who created the first draft of contemporary environmentalism, and the millennials, the most globally connected cohort in history--principles of conscious consumption will come to dominate the brandscape.”

• About 75% of shoppers buy organic products at least occasionally, up from 55% in 2000; 23% buy them at least once a week.  (Supermarket News, 8/27/07, subscription required)
• Organics are here to stay - Goldman Sacks snalyst Steven T. Kron said, "We believe that the recent surge that organic foods have experienced is not transient, but rather a sustainable shift in food consumption with ramifacations up and down the food chain."  (Associated Press, 7/13/07)
• Organic beer still represents less than 1% of U.S. beer sales, but those sales doubled to $19 million between 2003 and 2005 (last year figures available).  In 2005, organic beer ranked with coffee as the fastest-growing organic beverage.  (Reno Gazette Journal, 6/27/07, purchase required)
• U.S. organic food and beverage sales totaled nearly $17 billion in 2006, representing 3 percent of all retail sales of food, up from 2.5 percent in 2005 and 1.9 percent in 2003.  So though organic retail sales have grown between 20% and 24% each year since 1990, that’s still only 3% of the category.
• Organic-cotton production in the U.S. increased by 8%—and was up 7% in China, 25% in India, and 40% in Turkey—between 2004 and 2005, according to an April, 2006, Organic Exchange report that lists the top four producers. But demand for organic-cotton fibers by clothing makers increased 93% in the same period.  (Business Week, 9/27/06)
• U.S. sales of organic sheets and towels rose 38% to $20 million in 2005, while sales of organic mattresses and pillows increased 32% to $2 million. (Financial Times, 9/3/06)
• MediaPost reported that the $20 million organic chocolate category grew 57% last year, compared to a decline of 0.1% for conventional chocolates.

One example of an organic company is Eco Lips, which makes organic lip balm.  From Entrepreneur magazine: 

Placed “anyplace that has a cash register,” the product, which is made using solar  energy, is an easy sell to consumers who not only want to buy green, but also  want a quality product. “It's so inexpensive, and it's a gateway organic product-- people will try Eco Lips and maybe have such a good experience that they'll want  to try organic orange juice or organic cotton sheets,” says [Eco Lips co-founder  Steve] Shriver…

For more information, the Organic Trade Association runs HowToGoOrganic.com – a site “for anyone exploring how to transition to organic.”

2.   Trash – Thar’s gold in them there rubbish hills. According to the EPA, Americans generated some 245.7 million tons of garbage in 2005 (latest figures available.)  That’s 4.54 pounds of trash per person per day.  Here are some of the things we throw away:

• Americans currently dispose of 128 million cell phones a year, only 1% of which are diverted from landfills.  This does not include the 2 million tons of used electronics we also discard annually.
• A typical baby goes through around 5000 disposables during its diaper days; across the US, this adds up to an astonishing 20 billion each year, enough to cover a football field with a three-mile high pile.
• Each year, 3.5 billion wire hangers end up in U.S. landfills. (Reader's Digest, June, 2007)
• Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. (Illiinois Times, March 8, 2007)

If you can figure out new uses for a specific garbage item, you’ve got yourself a business.  Terracycle makes plant food from worm poop and packages it in recycled soda bottles.  One company, EVCO Research in Atlanta, uses scrap plastic beverage and water bottles to make water repellent coatings for cardboard boxes used for shipping fruit and meats. Chicago Cargo Bike and Trailer Co. makes bike trailers out of reclaimed materials.  ReCellular, Inc. collects, recycles and resells cell phones.  They process around 300,000 phones a month – which still leaves over 120 million phones in the trash. 

3.  Government– including Federal, State, County, and City levels.  How are governments an opportunity for small business?  Two ways:

a) Find out what your local government is doing re “green” – and craft a service to meet their needs. A good place to start is The SustainLane Government Knowledge Base – where, according to Shirl Kennedy at Resource Shelf, “You can read full documents submitted by urban planners and sustainability managers from across the country. Find out what cities, counties, and states are doing to improve their carbon footprints, quality of life and resource efficiency. Find the latest programs in urban ecology.”

b)  Create a service or a product that helps other local businesses comply with  environmental regulation/laws/ordinances that apply to them.  For instance,  San Francisco recently banned plastic bags – can you supply a biodegradable or  recycled or reusable alternative to retailers?

c) Take advantage of government grants and loans encouraging green practices. From the Wall Street Journal: “The government is also giving small businesses a spur to go green. Just as large companies receive government breaks for environmental-friendliness, the Department of Agriculture offers a Small Business Innovation Research Program that offers awards of $80,000 to $250,000 for using certain environmentally friendly practices in selling or processing wares. The Environmental Protection Agency gives grants to small businesses involved in environmental industries and initiatives. On a state level, New York awards  funds to small businesses that are involved in projects such as pollution prevention and recycling.”

RubberForm Recycled Products LLC, in Lockport, N.Y., recycles old rubber, such as tires, and turns it into new products.  The owners used federal, state and local funds (and private investments) to launch their business last year.

4.  The Green Lifestyle – As I said earlier, just about anything we do in our regular lives can be transformed or altered into a green state.  So if you examine your own life, you might come up with something you do everyday that could use a green element.  Do you use a lot of paper – how about making recycled paper?  It’s only left to your imagination.  Here are some of the small businesses created around the green lifestyle that may spur your thinking:

• Green Singles – find your perfect match in the environmental, vegetarian, or animal rights community…
• Vivavi – eco-friendly furniture and home design.
• Stay at a green hotel
• Save your money at a green bank – ShoreBank Pacific is the first commercial bank in the United States with a commitment to environmentally sustainable community development.
• Working Assets Funding Service issues a “socially responsible credit card.”
• Build and live in a green home.
• Memorial Ecosystems - Bury your loved one in a green cemetery.  From their website:  “Our main focus is to develop multi-functional memorial nature preserves that we create with the cooperation and assistance of non-profit organizations. Through becoming members of the preserve during life, and choosing burial in the preserve after, our clients leave a permanent legacy for their families, their communities and the natural world. We are committed to being the leaders in environmentally and socially responsible death care.”

5.  The Local Angle – Kemi Osukoya recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Many green consumers tend to see a small, local business as naturally more environmentally sound than a sprawling multinational. And small businesses can provide a personal touch that big ones can't -- which can be important when selling complicated eco-friendly wares.”

This type of local green businesses commits to the locale and the customers, and they promote the green life beyond what they sell.  These green local merchants are authentically green – they consciously use less energy, try to find local suppliers so their carbon footprint is smaller, and often live a green personal life.  As small businesses they owe nothing to shareholders or investors – which in the eyes of consumers, makes them more trustworthy.  Their payback? Loyal customers, a decent business, and the notion that they are doing good. 

Green Opportunities for Existing Small Businesses

For existing small businesses, going green can be anything from a wellness program for your employees to reducing your energy consumption to making a green (or greener) product to committing to a sustainable business model – a cradle to grave effort. 

If you’re looking into going “green” figure out what that means for you and what makes sense for your business.  You need to find what the Harvard Business Review called the– “shared value” – does your green effort create a “meaningful benefit for society that is also valuable to the business.”    If you sell office supplies, it probably doesn’t make sense for you to sponsor a program at a nursing home – maybe you could open a section or your store with sustainable supplies or solicit supply donations to a school in your area – or if you’re in a relatively affluent area – then a sister school.

The other thing small business owners should keep in mind is that they need to tell people about their green efforts –customers and suppliers and anyone else.  Local papers and local television news always like a good story.  Small Businesses can position themselves as part of a larger story about how local businesses in the area are trying to improve the planet in lots of different ways.  And don’t underestimate the value of blogs – write an article, offer an interview to a green blog – there are loads of them – here’s a good list to start and you can always look at their blog rolls for more:

Treehugger
WorldChanging
Clean Edge-The Clean Tech Marketing Authority
Ask Pablo – Sustainability Engineer
ecogeek
Green Trust Sustainability and Renewable Energy
Joel Makower
Lazy Environmentalist
Lime – Healthy Living with a Twist
Marketing Green
Organic Researcher
Envirolink Network – environmental resources
The Watt - energy news and discussion

I would also recommend these two books for an overview of green issues:

Shopping with a Conscience by Duncan Clark & Richie Unterberger
WorldChanging: A User’s Guide to the 21st Century, edited by Alex Steffen

Are We Bad Parents?

My best friend Kelly is a kindergarten teacher.  She has 29 children in her class.  Normally, she says that maybe 2 or 3 are disruptive, don't listen, and don't respond to threats.  This year, Kelly has 14 kids like that.  What's different?  Kelly thinks it's the fact that this is the first group of kids she's had born after September 11.  She speculates that this event affected parents so much that they never set limits, they never said no to their children.  (And here in the Washington area, 9/11 was followed by the sniper - which didn't help matters much.)

One of my sisters - she has six kids - once told me to never feel sorry for my children.  If you feel sorry for them, they got ya.  Over the years, I've come to think she's right - and now we have a nation of people feeling sorry for our kids because of scary incidents like 9/11 or the sniper. 

Which may explain the growing success of a book by psychologist David Walsh: No: Why Kids—of All Ages—Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It. Walsh says our kids are suffering from a discipline deficit disorder.  What I find fascinating about the book is that teaching professionals are pushing it.  From U.S. News & World Report:

In Minnesota, Walsh's home state, a "Say Yes to No" coalition of educators and PTA parents sent "tool kits" touting the book...to 2,500 principals before school began last week...School principals from Indiana, South Carolina, and several other states are getting set to work No into teacher training sessions.

Kelly told me that on her back to school night, she was firm with the parents about setting limits and saying no to their children.  Again, our teachers are telling parents how to behave.  When and how did we stop parenting?

The Green Umbrella Part 1 - Trends in Green

Green.  Sustainability.  Philanthropic.  Environmental.  Clean.  Natural.  Healthy.   Organic.  Conscious Capitalism.  Ethical Consumerism.  All these words define the movement of both consumers and companies to become socially responsible for their actions and their products or services.  The very heart of a business is changing – making a profit and striving for a healthier planet with healthier people are now bundled together.

Inc. magazine reported:

“…something seems different about our current green awakening. This time, the action is being driven as much by markets as morality. High oil prices, global warming, the sense that chemicals cause real harm and the earth's resources are indeed finite--these are not so much charitable causes to embrace as they are problems that entrepreneurs can solve.”

So how can I say with certainty that we’re on the brink of what Fast Company called Business 3.0?  Here are some trends to help small business owners decide how to incorporate “greenness” into their work.

1.  Customers are increasingly aware of environmental issues.

• The 2007 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey found “one-third of Americans (32%) report heightened interest in the environment compared to a year ago. In addition, they are overwhelmingly looking to companies to act: 93% of Americans believe companies have a responsibility to help preserve the environment. … Most Americans report they are also making efforts in their personal lives to intentionally reduce their impact on the environment, including:  Conserving energy- 93%, Recycling- 89%, Conserving water- 86%, Telling family/friends about environmental issues- 70%.”
• The 2007 ImagePower® Green Brands Survey indicated a “shift in the U.S.'s collective consciousness -- green is no longer an issue marginalized to fanatical environmentalists; nearly all Americans display green attitudes and behaviors versus a year ago…When asked what their perceptions were of green brands, respondents said they are often seen as better quality, though at a higher cost. This perception of green equating premium is one that makes good business sense for anyone considering entering the space. The good news for Whole Foods, Toyota and Sub-Zero (ranked among the greenest of the green) is that even non-users are more likely to use green brands and consider them the next time they make a purchase.”
• A national survey by GfK Custom Research North America showed that “…individual Americans view U.S. citizens and corporations as behind the rest of the world when it comes to taking action to protect the environment…” Kathy Sheehan, Senior vice-President for Gfk Roper Consulting said, "This reflects the overall 'consumer awakening' trend we are seeing today, in which action is historically preceded by acknowledgement of an issue resulting in a need for change" 
• About half of employed adults (52%) think their company should do more to be environmentally friendly. (Adecco Survey, 4/10/07)

2.  Customers are increasingly drawn to businesses/products/services that are green, organic, natural, clean, sustainable – you get the idea.

“The fact is that in today's society all business functions must understand social and environmental impacts and work towards reducing or improving them.
Diana Verde Nieto, “Marketing and CSR”, psfk, 11/27/06

• According to a recent Priceline.com survey, “…an overwhelming majority (72%) of travelers want rental car companies to offer economical, environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles powered by both gasoline and electricity. A similar majority (71%) of the 764 priceline.com customers who answered the survey said they would rent a hybrid and almost half (48%) said they would be willing to pay a premium for their "green" rental.
• “If a thrifty 99-cent four-pack of store-brand bars represents one end of the spectrum, the Zum Bar represents the other: it sells itself on far more than a banal promise of getting you clean. The Lemongrass variety, for example, aims to please the eye (yellow with swirls of green), nose (''bright, fresh, tangy and herby'') and skin (especially oily skin, in this case). And like all the Zum varieties, it pledges ingredient correctness: no synthetics, just natural stuff like goat's milk, glycerin and vegetable oils. There are apparently plenty of buyers who demand all this from a soap and will pay more than $5 a bar to get it: Indigo Wild, which makes Zum, now distributes its soaps and other aromatherapy products in 2,000 stores, including Whole Foods. Ten years ago, the founder, Emily Voth, was selling at a Kansas City farmer's market; now she has a 25,000-square-foot facility and dozens of employees.”  (The New York Times Sunday Magazine, 12/3/06)
• The Organic Trade Association says that organic retail sales in the United States have grown between 20% and 24% each year since 1990.  U.S. organic food sales totaled nearly $17 billion in 2006, representing approximately 3 percent of all retail sales of food and beverages…Organic foods’ share of total food sales is up from 1.9 percent in 2003 and approximately 2.5 percent in 2005. According to survey results, sales of organic foods grew by 22.1 percent in 2006 to reach $16.9 billion. Sales in 2005 were $13.831 billion.
• Green building is forecast to grow from a $7.4 billion market last year to $38 billion in 2010, according to the National Association of Home Builders. (Business Week Small Biz, Summer 2006)
• According to research from ACNielsen's LabelTrends™, [In 2006] products with antioxidants, fiber, no preservatives and organic claims all grew by 10% or more versus last year. Other characteristics with solid growth in the 5% and 10% range include lactose-free, gluten-free, whole grain, natural, and omega content.
• MediaPost reported that the $20 million organic chocolate category grew 57% last year, compared to a decline of 0.1% for convention chocolates.
• Water [considered a healthy drink], together with other nonfizzy drinks, accounted for 90 percent of the growth of the entire beverage industry between 2002 and 2005. By the end of the decade, they are expected to outsell soda.  (The New York Times, 5/27/07)
• General Electric Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said his "green" ecomagination unit is on track to "blow away" its 2010 sales target of $20 billion as demand for environmental products and services surges. After two years in operation, ecomagination has a backlog of orders worth $50 billion for products like wind turbines, aircraft engines and energy conservation technology. Last year, it had sales of $12 billion. (Reuters, 5/25/07)
• Organic-cotton production in the U.S. increased by 8%—and was up 7% in China, 25% in India, and 40% in Turkey—between 2004 and 2005, according to an April, 2006, Organic Exchange report that lists the top four producers. But demand for organic-cotton fibers by clothing makers increased 93% in the same period.  (Business Week, 9/27/06)
• Hybrid car sales soared to more than 200,000 in 2005, up from roughly 9,000 in 2002.  (hybridcars.com)
  • U.S. sales of organic sheets and towels rose 38% to $20 million in 2005, while sales of organic mattresses and pillows increased 32% to $2 million. (Financial Times, 9/3/06)
• Membership in the environmentally-base Sierra Club us up by roughly 33% in four years to almost 800,000 according to Newsweek.
• In the 1980’s some 50,000 manual lawnmowers were sold in the U.S.  In 2002, that number had increased to 250,000, and last year that number was up to 350,000.  (Estimates from American Lawn Mower Co., Associated Press, 5/28/07)

3.  Local Governments are forcing green issues all over the country:

• Plastic Bags - For the first time, non-biodegradable plastic bags are banned in large grocery stores by a local ordinance in San Francisco.  (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/28/07)
• Trans Fat - In 2007, New York became the first municipality to officially ban trans fats.  (MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, 1/3/07)  Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Maryland have also banned trans fat.  The only state to enact legislation is New Jersey, whose bill requires school cafeterias to reduce the purchase and consumption of foods containing trans fats.  (Washington Post, 5/16/07)
• The Incandescent Light Bulb – from Ban the Bulb blog : “South Carolina is attempting to follow the lead of Australia and the European Union by enforcing the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs…Other U.S. states are also considering similar legislation. In New Jersey, there's a bill to replace all the bulbs in government buildings, and similar proposals have been introduced in California, Connecticut, North Carolina and Rhode Island.”
• The Bottle in Bottled Water – This year, Americans will drink more than 30 billion single-serving bottles of water (The New York Times Sunday Magazine, 5/27/07).  According to The Container Recycling Institute -  California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon,  and Vermont all have existing bottle deposit laws.  But some of these states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York) did not anticipate the phenomenal growth of bottled water and are now attempting to update their legislation.  And many additional states (Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia)  are considering similar laws.

4.  Personal and Professional Investors are Going Green

One sure way to know that clean or sustainable or environmental or just plain green businesses are here to stay is to see where both professional and personal investors are putting their money.

Venture Capital

One venture capitalist told Entrepreneur magazine:

“We look at all kinds of energy and environmental technologies…But it's different than the '70s and '80s boom in environmental cleanup technologies: Today, these are proactive technologies, not reactive.”
Venture Capitalist David Kirkpatrick, Managing Director, SJF Ventures, Durham, NC

• Venture capitalists invested $1.2 billion in green businesses in 2006. That’s twice as much as they invested in 2005… (Venture Capitalist John Doerr, Speech, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 4/5/07)
• Venture capital firms invested $958 million in renewable energy companies in the first half of 2006 alone. (Inc., 11/06)
• Sharp growth in the number of VC firms specializing in seeding green businesses or adding a green component to their funds:  Global Environment Fund, SJF Ventures, Rockport Capital Partners, SAIL Venture Partners, Cleantech Venture Network, Nth Power, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, 3i, Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Socially Responsible Investments

“There is a dramatic increase in the number of investment managers looking at their investments in a different way than they have previously,”
Mark Tulay, Director, Institutional Shareholder Services, Rockville, MD

• Socially responsible investing options have exploded the last few years:  Nearly $2.3 trillion was held in socially responsible accounts used by individuals and institutions at the end of 2005, up from $639 billion in 1995 and outpacing growth in total assets invested.  (The Washington Post, 5/13/07)
• Socially Responsible Investment Firms have multiplied too –  Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management (with some 110 green mutual funds and more),  Social Investment Forum, Social Funds, Calvert, Domini Social Investments, Pax World Funds, Citizens Funds, CalPERS, Ceres, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Sierra Club Mutual Funds
• Even some mainstream financial institutions have factored in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into their investment processes – UBS, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Smith Barney, JP Morgan Chase (Value., "Mainstreaming Socially Responsible Investment,"Feb/Mar 2006)

5.  The Green Business Infrastructure is Growing
Education, Entrepreneurial Communities and Conferences have all been affected by our environmental awakening. 

“MBA courses on topics such as social entrepreneurship have exploded in the past few years”
Rich Leimsider, Senior Associate, Aspen Institute Business and Society Program 

Green MBAs:

• Student interest in sustainability issues is skyrocketing… five years ago, [The Aspen Institute Business and Society Program] site received a few hundred visits a month from prospective MBA students researching social-emphasis courses at various schools. Now there are 15,000 to 20,000 visits a month.  (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/5/07)
• New College of California – offers a Socially Responsible and Ecologically Sustainable MBA Program
• Dominican University of California – has a Green MBA program
• The Bainbridge Graduate Institute, Washington State – from website:  BGI's pioneering MBA and Certificate programs prepare diverse leaders to build enterprises that are economically successful, socially responsible and environmentally sustainable.
• Presidio School of Management, Presidio World College, San Francisco -  has an MBA program in Sustainable Management
• Green Mountain College, Vermont -  “…charged into the world of online education with two innovative master's programs, both catering to the needs of working professionals. One is an MBA in sustainable business. The other is a Master of Science in Environmental Studies…” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/5/07)
• Case Western Reserve, Northwestern, Stanford, the University of Michigan and George Washington University all have concentrations in sustainable enterprise. Yale School of Management has offered a joint degree -- an M.B.A. and Master of Environmental Management -- in conjunction with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies for more than 25 years.”  (The New York Times, 1/8/06)
• "The Stanford Graduate School of Business, ranked No. 1 in the 2005 Aspen report, introduced a joint degree program for MBA students in environment and resources in April. Another initiative teams the business and engineering school for a course in which students use concepts from both disciplines to solve problems. This year, one project involved developing a safe, cheap and easy-to-power LED light for people who don't have electricity, an alternative to dangerous and relatively expensive kerosene lamps."  (Associated Press, 9/23/07)

Entrepreneur Communities that focus on Green Issues and Social Responsibility:

• Center for Sustainable Innovation 
• Center for Small Business and the Environment 
• E2: Environmental Entrepreneurs 
• Entrepreneurs for Sustainability 
• Business for Social Responsibility
• Small Business Majority
• Ashoka
• New Voice of Business
• Global Environment and Technology Foundation

Green Conferences:

• Co-op America’s Green Business Conference – from website:  “Roll up your sleeves and get ready to bite into the green business revolution at this hands-on conference.  Learn from your peers in this value-packed three-day event as you discuss the many ways to build your business and a prosperous sustainable economy ...”
• National Association of Home Builders, National Green Building Conference - 'Greening the American Dream' 
• Green Power Conferences – from website:  “Green Power Conferences was established in 2003 by a team of professional, environmentally aware event experts. We have since welcomed over 4000 delegates from 76 countries, built a global database of 110,000+ contacts and gained an unparalleled reputation in the industry.”
• The Green Power Network’s (Dept. of Energy) National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference – “The purpose of the National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference is to review the status of green power marketing in electricity markets and to explore strategies to increase the development of renewable energy resources through customer choice. Conference organizers include the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Center for Resource Solutions.”
• EPA’s one stop shop for planning a green conference – This is a bit different from a conference about green business - this site can help you plan any kind of meeting while minimizing negative impacts on the environment.

Resources/Further Reading

Joel Makower on “Ten Reasons why the Greening of Business will be an issue for years to come”

Greenbiz.com - From energy-saving basics to in-depth analysis on green business in exporting and manufacturing, this Web site aims to bring environmentally-friendly practices to main-stream small businesses.

National Association of Home Builders -  Green Building

U.S. EPA site - Energy Star/Small Business – free support for small facility energy saving

National Small Business Association – Going Green tips

A shorter version of this post first appeared in August on Anita Campbell's Small Business Trends Blog

Next week:  Part 2 - Green Business Opportunities

Luxury in the Dorm

This past weekend I had the occasion to visit a dorm at George Washington University.  I hadn't been in a dorm in years and was shocked at how nice it was.  Each room in this particular dorm had its own kitchenette and bathroom.  Some rooms have their own washer and dryer.  Apparently, this is the norm.  When I was in college we were crammed into tiny rooms with no amenities and  sharing a bathroom with 6 other girls was the norm.  We shared the laundry room with the entire dorm. 

Apparently, today's college students have grown up with certain standards and aren't going to lower them just because they are in college and away from the comforts of home.  In fact, they expect those comforts to follow them there.  When deciding where to go to college, dorms and dining halls play as much a part as do the classes and football team.

A recent article in the LA Times studied this trend:

Back-to-school shoppers will spend $5.4 billion this year, a figure that has nearly doubled since 2003, according to the National Retail Federation. On average, about $1,500 of that will come from each freshman gearing up for life in a residence hall that is nicer than most parents  ever imagined.

The trend toward the four-star dorm is a convergence of several factors: a generation of
students who have grown up sharing neither the bedroom nor the bathroom with siblings, parents who are accustomed to high tuition costs and don't object to paying a few hundred more per month for better accommodations, and universities competing for enrollment and using posh new residence halls as marketing tools.

Callaway Villas, in College Station next to Texas A&M, is a gated ACC complex of three-story town houses plus a 16,000-square-foot clubhouse, a resort-style pool, basketball courts, a sand volleyball court and shuffleboard. Living units have faux-hardwood floors, ceiling fans and, for those light sleepers, white-noise generators.

Another trend that I find amazing is that more and more schools are furnishing dorms with
double beds!  An article in today's Washington Post explains:

University officials hoping to keep students on campus and compete with off-campus housing are trying new room designs and all manner of amenities to appeal to the millennial generation, especially those seeking the comforts of home while in school. Some have given single rooms to students not used to sharing. Others have offered maid service and microwaves. Now they're giving them a larger space on which to lay their heads.
At AU, the move toward double beds came after complaints by students that the twins were too small and too childish, said Rick Treter, director of residence life. When a dorm designed with suites of larger single bedrooms was built, the double beds were the ticket.

I think this is just another trend showing that luxury really is everywhere in society.  Gen Y
students have grown up expecting certain things and living quarters are no exception. They are not willing to compromise and expect college dorms to be no different than what they are used to.  Colleges have taken notice and in order to attract the best students, have outfitted dorms accordingly.  I can only imagine what they will think of next.

The Importance of Home

Ikea's latest advertising campaign features the tagline "Home is the most important place in the world...it's a place where holidays are celebrated, where friends and family meet to celebrate life's happiest moments."  They conducted a survey and found that:

     94 percent of us say home is the most important place in the world.   

The IKEA campaign goes on to say:

     IKEA believes that homes are not just made of bricks and mortar with four walls.  Home is an emotion - a feeling of security, safety, comfort, peace, about being yourself and being together with your loved ones. Home is the place where memories are made, relationships are built, where children and families grow together. IKEA believes that regardless of where you live or who you are, home is the most important place in the world.

This is a trend we've been seeing a lot of here at New Persuasion.  Over the past several years, and maybe because of 9/11, people are investing more money in their homes and spending more and  more time there. 

• In the U.S., about 2 million children are being homeschooled today, and that number is growing 7 to 15% each year.
• In 1992, 2 million Americans worked from home. Today, there are 24 million working from home.
• Ten years ago, four million women with young children were working outside the home. Today, that number is down to about three million.
• The average size of an American home has grown from 983 square feet in 1950 to 2,349 square feet in 2006.
• 17.5% of Adults currently engage in what the Census Bureau calls “cooking for fun."
• Movie attendance is down as people instead watch more movies from home.

What we used to have to leave home to do we can now easily do in the comforts of our own homes. We like the security and predictability of our own homes.  We have designed them to our  likes and dislikes and want to enjoy them.  There is so much chaos in the world outside of our homes that we will do what we can to avoid that chaos by staying home.   Anything that can add to the luxury and comfort of home will surely be a success.

Skip work, make babies

In case you missed it, yesterday was a quasi-national holiday in Russia yesterday. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Wednesday as a national holiday for conceiving children.  Putin is concerned about Russia's declining population -- it's been dropping by 700,000 people a year.

Nine months from now, on June 12, is Russia Day, Russia's independence day.   Prizes such as cars and electronics will be given to couples who give birth on this day.

This is just the latest effort countries with declining populations have made in an effort to reverse the trend.  Between now and 2050, 51 nations will lose population.  These countries include Germany, Italy, Japan, and Poland.  In the meantime, 9 countries will be responsible for more than 50% of the world's growth.  The United States is the only one of these nine that is not in Africa or Asia.

How does this affect us?  Well, if these trends continue, industrialized countries will soon be overtaken in numbers by devoloping and third world countries.   The balance of power in the world will shift from countries like England and Japan to countries like Ethiopia and Uganda.  These countries are known for poor education rates, poverty and high rates of childhood illness.  We will have fewer resources to help these countries and ourselves.   

No Car Day

Yesterday I found myself sitting in traffic wondering what the road would look like without cars on it.  This morning I found this article which made me think that maybe I am a tiny bit psychic after all.

On September 22nd, the first annual "No Car Day" will debut in over 100 cities in China as traffic is reduced and the number of private vehicles on the road shrinks.  Residents will have to find new ways to get around-- especially in Shanghai where one-third of the city's cars will be off the roads. 

The fact that the cost of driving in China continues to go up but people are still finding ways to afford vehicles tells us a lot about society.  The above article mentioned that the practice of auctioning license plates was initiated to limit the number of vehicles in Shanghai, but that the number of cars on the road keeps increasing.  I could never imagine paying $6,200 for a license plate.  People are becoming so accustomed to driving long distances for small things that it becomes a complete inconvenience to go without a car for even a few days in today's world.  I live in an area that has so much to offer locally but still find myself behind the wheel each day.

China has been in the news so much lately and is at the top of the charts for poor air quality and pollution problems.  The emphasis on our environment and on global warming has created awareness and makes events like the No Car Day possible.  I think this is great but I'm wondering how much of a difference one day will make.  It's definitely better than nothing and I'm a fan of baby steps.

Supporting the competition

It is very rare that a company encourages a customer to support a competitor.  However, upon reading this recent email in my inbox, I found Yahoo Photos to be doing just that.

"Dear Yahoo! Photos user,

"For some time now, we've supported two great photo sharing services: Yahoo! Photos and Flickr. But even good things come to an end, and we've decided to close Yahoo! Photos to focus all our efforts on Flickr — the award-winning photo sharing community that TIME Magazine has called "completely addictive."

Until then, we are offering you the opportunity to move to another photo sharing service (Flickr, KODAK Gallery, Shutterfly, Snapfish, or Photobucket). We're making the transfer real simple, and with a couple clicks we'll automatically move your photos to Flickr or wherever you want them. You can also download your original-resolution photos back to your computer, or buy an archive CD from our featured partner (for users of the New Yahoo! Photos only). All you need to do is tell us what to do with your photos before we close, after which any photos remaining on Yahoo! Photos will be deleted and no longer accessible.

I am a Snapfish user and had actually forgotten I had old photos in my Yahoo Photos account.   My first reaction was dread.  I assumed Yahoo would make transferring to Flickr easier since they also own them but transferring anywhere else would be a hassle, time-consuming and difficult.  I put the transfer off for a few days and then transferred them to Snapfish.  And, guess what? It was easy and really did only take a few clicks of the mouse to transfer everything.  What a novel idea- a company putting a consumer's time and interests above their own product and bottom line.

Yahoo got it.  When they decided to shut down their Photos section, they probably knew they would lose customers but to them it was better to concentrate on one product (Flickr) and do it right, rather than be spread too thin and lessen the quality of the products.  So even though I don't use Flickr, I still support Yahoo and their efforts.  And who knows, I may even give Flickr a try sometime.

Pollution Scares Me!

I was shocked by an article Science Daily released today regarding a huge number of human deaths around the world.  The article claims that "about 40 percent of deaths worldwide are caused by water, air and soil pollution." 

Other points specifically mentioned include:

• "Nearly half the world's people are crowded into urban areas, often without adequate sanitation, and are exposed to epidemics of suc