Melodies in Marketing

Converging Pathways in Chemistry & Environmentalism - This must-read article by Chemical and Engineering News is very deep while also being approachable to the masses. It describes the major players and movements within these two seemingly opposing fields, recognizing some environmental nonprofits are working more with the chemical industries halfway. My opinion: International treaties and councils’ recommendations on specific chemical bans should not be set aside. Also, the article fails to mention an extremely important player: The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability.
. . .
Ethical Trading Initiative Launches Guidance for Retailers - The ETI is a 10-year old British alliance of companies, trade unions, charities and campaigning organizations that work together to improve working conditions in global supply chains. Their advice includes 6 C’s of ethical trade strategies, tips for integrating workers’ issues into their decisions, and a comprehensive education program.
. . .
Clorox GreenWorks Told to Adjust its Cleaning Power Claims - S.C. Johnson lodged a complaint with the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, saying that Clorox’s product claims are misleading. When looking at the claims in this article by ConsumerReports though, you’ll see that sure they’re a little vague, but essentially no different from longtime industry practice of comparing a product to a “leading all-purpose cleaner”. Clorox isn’t saying they’re better, but rather they’re ‘just as good’. Clorox said they’ll look into it and try and be a bit more specific.
. . .
Wal-Mart tells FTC to Refrain from Establishing Carbon Offset Guidelines - This article by Eoin O’Carroll explains it best. I agree, these issues are best left to the scientific community and appropriate regulatory agencies, namely the EPA. Once proper codes are established, then the FTC can step in and decide what is fair and just.
. . .
EPA to Launch Retail Specific Sustainability Portal - The American Retail Industry Leader’s Association (RILA), particularly their Retail Sustainability Initiative, has been working with the EPA for several months on establishing a website that would compile information, issues, and best practices on environmental sustainability and compliance.
. . .
Sustainability in Emerging Countries - Kumar Venkat, an environmental economist, recently visited India and saw that advanced countries topics of packaging reduction, recycling, carbon-footprints, and the like were largely absent in the larger public discussion. Instead, they are focused on primary issues like quality, cost, and convenience. Kumar recommends India, China, and other emerging countries make practical headway in three areas: Organized paper and plastic recycling, Biodiesel production from organic by-products and ‘wastes’, and small-scale solar energy systems that can be implemented by individuals and businesses across the country.
. . .
Los Angeles Launches Pilot Curbside Food-Waste Composting Program - About 5000 households will receive a small bin for table scraps. A 2002 survey by the city indicated 27% of waste from black bins (general trash) is from food & organic matter that can be composted. A larger effort would put this refuse to practical use while reducing landfill volume.
. . .
Number and Size of Ocean ‘Dead-Zones’ Increasing - These are areas off coastal areas, particularly at the mouths of rivers, that can’t support aquatic life. Some of these are natural, but many are caused by downstream runoff from agricultural fertilizers (esp. nitrogen) among other sources. The Gulf of Mexico by Louisiana is a notorious hot spot.
. . .
Research into Safer Plasticizers - While BPA is indeed a contentious chemical, another big one currently being studied is DEHP - a widely used plasticizer for making flexible PVC. This article looks into how researchers at McGill University are trying to make a safe alternative by reverse engineering the compound.
. . .
Major Playground Manufacturer is First to Eliminate PVC - A company by the name of Playworld Systems announced it will no longer use PVC in its manufacturing out of increasing public concern over the safety of kids, and their products’ end-of-life impact on the environment. They claim their move is better than simply offsetting negative externalities (reference to competitors), with planting trees. Good for them!
. . .
Report Highlights Junkmail’s Environmental Impact - The conservation group ForestEthics has compiled a report that outlines the greenhouse gas impact of American junk mail today, expressed in different metrics including 9.3 million cars, and 11 coal plants among others. ForestEthics is the sponsor of a do-not-mail registry for individuals to sign up for, of which 60,000 signatures have been collected as of March 08. While I support their cause, I sure hope they used good data inputs and measurements because complex products and life cycles require extensive analysis and scrutiny before extrapolation and reasonable estimates can be given.
. . .
BBC Panel Discussion on Sustainable Book Production - This podcast with the Green Press Initiative’s Tyson Miller and a British book publisher discuss some of the major issues around book publishing. While FSC certified paper and vegetable inks are great, the amount of books being published on recycled paper is quite small. When we consider the amount of books published but not sold, then being landfilled, my oh my do we have a resource that’s not being fully exploited to reduce virgin fiber production.
. . .
PulpWatch.org Brings Transparency to Paper Producers’ Operations - This website organized by some international NGOs, provides readers (target audience being paper purchasers) with Google maps and environmental/social impact information on paper and pulp companies’ operations worldwide. For more information, visit PulpWatch.org.
. . .
Corporate CSR Reporting Assurance Lagging - While I can’t attest to the accuracy of auditing firms’ data reports on the lack of quality assurance in CSR reporting, it wouldn’t surprise me since this is a nascent field. This brief article by Environmental Leader outlines the report’s findings and indicates the top three standards in use today.
. . .
Japan Launches Carbon Footprint Product Labeling Program - To be honest, the idea sounds nice…but we must ask ourselves if this extreme focus on carbon is getting out of hand. Methane is 25x worse than carbon. It’s unfair to science and math to place multiple variables in carbon-equivalents for simplicity sake to appease lawmakers and the public. Greenhouse gas emissions tracking and reporting is very important, no doubt about it. But sustainable industrial and consumer products need the absolute most comprehensive environmental impact assessment: A multi-attribute Life Cycle Assessment. GHG emissions are but one aspect of an exceptional LCA.
. . .
How to Pack Marketing Into Green Packaging - Pioneer and packaging expert JoAnn Hines gives a concise list of things to consider both in product design (of which packaging is an element), and in marketing communication on the packaging.
. . .
The Plastic Recycling Dilemma - From Fast Company magazine, this article sheds light on an obscure but very important question: How much plastic nicely tossed by citizens into their curbside recycling bin (If they have one; many apartment complexes and condominiums don’t), is actually being recycled? This can be quite frustrating…I don’t think I want to know the answer for my own activities.
. . .
ConAgra Foods to Use Recycled Plastic for Frozen Meal Trays - The huge packaged food company claims it is the nation’s first to do so, and that its use of nearly 30-40 percent post-consumer recycled plastic in its trays will reduce its virgin plastic use by 8 million pounds annually. Now available in stores.
. . .
Innovation in E-Waste Recycling - This article by the American Chemical Society, explores the important underlying issues involved in electronic waste and methods currently being pursued by Chinese researchers to more effectively separate printed circuit board particles for reuse.
. . .

~ Ciao

Share with: