FairGreenTrade.com makes it easier for consumers to find green products

As more businesses and consumers continue to increase their demand for environmentally-friendly products and services, they are spending an inordinate amount of time simply trying to find these items.  FairGreenTrade.com (FGT) is here to help.  This new directory of “green” and “sustainable” offerings (from eco-tourism to energy saving devices to organic food) is now up and running.  FGT is designed to make finding green products or services easy for anyone, whether beginner or expert.  Simple and intuitive categories have been set up, and a vast amount of information is available to educate people about new products, events and initiatives. The FGT website acknowledges companies that advocate green ideals and sustainability from organic food manufacturers such as Stonyfield Yogurt and Amy’s Kitchen to their retailers like Giant Eagle and Kroger’s to large industrial manufacturers and retailers like GE and Home Depot.  “Putting together this powerful website has been very rewarding primarily because each business we deal with feels proud about their work towards helping the planet,” says Fairgreentrade.com CEO Jeff Weisberg, who will be attending this year’s Good And Green™-The Green Marketing Conference. “The businesses who are listing with us are overwhelmingly supportive of our unique non-political and non-agenda driven mission. We believe everyone wants to help make this world a better place.”   Free basic listings for businesses, as well as paid enhanced listings, are available on the FGT site.  Through aggressive marketing to consumers, businesses and associations, companies listing their products and services will be reaching a large portion of their target audience.  Companies are invited to go to www.fairgreentrade.com to take advantage of this offer. 

Green Car Journal announces “Top 5” best green vehicles for 2009

Green Car Journal’s Top 5 for 2009(TM) — the year’s best-of-the-best ‘green’ vehicles — have been identified by the magazine’s editors. These vehicles are the five finalists competing for the Green Car Journal’s 2009 Green Car of the Year(R) award:  the BMW 335d, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid, smart fortwo and Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The 2009 Green Car of the Year will be unveiled at a morning press conference on Nov. 20 during Press Days at the Los Angeles Auto Show.  The five models are important milestones for their manufacturers. The VW and BMW clean diesels are leading edge models signaling the advent of highly efficient, advanced diesel sedans that meet emissions certification in all 50 states. Ford’s Fusion Hybrid, a full hybrid, is this automaker’s first hybrid sedan. Saturn’s Vue 2-Mode is GM’s first application of its two-mode hybrid system in a V-6 front-drive platform. The smart fortwo is a new-for-the-U.S., fuel-efficient micro car with a small eco footprint.  “This is an exciting year for ‘green’ cars because of the many innovative and advanced models now emerging,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. “In fact, this year’s selection of nominees was more challenging than in years past because of the auto industry’s greater emphasis on greener vehicles and the number of potential vehicles to consider. For the first time, we’ve also seen a pair of clean diesels and a small gasoline model giving hybrids serious competition.”

UC Irvine Extension to offer online course in green marketing

UC Irvine Extension announces a new cutting-edge course, “Green Marketing: Winning Strategies for a New Era,” a new addition to the Certificate Program in Sustainability Leadership. This is one of the four core courses for the Certificate Program that puts UC Irvine at the forefront of education in sustainable business. Scheduled to start on Jan. 12, the course will run through March 29 and will be made available completely online.  The course will provide a survey of trends and an overview of concepts and techniques as they relate to marketing opportunities, marketing strategies and communicating effective marketing programs within the context of sustainability. Students will be challenged to critically analyze marketing strategies, plans and decisions. The students will also analyze the social shift that makes green marketing a key aspect of business strategy today.  “Most importantly, students will gain the mindset of a marketer, which is the ability to inquire into real needs of individuals and of society, and to serve them,” explains Barbara Manconi, president and CEO of Vert Brands. “The course is designed to introduce the framework for marketing management in light of the socio-economic, cultural and legislative changes related to sustainability.”  UC Irvine Extension’s goal is to offer its Certificate Program in Sustainability Leadership in a fully online format, catering to busy professionals across the United States who need to expand their knowledge of “green” initiatives. To learn more about UC Irvine’s Sustainability Leadership Certificate Program, please visit www.extension.uci.edu/sustainability. To register for the two new courses, call 949-824-5414 or e-mail sustainability@uci.edu.