Is throwing shoes at Bush green?

On the way to work, I heard the story about an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at George W. Bush. After wondering whether the Secret Service wrestled the offending shoes to ground (those of you who have seen Chevy's Chase's old SNL routines will get that one), I began to wonder...was that shoe throwing green?

Since the NPR story gave no information about the nature of the shoes, or what will happen to them now, I had to do some speculation.

Here's what I came up with...

1) If the shoes were worn out, and would otherwise have been thrown away, it was a creative form of re-use. So on that count, it could be considered GREEN.

2) If the shoes were purchased especially for the throwing event, and will be discarded and not worn afterwards, the act would have to be considered NOT GREEN.

3) However, if the shoes were purchased especially for the throwing at George Bush event, AND were manufactured and sold through a Fair Trade company, the shoe throwing could be considered green even IF they would not be used afterwards as footwear. GREEN

4) If the offending shoes will not be worn afterwards, but will be auctioned at a later date to buy humanitarian aid products or to support global warming research, they could be considered GREEN.

5) If the shoes were made from cruelty-free materials, especially if natural and organic fibers like hemp were used to make the shoes, they could score major GREEN points even if they were otherwise unworn and will be disposed of afterwards. Score double GREEN if they are biodegradable.

So here's the tally:

Leather shoes, made in an exploitative factory, bought especially for the "throwing shoes at George Bush" event, disposed of in a landfill afterwards, NOT GREEN.

Organic fiber shoes or worn out and ready to be thrown away shoes, made under supportive and fair working conditions by adults paid a livable wage, and either reused or sold at auction for a good cause afterwards, GREEN.

So tell me, Mr. unidentified male Iraqi journalist, are you green?

P.S. If the shoes in question were new Manolo Blahnik's or Jimmy Choo's, forget the everything above and send me the shoes!

Greener restaurants are here to stay

The November issue of Restaurants and Institutions featured an interview with Green restaurant expert Michael Oshman.

According to Oshman, the current economic problems in the restaurant industry and the economy at large are not likely to reverse or even slow the expansion of green practices in food service. The changes, he contends, are consumer driven and are coming from a real and growing concern for the earth and its resources. That hasn't dropped, and is in fact growing, as resources become more scarce and fears of global warming grow.



Even so, he noted that one of the biggest obstacles to green practices is a perception that's what's good for the earth cannot be good for business. That's a myth he would like to help dispel. In his blog, he also listed ways in which going green is actually good for a business.

Green advertising - Part 3

Advertising doesn't have to involve paper to be effective. Even if your market is not right for online marketing, there are ways to get something in a client's hands without adding to the glut of paper trash.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Print your message on something usable -- and re-usable

Whether it's a coffee mug, a water bottle or a t-shirt, reusable and durable products mean your message will be around a lot longer than on any print source. Plus when people use the mug at the office or wear the t-shirt to the park, they help spread your information at no additional cost to you! Try doing that with a mailer!

Offer branded products that help the environment

If your company is committed to a green message, spread the word by getting customers to spread wildflower seeds from a branded biodegradable seed packet. Or even better, offer recycled, soy ink paper embedded with the seeds. That way, all they have to do is stick it in a pot or garden and water. But the message before they plant is that your company cares about the earth. And when the flowers bloom, the message will be reinforced!

Make the paper reusable

Give your customers a punch card or stamp card they need to bring to your store or restaurant for discounts or specials. That will keep your name and message in front of the customer, AND keep the paper of multiple cards or mailings out of use and out of the landfill.

Green advertising - Part 2

In the last post, we talked about mailing frequency, paper type and inks. Now it's time to look at the mediums you're using for advertising.

Are your customers on-line?

A newsletter, weekly or monthly flyer or a catalog are all excellent ways to catch potential buyers' attention. But if a significant percentage of your shoppers or clients are web-savvy, you can provide the same advertising for less online. An e-mailed newsletter or flyer eliminates almost all paper use, cutting both waste and costs for your business -- a big plus in troubled times.

Of course, this might not work for all businesses or even for all customers within a business's client base. Some customers may not be net-savvy. Others may prefer a paper catalog or mailing. But offering the choice could reduce your costs and your un-green marketing.

Piggybacking your advertising

When little thought was given to green issues, putting a dozen separate inserts into a newspaper or magazine was common. Each of these papers was for a different company, and even though most ended up in the trash (or on the ground in front of the newspaper box), the ROI was good enough to make the cash outlay worthwhile.

Factoring in the green issues changes that. What are the costs to the earth for all those separate papers?

There is no doubt that paper inserts and mailers can be effective. But a concept called co-op advertising allows businesses to work with related but non-competing companies to make one paper into two ads.

Some example of good co-op advertising include a travel agency and a luggage store, a pet supply store and a dog training company, or perhaps a car repair shop and a gas station.

More tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Green advertising - Part 1

Have you ever thought about how green your marketing plan is -- or is not?

If you're committed to running a green company, one of the issues you have to consider is the environmental impact of your advertising. Some of the factors to consider are;

Frequency of mailings and the impact of those on your sales.

If a monthly mailing doesn't generate significant increases in sales, consider cutting back to every other month. That would mean half the paper use, half the transportation-based energy use, half the production energy use, and probably half the waste generated (a few consumers might recycle, which would reduce that waste.)

Look at the paper you're using

Are your catalogs, flyers, postcards and other paper marketing tools printed on recycled paper? Switching to recycled paper, especially if you have frequent mailers, inserts or offer large catalogs, could significantly reduce virgin paper use and slow down tree cutting. Even a few trees saved is better than none.

And what about the ink?

Many commercial inks contain heavy metals and other potentially toxic substances. When printed material ends up in landfills, those dangerous substances can leach out and contaminate soil or even group water supplies. Switching to a soy or vegetable ink eliminates that environmental hazard.

I'll give you more issues to consider in tomorrow's post. And then on Friday, I'll suggest some greener advertising choices that just might work for you -- and the earth.

Green Thanksgiving ideas to take home

Okay, so you don't celebrate Thanksgiving at work...I hope! But it's the big event on the radar this week, so I'm going to give you a few Thanksgiving tips for a greener holiday.

1) (And this is a business tip) Give employees the day after Thanksgiving off, if at all possible. Office businesses are typically very quiet the day after the holiday, so save some energy costs by keeping the lights off and letting employees stay off the highway.

2) Encourage employees to bring Thanksgiving leftovers to work as lunches next week by offering recipes or a post-holiday potluck celebration. How is this green? Meals eaten at work mean less time spent at drive-throughs, less packaging in the trash and less food waste.

3) At your dinner, try to minimize disposable flatware, glasses and plastic coated plates. If you use plastic, put a Sharpie next to the dishes and encourage everyone to write their name on cups to reduce waste.

4) Use washable and reusable containers for leftovers instead of zipper bags and other throw-aways.

5) When you're talking about what you're grateful for, be sure to include the earth, clean water and clean air.

Greening your cleaning products at work

It's amazing that most of us survive the workday.

Between the toxic off-gassing from carpets and plastic desks and the toxic cleaners, we are all getting more than our share of dangerous chemicals every day we're in the office.

Fortunately, there are alternative to the toxic soup in which we spend the majority of each weekday.

Green cleaning products have gone mainstream. There are now green choices for every kind of business, from tackling a greasy restaurant kitchen to cleaning office floors and carpets.

Leaving behind the furnishing and carpets (that will be another post), resources like the National Green Pages list dozens of sources for safer alternative to standard janitorial cleaning supplies.

Low cost, "homemade" choices also work well in the office. Using household products like white vinegar, baking soda, fruit oils and other safe alternatives allows your company to maintain a clean property, save the environment, protect employee health -- and best of all, save money at the same time!

With all those incentives, what company wouldn't want to go green?