Developing green products that sell

On Friday, I went after the glaring failures I see in the green product world. And since I'm a firm believer in never pointing out a problem without also offering a solution, here are some ideas for creating or sustaining a green product line.

1) Do your research! The Internet is an endless resource for research. Start there. Find out what people are looking for. Join forums and read blogs. See where the push is for greener products. A preliminary search a few days ago revealed lots of new moms looking for organic or natural baby clothes that don't cost a fortune (babies grow too fast!) but offer some protection from the harsh chemicals now used in most infant wear. Is the need met? From the number of posts, clearly not. Remember, successful green marketing is not about telling people that they need something, it's about finding out what they need in a green format and providing it.

2) Mind your price points. Just because a product is green, doesn't mean it should cost more. And it certainly doesn't mean it should cost a lot more!! Work to source your materials and processing with an eye on the final retail price. We're living in a shaky economy. If you want your products to sell, they have to offer value as well as a greener benefit.

3) Skip the shouting! Just because your product is green, doesn't mean it has to look different! People like pretty greeting cards on white or colored card stock, so forget the brown cards imprinted with faded earth tones. Soy and vegetable inks are available in a wide range of real colors, and recycled paper doesn't need to be brown or grey!

Of course the buyer should know it's green -- but that could be as simple as a tag or imprint. It doesn't need to be in their face. Make it work for ordinary shoppers, too. Cartoon characters on organic cotton bibs and t-shirts instead of tired "save the earth" slogans will sell more product and thus do more for the earth by replacing non-green items with similar images.

4) Start with the purpose. If the purpose of making and selling green products is simply to show the world what a mensch you are, by all means, continue making them obvious, different looking and elitist. But if the purpose is to help the planet and make a difference, focus on how you can take ordinary, popular items we all buy and use and make them safer, greener, more organic, less wasteful. Offer that, in a familiar look, functionality and cost level, and you will be on your way to a green business success.

Developing new green products

Just because a product is green, doesn't mean it's going to be in demand.

This might seem like a serious "Well duh" moment...but the basics of product development seem to have slipped out the window when it comes to green products and services. Instead of looking at what people want, identifying an unmet need or refining an existing in-demand product to make it greener and better, there has been a headlong leap into Never-Never Land where just because it's green, it should be made and by the way, money is no object. For potential buyers, I mean.

The result has been a glut of poorly thought out, overpriced products that quickly move from the feature shelves to the clearance bin. Some examples I've seen recently include:

Recycled paper notebooks directed at kids priced at $8.99 each, displayed within a foot or two of shelf after shelf of regular notebooks selling for less than a dollar each. To make matters worse, the recycled ones offered covers in shades of brown and subdued earth tones. The regular ones featured today's most popular movie, TV, cartoon and music images. Needless to say, three weeks later the recycled notebooks sat alone in a clearance bin with a still overly-hopeful $4.99 price tag.

Organic cotton t-shirts in a local discount chain store were featured at "only" $24.99. For a t-shirt. At a discount store. The non-organic counterparts sat only inches away at $6.99 each. And again, the images on the recycled ones were self-consciously "earthy", while the standard fare featured pithy sayings and fun popular culture images. Again, the former soon filled the clearance racks.

So what's going on here? What mistakes are being made?

1) The real focus in these products isn't on BEING green, but on looking green. Never mind that recycled paper could be used in notebooks that feature bright colors and popular characters. Or that t-shirts could be made of organic cotton and offer pithy sayings instead of "Look at me, I'm green" self-congratulatory announcements. These products aren't meeting a need -- they're attempting to use ordinary objects as political statements. Is that what consumers want? Apparently not!

2) The price points are out of line. People looking for green products, as well as those who will choose greener ones given equal choices, may be willing to pay a small premium for green. But when the green version is two, three or even four times as much as standard counterparts, the sell becomes difficult if not impossible. The cost/benefit ratio is just out of line, especially in a tight economy.

3) Little or no effort has been spent to research the realities of green shoppers. If any ordinary product was released with zero research on the willingness of potential shoppers to hand over their hard-earned cash in exchange for a product, the company making such a poor business decision would be ridiculed. Instead, certain so-called green manufacturers are lambasting the consumer for a failure to buy! And anti-green factions are lapping up the weak sales as "proof" that green is just a fad. Meanwhile, the consumer searches in vain for affordable, quality products that use a bit less, pollute a bit less, reuse a bit more.

Selling a green product is no excuse for forgetting the rules of supply and demand.

More Monday on the steps green product and service providers need to take to create sales success.

Don't give up on green

Your budget is so tight, it's screaming out in agony. You're looking for places to cut costs, and that new green initiative looks like it's a good place to do some trimming.

In reality, the green products and green practices are one of the last places you should look to for cuts!

Why? Here are a few good reasons from the business buzz...

Green is here to stay. In a world where population and energy use is on the rise due to increased industrialization and consumption in places like China and India, statements like "Save the earth" or "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" that used to sound like feel-good platitudes or tree-hugging ad slogans have become very real directives. If we are to survive as a planet and a species, changes in our throw-away mentality are a necessity. There just isn't enough to sustain us all given current practices. The changes will have to be made soon, and barring the invention of Star Trek-style replicators, will be permanent.

Green is in demand and that demand is growing. A recent survey of restaurant owners and operators showed that the green fad has become the green mandate. Customers and employees alike are insisting on safer, greener cleaning products, greener ingredients in the food and greener practices in the restaurants they frequent. And as spending slows, businesses can no longer afford to ignore that loud voice of the green consumer. If they want a share of that shrinking spending pool, they will have to provide a greener dining experience. That means more demand for everything from green soaps and disinfectants to green paper goods, dishes, and take out containers. Even job applications and labor law posters are showing up in green versions.

In the long run, green will cost less. As we shift from a more throw-away, wasteful economy to a green and aware one, the overall cost for green products will drop below that of more wasteful ones. That means more demand in that on-the-fence segment who wants a greener choice but will not (or cannot) pay a premium for it now. And the increased demand will further reduce the costs of products created using efficient practices and recycled "raw" materials. Getting in on the trend now means you'll be able to reap the benefits in the short and long run. Waiting until the shift is complete will be too late.

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!