Melodies in Marketing

ConsumerReports Claims EnergyStar Standards are Weak - After testing several manufacturer appliances certified under the U.S. EPA program, the magazine’s investigation found many had used more energy under normal use than the standard’s requirements. In response, the EPA said the article was misleading.
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Autodesk to Provide Environmental Software Tools - In a partnership with Sustainable Minds, the famous CAD software company will give customers the opportunity to analyze some life cycle aspects of design projects.
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Kraft Sponsors Packaging Collection Program for Terracycle - Interesting play of pseudo cause-related marketing.
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Office Depot Rewards Customers with Electronics Take-Back Program - In partnership with an electronics recycler, the U.S. office retailer allows customers to bring in a variety of small to medium sized products in exchange for gift card points. SLM further explains the background and vision in this compilation of articles.
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Capturing & Storing Carbon - A Quick Primer - The Guardian newspaper explains the three methods.
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Green Chemistry Going Mainstream Across Industries: Part I - Excellent article by the LA times. Quote: “the greening of chemistry is a slow shift, not a revolution. Most chemists lack basic training in understanding environmental hazards and seeking safer solutions, and many businesses resist changing familiar chemicals and manufacturing techniques.”
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Green Building Knowledge Certification for Realtors - In order to stimulate commercial and residential demand for greener buildings, the U.S. National Association of Realtors adds a new module to their training program.
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Xerox, DuPont, and Bosch join Eco-Patent Commons - These companies joined the consortium established by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, and add 53 patents.
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DuPont Expands BioMax Packaging Solutions for PLA Durability - One problem with PLA is that in high temperatures, the polymers can lose strength and break down. DuPont’s new offering aims to fix that.
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College Cafeteria Trays Going Bye Bye - Time magazine reports on various colleges doing away with cafeteria trays because of the amount of water they require to clean, in addition to the propensity of individuals to take a bit more food than they’ll actually eat, thus causing waste.
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Is Your Green Product Both Supply Chain and Consumer Friendly? - Steve Bishop of IDEO talks about the importance of designing a product not only for supply chain optimization, but also for consumer friendliness.
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Carbon Offset Recommendation List by Environmental Defense Fund - The majority of these offsets are deemed high-quality because they provide solutions that address capturing methane from landfills. Note that methane is a greenhouse gas 23x stronger than carbon dioxide.
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Dow’s Styrofoam-A Uses Carbon and Helps UK Home Builders Meet Environmental Codes - Nice application, but one wonders if this is in some way an internal product offset. After all, Chlorine is used to make polystyrene and in its production, dioxin (a very harmful carcinogen) is produced.
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Fashion Labels Can Do Better for Overseas Labor Wages - A report by Labour Behind the Label claims company procurement and social responsibility policies need serious progress because workers aren’t getting living wages. This despite some brands being members of the Ethical Trading Initiative.
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U.S. EPA to Improve Ocean Water Standards - Interesting bit from the Associated Press; after being sued by the National Resources Defense Council for failing to meet federally mandated improvements in 2006, the EPA recently settled the suit by agreeing to develop additional criteria by 2012 for ocean water testing. This aims to further protect beachgoers swimming in the ocean from more illnesses. The current standards were last updated in 1986.
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Chemical Legislation Developments in California - The state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control would implement a process by 2011 for identifying and evaluating chemicals in consumer products, in addition to a public database. Also certain PFCs (perfluorocarbons) will be banned from food packaging that is made or sold in California.
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Marketers Hold the Key to Sustainable Products - by Jaquelyn Ottman
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Greener Tires by Goodyear - Isopropene is key material in rubber tires and normally made from petro-chemicals. A biobased solution by Genencor in collaboration with Goodyear is in the works.
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Au Revoir!

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