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.”

AutoTrader.com gives consumers information on Cash for Clunkers legislation

Consumers who are confused about the recently passed Cash for Clunkers legislation can head to AutoTrader.com’s Cash for Clunkers page. Located within the site’s “Research & Compare” area (or accessed directly at http://www.autotrader.com/cash-for-clunkers.jsp), the page has all the information you need to understand this federal new-car-purchase incentive and will be updated regularly with new information as it becomes available. The Cash for Clunkers law offers vouchers of up to $4,500 when buyers trade older vehicles with lower estimated miles per gallon (MPG) and purchase new cars with a higher MPG. Voucher amounts vary based on the amount of MPG improvement between the older vehicle and the new one. In addition to the latest news about this law the AutoTrader.com Cash for Clunkers page features links to other areas within AutoTrader.com where consumers can learn more about fuel-efficient cars, look for inventory of fuel-efficient cars for sale and click through to other popular auto topics. “AutoTrader.com’s Research & Compare area is a one-stop shop where car shoppers can learn about cars and find inventory of the cars they’re researching,” said Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com president and CEO. The legislation should offer a variety of benefits to the auto industry and the environment by encouraging people to purchase new fuel-efficient cars and getting some less fuel-efficient cars off the road. “Shopping activity on our site proves that high gas prices are the primary element that drives interest in fuel efficient cars for the vast majority of car shoppers,” said Perry. “This incentive, coupled with gas prices that are back on the rise, could give a real boost to consumer interest in fuel-efficient and ‘green’ cars.”

When eco-friendly partners with dog-friendly….

Is your brand looking to connect with eco-friendly pet lovers? Poo Free Parks might have a solution. Poo Free Parks, a privately-held company that installs and maintains eco-friendly pet waste bags and dispensers, has announced an environmentally responsible, community-based program addressing the issue of dog waste in city parks and along waterways. The Poo Free Parks program will kick off in Denver with plans to expand to other markets including San Francisco and New York. Through an exclusive contract with the City and County of Denver, Poo Free Parks will install and maintain a minimum of 200 pet waste bag dispensers strategically placed in Denver City and County parks, at no cost to the taxpayer. The dispensers are made from 100 percent recyclable aluminum and the bags are 100 percent biodegradable, designed to biodegrade within 18 months. Maintenance crews will drive hybrid vehicles. According to Kevin Patterson, manager of Denver Parks and Recreation, “the service will be funded through cause marketing, aligning publicly minded businesses with a public need through an environmentally conscious effort.” Sponsorships, which help defray the costs for installation and maintenance, are available at the single park level, city quadrant level or the exclusive sponsorship level. “This program is truly a win-win situation all the way around. It’s good for the parks, the people, the planet and our cities,” says founder and president, Bill Airy, Poo Free Parks. “Pet waste can ruin an otherwise beautiful park, creating health hazards, an unsightly mess, not to mention the large amounts of plastic waste that accumulate.” The program addresses several important environmental and civic issues, says Airy: cleans up parks, waterways and walkways; improves water quality in our rivers, streams and lakes; reduces the amount of harmful plastics in our landfills and oceans; saves city and taxpayer dollars by delegating pet waste tasks to a private entity; and offers employment opportunities to at risk individuals from local rehabilitation networks.

Brooks Sports set to launch sustainable, high-performance running shoe

Brooks Sports, Inc. (www.brooksrunning.com) announced the upcoming launch of the Green Silence, a groundbreaking competition racing flat that boasts a sustainable element in each part of the shoe. Using soy-based inks, water-based adhesives, and recycled materials, Green Silence incorporates sustainability—without sacrificing performance—into every stitch of the shoe, which hits retail February 1, 2010.  In recent years, Brooks has declared its dedication to introducing more eco-friendly design and manufacturing practices as well as more sustainable materials. In 2008, Brooks launched its proprietary BioMoGo midsole, the world’s first biodegradable running shoe midsole that breaks down 50 times faster than traditional midsoles in an enclosed, active landfill. That same year, the company debuted a new shoebox, made of fully biodegradable, 100-percent recycled paperboard. The Green Silence represents another chapter in Brooks’ commitment to environmental responsibility.  “Brooks believes it can continue to lead the running industry when it comes to sustainability,” said Jim Weber, president and CEO of Brooks. “Our latest attempt was to create the most sustainable competition racing flat as technologically possible, without compromising the performance, durability, or aesthetic appeal of the shoe. The result is the Green Silence, which lights the path to bringing more eco-friendlier elements into our future core performance training shoes.” With direction from Future Concepts Manager Derek Campbell, Brooks spent three years researching sustainable materials and practices to build a shoe that would not only make an eco-statement, but would also successfully deliver the premium performance and durability expected from Brooks.  “We were told Brooks couldn’t build running shoes that feel great, perform great, look great, and support a healthier environment for years ahead,” said Campbell. “With Green Silence, we shattered that belief. We hope this shoe will serve as an inspiration to others in our industry and beyond.”  The running and broader footwear industries recently honored Brooks with public high-fives for the brand’s sustainability focus. In 2008, Brooks was awarded the 2008 International Green Award from Runner’s World, the 2008 Green Award from Footwear News, and the 2008 Sprout Award from Trail Runner.