Survey: Americans want to buy green, but lack knowledge in making meaningful choices

New results released from a national survey, one of four annual surveys conducted by the Shelton Group, show most Americans are trying to buy more green products, but many don’t have enough knowledge to make meaningful choices. When asked, “Which is the best product description to read on a label?” Americans chose “natural” over “organic.”

• “100% natural” — 31 percent
• “All natural ingredients” — 25 percent
• “100% organic” — 14 percent
• “Certified organic ingredients” — 12 percent

“Many consumers do not understand green terminology,” said Suzanne Shelton, whose firm, the Shelton Group, conducted the national survey. “They prefer the word ‘natural’ over the term ‘organic,’ thinking organic is more of an unregulated marketing buzzword that means the product is more expensive. In reality, the opposite is true: ‘Natural’ is the unregulated word. Organic foods must meet government standards to be certified as such.” The survey found most Americans (60 percent) are looking for greener products. “Green has officially gone mainstream,” Shelton said. “It’s no longer the stereotypical granola crunching tree huggers who want green products. It’s everyday Americans.”
But there’s a lot of confusion. When asked, “How do you know a product is green?” the top responses reflected the belief that it’s difficult to really know:

• Don’t know/Not sure — 22 percent
• Says so on the package/label — 20 percent
• Read label/Ingredients — 15 percent
• Environmentally safe/friendly — 13 percent

“People are uncertain what to trust, so there’s almost a ‘buyer beware’ attitude in the market, with consumers feeling they have to rely primarily on what they can read on the label,” Shelton said. “Consumers want a trusted source for accreditation, one that is simple to understand. “That’s why appliances with the ENERGY STAR® certificate are so attractive,” Shelton added. Trust is clearly an issue for consumers. The survey found they don’t exactly trust companies’ motives for going green. Asked, “Why do you think most companies that adopt environmentally-friendly practices do so?” one quarter of respondents chose “to make their company look better to the public” and only 7 percent chose “because their owners/shareholders care about the environment.” When asked what they would do if a company that makes one of their favorite products and had been advertising itself as green received a government fine for failing emissions standards or for polluting a nearby stream, 40 percent said they’d stop buying the product. More importantly, 36 percent would not only stop buying, they’d encourage friends not to buy the product. “This is a clear message to corporate America: Don’t ‘greenwash,’” Shelton said. “There’s more potential for backlash with a half-hearted green claim than there is for an increase in sales.”

Qwest Colorado offers employees monthly commuter discount program

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) and Qwest Communications have partnered to create a new monthly commuter discount program. Qwest is the first Colorado company to offer the FlexPass program, designed specifically for large companies that make pre-tax spending account options available to their employees. RTD’s FlexPass is a new product designed to offer employers an annual pass program that can be customized to meet the needs of the company and their employees. Key facts of the program:

• Qwest Denver-area employees who commute via RTD will receive a 10 percent discount when they purchase a monthly pass and sign up for the Qwest (pre-tax) Commuter Spending Account (CSA). The discounted monthly pass can be used either for bus or light rail transit.
• Qwest recently conducted a company-wide employee commuter survey that identified employees’ desire to save money and reduce their impact on the environment — more than 8,400 employees participated. Results from the survey were instrumental in helping Qwest and RTD reach this milestone.
• RTD estimates that U.S. greenhouse gases from transportation represent 33 percent of total U.S. emissions and that the average Denver work commuter saves about $9,078 a year by taking public transit.

“We are proud and excited to offer Qwest employees in the Denver area a commuter program which allows them to save twice – through pre-tax savings and a discount – while also supporting their individual sustainability efforts,” said Chuck Ward, Qwest Colorado president.

New wine combines organically grown grapes with green packaging

Organically grown grapes and the ultimate in green packaging have been combined in the development of CalNaturale, the newest product being introduced by cutting-edge manufacturer, California Natural Products (CNP) of Lathrop, CA. The company will bring CalNaturale Cabernet Sauvignon – a premium wine made with grapes grown organically in the Paso Robles Appellation and packaged in a flexible carton – to the marketplace in late summer 2009. CalNaturale becomes part of the organic wine category which saw an increase of 30% in 2008. CalNaturale will be sold in 500 ml and one liter prisma Tetra Pak cartons, offering two environmentally friendly choices to the consumer. While the liter prisma Tetra Pak is 19% lighter with 33% more wine than the traditional 750 ml glass bottle, the production and handling of the flexible packaging consumes less than half of the greenhouse gases, waste and energy than glass. In addition to producing a small carbon footprint, 70% of the packaging used with the product comes from renewable resources. These sustainability benefits have played a key role in the expansion of the number of wines now being sold in Tetra Pak flexible packaging, which grew 49% in 2008.

The Tetra Pak carton is lightweight, unbreakable and requires no special tools to open. The consumer will also find it portable, convenient and completely re-sealable. At the store level, case packs for CalNaturale will be smaller and lighter, requiring less energy to move and less space to stack than traditionally packaged wines. The CalNaturale 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is the first and only California wine packaged in a Tetra Pak carton from organically grown grapes certified by CCOF.

T-Mobile rewards consumers for making eco-friendly purchasing decisions

T-Mobile is rewarding consumers who make environmentally responsible purchasing decisions. The debut of Green Perks, a new mobile application that offers exclusive discounts on environmentally conscious products and services, brings customers green-oriented offers and promotions from T-Mobile Green Perks partners including Method, Jamba Juice, Volcom, Roxy and Quiksilver. The opt-in Green Perks application delivers electronic coupons (data plan required) directly to customers’ phones, which can be redeemed manually at store point-of-sale systems. Green Perks is the latest program under T-Mobile’s recently launched Mobilize™ initiative, which encompasses multiple products and services designed to help consumers who want to make more eco-friendly choices in their daily lives. “With mobile phones at the center of so many consumers’ lives, T-Mobile is continually exploring fun, useful tools and applications that enhance the lives of our customers,” said Ryan Butz, Director, Customer Marketing, T-Mobile. “Green Perks is our latest offering for customers who are concerned about managing and reducing their environmental impact. It builds on the work we are doing with the recent launch of the Moto W233 Renew phone, and our Green Account, which makes it easy for customers to reduce paper associated with their T-Mobile service.”

The Green Perks web portal allows partner companies to quickly and easily create coupons and promotions that consumers can access via the T-Mobile Green Perks application. Partner brands have control over offer timing and other details, but the offering must qualify as eco-friendly to be listed. Participating partners were hand-selected to take part in the program because they have product offerings that fit within the sustainable category. T-Mobile is working with large national retailers to create even more exclusive offers for 2009 back-to-school and holiday seasons.

Dapple takes its baby-safe cleaning products on the road

Dapple, makers of baby-safe, baby-specific household cleaning products, has kicked off a six-week road trip to safely clean kids’ messes across America! A team of Dapple reps left from the company’s NYC headquarters on June 29^th in a hybrid car stocked with free products and coupons, with the goal of visiting more than 50 kid-friendly stops throughout the U.S. – including daycares, summer camps, play centers, and more – to help them “clean green” with Dapple.  The road trip will cover the East Coast, South, Southwest, and Midwest. The Dapple team will drop off gift baskets of free Dapple products to local schools, camps, and other facilities, as well as stop at malls, parks, museums, and other family destinations to pass out samples of Dapple’s natural cleaning products, and coupons towards the purchase of Dapple at local area Babies”R”Us, Toys”R”Us, and HEB stores. A complete list of tour dates and cities is available at http://www.dapplebaby.com/road-trip.html.

“Safe, green cleaning is a must anywhere that babies and children live, learn, and play,” said Dana Rubinstein, Dapple co-founder and mother of three. “That’s why we’re on a mission to help day cares, kids’ gyms, and other facilities go green with Dapple, from New York to Texas to Chicago.”  The Dapple road trippers will be sharing their experiences on a regular basis through postings and video blogs at the Dapple blog, http://dapplebaby.blogspot.com/.

Campbell Soup honored for promoting a healthy workplace

Campbell Soup Company has been honored by the National Business Group on Health as one of the nation’s leading corporations for innovative programs promoting a healthy workplace and for helping its employees and their families to make better choices about their own health and well-being.  Campbell was among 63 employers that received the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award at the Joint Summit of the Institutes on Health Care Costs and Solutions & the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity. Campbell received a Platinum Award for its programs encouraging employees to “Take Charge and Invest in Their Health.” Platinum awards recognize companies that have established programs with measurable outcomes. This is the third year Campbell has received an award.  “We are extremely proud to be recognized for our commitment to providing a healthy workplace and to improving our employees’ health and well-being,” said Nancy Reardon, Chief Human Resources and Communications Officer, Campbell Soup Company. “Campbell has steadily increased its focus on health and wellness both in the marketplace with our healthy products and in the workplace with programs designed to improve the well being of all of our employees. This award is recognition of the hard work and investment we have made in our programs. Our focus on wellness demonstrates how Campbell brings its mission of ‘Together we will build the world’s most extraordinary food company by nourishing people’s lives everywhere, every day’ to life.”

Campbell offers a comprehensive, integrated approach to promoting healthy lifestyles through benefit design, worksite wellness and creating a culture of wellness. The company provides a broad range of services, including: medical decision support, traveling health station tours, Your Life Resources (a confidential service managed by Aetna to help employees and their families balance the demands of work, life and personal issues), an employee recognition award that rewards employees who have made and sustained healthy lifestyle choices, health risk appraisal, lifestyle management coaching, worksite wellness, smoking cessation, preventive care coverage, nurselines and disease management.

Target.com adds eco-friendly skincare line for teens

Glory for Girls® recently announced that its collection of eco-friendly beauty products will be available at Target.com starting this July. Glory for Girls is an exclusive skincare line that offers products made from natural and organic ingredients with the same iconic appeal as the top beauty brands. All of the Glory for Girls products are free of known potentially harmful ingredients, such as artificial colors or fragrances, petrochemicals, parabens, sulfates, phthalates and hormone disruptors. The 100% vegan formulas are clinically and allergy tested, biodegradable, and the packaging is made of recyclable plastics. All are made in the USA. “We’re excited about this launch on Target.com,” said Sara Stensaas, beauty buyer for Target.com. “It’s a great concept and they’re great products.” Glory for Girls bridges a gap in the marketplace by creating a new category in personal care and beauty. The line provides a real solution to teens and young adults with a healthy skincare alternative that can be easily incorporated into their daily routines. The natural scents and super effective products are fun, fresh and safe to use for girls of all ages. “With retailers like Target, that pride themselves on bringing high-fashion to the masses, Glory has the visibility and reach to address a growing market for girls as well as their mothers,” said Brittany Clotfelter, founder of Glory for Girls.

Mohawk Fine Papers on quest to help plant 16,000 trees

Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc. is sponsoring a tree planting drive with the Arbor Day Foundation. Beginning July 1, 2009 and ending December 31, 2010, Mohawk will host a fundraising event, in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation, to plant new trees in our nation’s forests. Donations can be made at the checkout of Mohawk’s new e-commerce site, Mohawkpaperstore.com. For every $1 contributed, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one new tree, and because Mohawk plans to match each dollar up to $8,000, two trees will then be planted for every dollar donated. This means that 16,000 trees could be planted during this time! Mohawk’s partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation is just one more example of its commitment to the environment and raising sustainability awareness. “Mohawk is excited about working with the Arbor Day Foundation to replant national forests that have been devastated by drought, disease, insects and wildfires. Replanting is essential to the health and quality of the forests. This need is critical in areas where natural re-growth is impossible or could take hundreds of years. Every tree planted will help to stabilize soils, reduce runoff, store carbon, sustain wildlife and restore the natural beauty of our nation’s forests for the benefit of future generations,” says Michelle Carpenter, Manager, Corporate Environmental Initiatives, Mohawk Fine Papers.

How green is your governor?

As part of Greenopia’s mission to keep consumers (and voters) informed on issues of eco-friendly importance, Greenopia recently released its findings from the Greenest Governors project that reveals which state governments are most dedicated to preserving the environment. The US Constitution preserves the notion that America is a federation of sovereign states and legal powers not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states. This means that Governors and state legislatures hold significant sway over state-based green initiatives and policies. “We looked at all 50 governors in the US and compared their policies, transparency, and interest group ratings and ranked them. It was a monumental task,” said Doug Mazeffa, Greenopia’s director of research. “Greenopia readers want to know which Governors are the eco-leaders, neutral or laggards, and especially identify those making repeated eco-gaffes.” Data for this study was collected from each governor’s own web pages and cross-checked against credible sites such as VoteSmart and OnTheIssues. Energy and emission data was collected from the Department of Energy and the environmental platform data for each political party was collected from either the DNC or RNC’s main site. “Over the past few years we have begun to see certain states emerging as environmental leaders,” remarked Gay Browne, Greenopia founder and CEO. “Those states enacting environmental laws stricter than federal guidelines have gone to greater lengths to protect the environment and to create more sustainable development, including green jobs.”

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi gets America growing with new initiative

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi has announced an innovative partnership with the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA). The program, Giving Through Growing, will support the development of community gardens across the country. Started on the first day of summer (June 21, 2009) and continuing until the end of the year, Giving Through Growing seeks to create awareness around the ever-growing community garden movement by donating funds to create educational sessions in four cities throughout the U.S. The Giving Through Growing microsite will post updates of the four selected cities, Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, sharing their garden successes and recipes for fresh garden-to-table meals. Supported by an online campaign, the program’s microsite will allow people to send “e-seeds” to friends and family. Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi will donate one dollar to the ACGA throughout the summer for every e-seed sent, to a total of $40,000. The inspiration for this program is Robert Mondavi himself who once said “This is my life, fine food, and fine wine bringing everyone together around the table.” The same philosophy holds true for community gardens, where neighbors work together to turn unused outdoor spaces into beautiful, bountiful ones. “The key to a successful community garden is education,” notes Bobby Wilson, President of the ACGA. “The Giving Through Growing program will help us teach folks skills to care for their gardens so the greening movement can continue to expand. We are proud to work with a partner that is as dedicated to this cause as we are.”