Event - SB'14 San Diego | Sustainable Brands

This event will take place on June 2 - 5, 2014 in San Diego California.  Companies and non-profit organizations are finding success through better business models, smarter product design and collaborative partnerships that contribute to a regenerative economy. Meet the brand leaders who are re-imagining business solutions with breakthrough innovations that shift cultural norms and enhance stakeholder value. Sustainable Brands is the global network that brings these companies together.

Event - 2014 Cause Marketing Forum Conference: Crowdfunding and More!

This event will take place on May 28 and 29 at the JW Marriot in Chicago. There is only 9 weeks until the 2014 Cause Marketing Forum Conference (CMF2014), the only annual event where you'll find "your" people - those actively and passionately focused on strategic partnerships between company and cause.

Green Market Oracle's Gift Guide: A Summary of More Responsible Gifts

Are you someone with a green conscience looking for a last minute gift idea? Look no further than the Green Market Oracle's summary of green gift ideas that are sure to please everyone on your holiday list. These gifts are not only more environmentally responsible they also communicate something about your own ecological attitudes.

Here is a quick review of 18 gift recommendations as well as a dozen catalogs each full of green gift ideas.

How to Green Your Black Friday Shopping

Black Friday is a consumer spectacle that is rife with excess and waste. However, there are some easy ways that we can reduce our environmental impacts. Here are five simple tips from FatWallet that can help to make your black Friday more green.  

1. Recycled Products: Try to find products that that are made from recycled or biodegradable materials. For example, several book publishers now only print books made from recycled paper.

2. Energy Efficient Electronics: When buying appliances and electronic devices, check for items that are rechargeable or energy-efficient. Look for the Energy Star logo.

Infographic - Thanksgiving: Staying Within 100 Miles and Other Tips from Sustainable America

Green Consumer Day 2013

Green Consumer Day is an annual event that encourages more responsible purchasing, it is also a day that highlights the problem of consumerism. In 2013 this day is being celebrated on Saturday, the 28th of September.

A green consumer is someone who is concerned about the environment. They seek to purchase products with minimal environmental impacts. In the most general terms, Green Consumer Day asks people to assess the items they purchase in light of the energy used to create it and the waste it generates, both during and after manufacturing. Green Consumer Day not only asks people to consider how a product is made, other variables are also important like the materials used, how it is packaged and whether it is recyclable.

Webinar - How to Create an Effective Cause Marketing Program

This free webinar will take place on September 25, 2013, at 1:30 ET. It is intended for those who wish to tie their cause marketing promotions to real-world results (eg sales, traffic, loyalty, or engagement).

Join Anne Erhard, SVP, Cause Marketing at MSLGROUP, and Sandra Hijikata, March of Dimes Chief Revenue Officer, to explore cutting edge best practices for creating successful, mutually-beneficial cause marketing programs for retailers and consumer products that drive purchases and raise funds in this FREE webinar.

Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner John Deans Talks Campaign Strategy

In an interview with Brandchannel, Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner John Deans made it abundantly clear that there is a new highly effective approach that is taking businesses to task for their irresponsible practices. These Greenpeace campaigns are putting the extraordinary power of social media to work for the environment.

“We’re not your grandfather’s Greenpeace anymore," Deans told Brandchannel. "We’re part of a new, building movement with a new set of people who are social media denizens. Brands see it’s not going away and that Greenpeace is communicating directly with their customers."

Deans remarked about how quickly social media messages can be disseminated, “Social media tools have let Greenpeace latch on to the viral nature of online society – and find where people are in order to spark their interest.”

Greenpeace's Consumer Powered Pressure Campaigns

Greenpeace is waging very effective pressure campaigns that reach out directly to customers. Greenpeace encourages their supporters to take direct action and voice their concerns. Greenpeace has come a long way from their beginnings in the early 70s; in addition to protests and demonstrations, they are now using digital technologies to widely disseminate their message. Social media figures prominently in the Greenpeace strategy. These Greenpeace campaigns co-opt the brand message of the companies they are targeting.

Waitrose Bows to Greenpeace Pressure

In less than 2 weeks Greenpeace succeeded in getting UK supermarket Waitrose to rethink its partnership with Shell. The Greenpeace campaign targeted Waitros' stores in Shell gas stations because of the oil company’s plans to drill in the Arctic. This decision means Waitrose has shelved plans to expand on the number of  stores in Shell gas stations. Waitrose currently has two pilot stores and had planned on adding more in 2013. Yet again this underscores the power of consumer driven campaigns to influence the business practices of major brands.

Greenpeace's Consumer Powered Pressure Campaign Targets Levi's (Video)

Greenpeace activists in over 20 countries took to the streets, joined by over 175,000 people online, to demand Levi's make fashion without pollution. Despite hazardous chemicals being found in Levi's clothing items, and investigations revealing that Levi's suppliers in Mexico and elsewhere are releasing toxic chemicals into public waterways.

ZARA Mannequins Revolt! (Video)

As part of Greenpeace's global "Detox" campaign, more than 700 people, in over 80 cities, in 20 countries around the world protested, staged street theatre and conducted "mannequin" walk-outs to demand ZARA commit to eliminating the use of all hazardous chemicals throughout its supply chain. The participants, from Bangkok to Buenas Aires, also called on ZARA store managers to forward Greenpeace's Detox demands to their headquarters, after new research found traces of hazardous chemicals in ZARA clothing items, some of which can break down in the environment to become hormone-disrupting or even cancer-causing substances.

Why a Dozen Clothing Giants Have Bowed to Greenpeace

There are powerful financial incentives that drive corporations to agree to the demands of organizations like Greenpeace. The customers moral concerns can undermine sales and thus it is very directly impacts the bottom line. A dozen clothing brands have now accepted Greenpeace demands to detox and before this there were campaigns directed against KFC, Shell, Mattel and Lego. Through its “Toxic Threads: Under Wraps” report, Greenpeace spurred a global movement that is succeeding in detoxing some of the major players in the clothing industry.

At least twelve clothing companies have decided to heed Greenpeace demands and reduce their environmental impacts including Mango, Esprit, Nike, H&M, Adidas, Puma, M&S, C&A, Li-Ning, Zara and now Levi’s.

Levi's Bows to Greenpeace Pressure

After a mere 8 days of pressure from Greenpeace, Levi's has agreed to become more environmentally responsible. Greenpeace alleged that Levi’s suppliers are some of the worst water polluters in the Mexican textile industry. The denim behemoth has said it will stop polluting Mexico's rivers and the company further agreed to eliminate the release of all hazardous chemicals in its manufacturing process by 2020.

There have been a number of Greenpeace actions that have encouraged Levi's change of heart. Hundreds protested outside Levi’s shop fronts in 80 cities around the world and in one demonstration at Levi's headquarters in Mexico, Protesters covered the area in foam to symbolize the toxic effluents that Levi's released into the country's rivers.

Greenpeace Succeeds in Forcing Zara to Detox

Since 2011 Greenpeace has been asking Zara (a brand within the Inditex group) to eliminate hazardous chemicals from its clothing lines and supply chains. Late in 2012 Zara succumbed to pressure from Greenpeace and decided to address the issue of toxic pollution. Zara finally capitulated after Greenpeace launched an aggressive global campaign targeting the store.

Zara and the seven other brands in the Inditex group (Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe) is now publicly committed to eliminate all discharge of hazardous chemicals from its supply chain and products by 2020. Zara will immediately begin to phase out some of the worst offending chemicals like PFCs.

Ideal Bite's Green Tuesday Event

The Huffington Post recently reported on "Ideal Bite" which has a Green Tuesday event designed to help people "vote with their wallets"  Those participating in this Green Tuesday consumer event include the following 11 retailers:

Green Tuesday's Sustainable Consumerism

Green Tuesday is one of several ways people are trying to brand the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.  The Green Tuesday event was started on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 by a non-profit environmental group. This group and others are now advocating that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving be dedicated to "green" shopping activities. Green Tuesday encourages holiday shoppers to make “eco-minded” choices and seek out fair-trade, sustainable, and artisanal products.

Consumer Spending for a Greener World

It should be obvious that we cannot sustain our current trajectory of consumption. We simply cannot afford traditional consumerism. By putting their spending power to work on less environmentally harmful products and services, consumers can dramatically lessen their impacts on the Earth. To be green consumers we need to be more mindful of what we are purchasing and why.

Green Consumers

Consumers have tremendous power to improve our world. While buying less is always well advised, there are ways we can put consumer dollars to work to advance the green economy. Green shopping implies spending money on products that are less harmful to the environment. In the final analysis where we spend our money determines the type of world we create. When we make green purchases we are helping to build a more sustainable economy.

The Carrotmob Concept from Local Small Business to Global Campaign (Video)

Carrotmob Buys Coffee to Fight Climate Change (Video)