Naturalpath Media Blog

What happens when a socially responsible company sells to a large corporate conglomerate? How do loyal customers tell whether they have really sold out?

Well, a new certification scheme helps protect green company values by including social and environmental commitments in their articles of incorporation, according to the WorldWatch Institute.

B Lab, a nonprofit organization has developed a rating system of "Beneficial" or "B" Corporations that meet high standards of corporate social responsibility. To qualify, companies must amend their corporate governing documents to account for the interests of shareholders, employees, and the community as well as demonstrate their policies on the environment, philanthropy, diversity, and transparency.

A new survey found that three-quarters of Americans plan to be more environmentally responsible in 2008. About half of those polled said they would make a "green" New Year's resolution.

Two-thirds of Americans plan to cut their use of household chemicals, while 42 percent said they would take reusable fabric bags to the supermarket to reduce the use of plastic bags. The survey also found one-third of respondents felt guilty in recent years for not living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

The telephone survey was commissioned by marketing consultancy Tiller LLC and conducted by GfK Roper. The survey of 1,004 adults was conducted between December 7 and December 9. The margin for error is plus or minus 3.0 percent.

There's another green shopping site, Evo, which covers everything from food and clothes, to solar panels and household products. See MarketingVox report for details

Green awareness continues to grow, according to research from Intellitrends. The Intellitrends Study concluded that at least 60 percent of consumers have read a newspaper or magazine article on the topic. A significant percentage of consumers have also watched a TV program focusing on the environment. But the largest increase in green awareness was tied to growth in the number of consumers who have purchased green products, up from 22 percent in mid-2007 to 31 percent at the year end.

When asked about their future purchase behavior of products and services that are specifically “green” or environmentally friendly, 93 percent of U.S. consumers say they definitely or may purchase these products over others.

A new report by leading consulting firm McKinsey concludes the US could reduce up to 28 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions with only small technology innovations and at modest costs. Many of these "small step" reductions pay for themselves in lower energy bills, the report said, suggesting that people should take the reductions out of self interest, even if they are not driven by threats of climate change.

Rather than focus on sexy, big potential technology solutions, smaller steps could collectively produce significant and less risky returns. For example, modest changes in the lighting, heating and cooling of buildings would make a big difference collectively as well as make financial sense for the individual stakeholders.

Looks like the FTC finally woke up and smelled the green in green...geez, where have you been?

While the Green Market has been overheating with green wash claims (injurying the marketplace some allege by diluting the authenticity of all green claims), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the key federal consumer watchdog agency has been mute.

But the giant awakes, today. as finally, the FTC announced that it is accelerating review of its environmental marketing guidelines, Green Guides. These have not been revised since 1998 and yes the climate has changed.

The FTC will be holding public meetings or workshops on various green marketing topics. The first workshop, slated for Jan. 8, 2008, will address the marketing of carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Several recent studies confirm a dramatic acceleration of the green consumer trend. For example, BBMG, a marketing agency, conducted a November 2007 study concluding that US consumers increasingly aspire to do business with companies that are “environmentally friendly” and “socially responsible”. Moreover, a recent Edelman study concluded that consumers are not just talking, but taking action: 40% of US consumers are more involved in social causes than they were two years ago and expect their brands to do the same, and protecting the environment was the top issue that consumers cared about globally (92%).

TerraChoice's research teams investigated leading "big box" retail stores with instructions to "record every product-based environmental claim they observed." In all, the teams examined 1,018 consumer products bearing 1,753 environmental claims in the Spring of 07. Products ran the gamut from personal care to electronics. According to TerraChoice, of the thousand plus products examined, "all but one made claims that are either demonstrably false or that risk misleading intended audiences".