Just how green is that little blue box?

For 10 years Tiffany's has embraced sustainability initiatives as part of their core values making them a sustainability leader in the jewelry industry. Tiffany's initiatives as discussed at the Arts & Cultural Initiative conference excerpted from NexusRadio 12/14/08

--till next week Restore, Refresh, Recycle, Renew

(Red) A Movement

Many of you may know about the (Red) program. It started as an idea and has turned into a movement with some major support through partnerships with a variety of businesses - Gap, Microsoft, Converse, Apple, Hallmark, Dell, Starbucks and many more. Project (Red) in depth from the Arts & Initiatives Conference in December 2005. (Podcast excerpt from NexusRadio 12/14/08)

--till next week Restore, Refresh, Recycle, Renew

Macy's 300 Million Hangers and Enviro Unfriendly bags

How Green is Your Closet? introduces podcasts to the mix. The next several blog entries will be podcast excerpts from a recent radio project.

Macy's estimates usage of 300 million plastic hangers each year. That is a lot of petroleum based, non-recyclable plastic going into landfills. Listen to Macy's dilemma and solution.

That big old red Macy's shopping bag might have been pretty but it sure wasn't environmentally friendly. That shiny ink blew it's carbon footprint right out of the water. Hear Macy's bag challenges and changes.

--till next week Restore, Refresh, Recycle and Renew

Beautiful Planet

More from the annual Initiatives in Arts and Culture conference in NYC where many fashion companies presented interesting information about what they are doing to 'green' their businesses. I will discuss some of these initiatives in a live radio segment of How Green is Your Closet? on Wednesday, December 17th and post the show in several podcasts over the next several weeks. This week I'd like to give props to Macy's for Beautiful Planet.

Macy's is hosting a shop-within-shop concept in the cosmetics area called Beautiful Planet with an online catalog as well. My colleague and I made a trek to the Herald Square location and we were quite pleased overall. Beautiful Planet brings together many environmentally friendly beauty brands: Terre d'Oc, Origins Organic, Care by Stella McCartney, Pangea Organics, Farmaesthetics, Burt's Bees and Organic Apoteke.

The shop is created with environmentally friendly materials including renewable bamboo, recycled post-industrial eco resin, recycled steel and aluminum, low VOC paint, rescued tree limbs and renewable coconut shell tiles using sustainable construction methods to install the shop as well.

Packaging and marketing materials are produced on recycled paper. On our visit we found an exceptional sales person staffing the shop. She was well-educated (self-study of pamphlets and talking to the brand reps) on each of the brands. She discussed each brand story with us, suggested some wonderful products for each of us and pointed out some nice gift options.

There is a nice article and a picture of the Paramus shop on nj.com for your viewing pleasure.

Macy's is a huge company with many opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint. This is a positive step in the plan and you will hear more about their plan next week on my podcast.

till next week -- Restore, Refresh, Recycle and Renew

Green: Sustainability, Significance and Style

I am just back from the annual Initiatives in Arts and Culture conference in NYC. The focus this year was on Green in the Fashion industry. There were a broad variety of speakers representing various aspects of the jewelry industry, textiles, retail, apparel design, cause marketing and creative capitalism.

Many topics were discussed from fair trade mining, to packing materials, to supply chain management, to plastic hangars and more. Speakers represented many levels of business from high end to mass market.

Several themes resonated among all the speakers and I think it is worth noting them here:
1. Green is not a Trend. It is a Movement. In many cases the customer is driving the Movement.
2. Sustainability in not only good for the Planet. It is good for Business.
3. Creativity in the design process can affect the results.

Recently, The Economist stated the new sustainability is to stay in business. In these tough economic times, many sustainability initiatives could go by the way side. It is important for companies and customers alike to repeat the mantra that Sustainability is Good for Business. Support companies that support sustainable initiatives.

Another "r" word came up as well - Repurpose. It is a good one to consider along with the rest of my sign off.

till next week -- Restore, Refresh, Recycle and Renew

Patagonia's Common Threads Program

Interested in taking responsibility for their garments at the end of their life, Patagonia launched the Commons Threads Program in 2005. Business Week provides an in-depth discussion of the program history and challenges in the November 2008 issue.

At the beginning of the program, customers were asked to return used Capilene undergarments to the stores. The polyester from the used garments was recycled into new "base layer" garments. The customer and production partner response was so positive that the program expanded to include organic cotton and polyester fleece.

While using recycled fibers adds to the cost of the end product, processing recycled fibers can be more energy efficient than using virgin fibers. For example, using recycled polyester reduces waste overall and yields a 76% reduction in energy use. The model fits in with Patagonia's belief that prosperity should not come at the expense of the environment. Their goal for Common Threads is to sell only recycled and recyclable products by 2010.

Described as a "closed loop system" or "cradle to cradle" design, the goal is to turn used items and waste material into new desirable goods. Popularized by William McDonough, the idea is inspiring, but the practice is far more difficult to attain. Patagonia needed more recycled product in the system. In order to get that, they had to partner with other apparel producers and a partnership with competitor REI and Timberland was born.

Nylon is one of the most challenging fibers. Patagonia uses nylon in 15-20% of their products. There is only one supplier of recyclable or recycled Nylon, Toray, in Japan. Toray can only supply spun yarn which is made from short fibers and is prone to pilling. In addition, they can't use older Patagonia garments in the process at all. Further they can only work with color dyes and finishes designed specifically for the process. So far, Patagonia has been able to create two lines of pants, one line of shorts and a limited edition bag using this process.

Next, Patagonia tried to move some product to polyester. Another Japanese supplier, Teijin, produces filament yarn from recycled uniforms, industrial waste and pop bottles. Polyester is not as abrasion resistant as nylon, so Patagonia has only been able to convert some nylon products to polyester.

Some new suppliers have entered the mix. Unifi produces high quality recycled nylon filament yarnt. Chain Yarn takes yarn waste from weavers and creates recycled yarns. Patagonia is working with both suppliers to test the products they can produce. Unfortunately, neither supplier takes used garments.

REI has partnered with MEC on a clothing take back program, but issues with sorting garments efficiently for various suppliers is holding up the process.

Patagonia's Common Threads program has raised the bar for garment producers. It has started the conversation and the exploration toward a greener industry. While Patagonia has made very positive steps, there is still a long way to go to acheive their goal. Thumbs up to Patagonia and their partners for persistence. I look forward the day the Common Threads Program achieves 100% success.

till next week --Restore, Refresh, Recycle and Renew

Green Grows

On November 12th, Brian Morrissey reports on a recent Yahoo study in AdWeek30. Yahoo commissioned an in person survey of fifteen hundred 18-54 year olds in Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon and Chicago. 3 out of 4 (or roughly 77%) respondents described themselves as "green" consumers.

57% reported making a "green" purchase in the last six months. Motives varied. 23% described themselves as "deeply committed" to the cause. Another 24% found purchasing green "trendy". Yahoo surmises, this 24% is derived from the younger demographic 18-34.

Overall the study found 5 consumer groups:
1. Deeply committed - 23% who are early adopters who are going green for the long haul. This group is mostly females over 35 who are more educated and likely to live in metropolitan areas. The best message for this group is "positive environmental impact".
2.Trendy - 24% who are going green to be cool. This is a younger and more ethnically diverse group who are motivated by the message "everyone else is doing it".
3.Practical - 13% are motivated by immediate health benefits or dollar savings. This demographic is generally more rural, over 45 with children.
4.Passive - 17% understand that green is important but don't see going green as their responsibility. It is more the responsibility of others. These are younger adults 25-34, more female, with children. They can be swayed if the benefits to their family are stressed.
5. Other - 23% who don't care about the environment or don't take any action.

Green purchases are most often made in cleaning and personal care product categories. Sustainability considerations are entering into larger purchase decisions as well, particularly in the automobile category. 71% reported interest in purchasing an environmentally friendly automobile.

Consumers reported using both online (68%) and offline (72%) sources for research. Traditional media, web portals and web search were mentioned most often. Company websites (20%) and blogs (21%) were also rans for research.

This is an interesting statistic. Word of mouth and peer to peer information are two of the most powerful purchasing motivators. Is it possible the geographic locations had something to do with these findings? Possible in LA and Chicago, but Portland is one of the "greenest" cities in the country and is very community oriented so I have to think both these factors come into play in purchasing decisions there.

Is it possible this is NOT true in the green category? Maybe the question is defining "green". Purchasing "green" products doesn't make one "green", especially when a percentage of those purchases are most likely made because being "green" is "trendy". Curiously, the "trendy" group is the one most likely to be affected by peer decisions and to use technology for their research. Maybe these are the ones using websites and blogs for research.

What can we take from this? There is a great deal of Green Awareness. 60% of respondents are buying green on a regular basis no matter what their motivation. 4 of the 5 consumer groups are open to a green marketing advertising message. Open to information, Awareness and Action are positive results for Green.

till next week --Restore, Refresh, Recycle and Renew