Selling Sustainability

Interesting post in The Guardian this week about steps businesses can–and should–be taking to promote sustainable behaviors:

Research shows that changing people’s habits through sheer force of persuasion is hard, especially if their surroundings stay the same.

Marketing campaigns can try to encourage people to live more sustainably, but “it’s entirely in the hands of the consumer whether they do or not,” says Lucy Shea, CEO of sustainable communications agency Futerra. “It rests entirely on the efficacy of that campaign, and often behavior change doesn’t result.”
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In the Spotlight: The Fayton EV

Who said sustainability can’t be fun?

Find out more about the equestrian-inspired Fayton concept car at Yanko Design.

Is There a Place for Big Business in Social Entrepreneurship?

Not all global businesses are headed by forward-thinking leaders like Unilever’s Paul Polman or Marks & Spencer’s Sir Stuart Rose. But within large corporations there are often senior executives who understand that a move toward social responsibility and sustainability is the way forward. At the Global Social Business Summit in Germany in 2010, delegates were predominately from the nonprofit sector, but there were also a number of people from major corporations looking for ways to adopt social business initiatives and apply them to their own businesses.
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Why Don Draper Is Toast

One of the biggest global TV hits of the past few years has been Mad Men—a program about the birth of consumerism in the traditional advertising world, which aired primarily on “traditional” media. Not only does the success of this show help to make the point that so-called traditional media is not yet dead, but it is also a great demonstration of the shift from a world of image to a world of reality.

The marketer’s job used to be about creating the best possible image for any product. No matter how divorced from the truth that image might have been.

Consider the signature “It’s toasted.” It sounds like the slogan for a delicious and nutritious food product. But the following exchange from the above-mentioned TV show reveals it is anything but:
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Sign of the Times: Electronic Junk

How much dead, obsolete, or simply unwanted electronic discards are lurking in basements, garages, and on shelves? In the Unites States alone, the  Environmental Protection Agency reports, consumers in 2010 owned 2.4 million tons of electronic stuff they no longer wanted.

Find out where more of the detritus of the Digital Age is landing these days, in Adweek.

Image credit: Creative Commons/ÇP@flickr.com (Curtis Palmer)

Trend for 2012: Halal Cosmetics

Organic and eco makeup will continue to gain ground in the coming year as more of us demand chemically clean cosmetics. Look also for the market for Halal cosmetics to expand. With the world’s Muslim population set to grow from 23 percent to 26 percent over the next two decades, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, this sector of the industry has nowhere to go but up. Abiding by many of the same values that govern eco cosmetics, Halal cosmetics boast high ratings in the cruelty-free and purity zones, so don’t be surprised to see health-conscious non-Muslims giving Halal a go as well.

 

This post was adapted from Euro RSCG Worldwide’s The Big Little Book of Nexts.

Will Ignoring Climate Change Make It Go Away?

Someone seems to have hit the “mute” button on the media’s coverage of climate change. The level of coverage declined roughly 20 percent in 2011 from 2010′s levels and nearly 42 percent from 2009′s peak, according to analysis of DailyClimate.org’s archive of global media.
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Trend for 2012: Branded Ecomania

Unless you’ve been sleeping in a Styrofoam bed, you’ve no doubt noticed ecomania taking a global hold on everything from how we travel to how we dress, to how we wash our faces. With so much concern for our environment, as well as a desire to not be wasteful in these uncertain economic times, look for more brands to jump on the green bandwagon as consumers continue to challenge companies to not only provide goods and services, but also to do good while doing it.
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In the Spotlight: Freshfully

Alabama is one of the least healthy states in the U.S. It’s ranked 46th out of 50 by the United Health Foundation and lags behind only Mississippi in terms of percentage of obese adults (32.3). Concerned by their state’s poor nutrition–and, in particular, by the lack of access to healthful, local foods–entrepreneurs Jen Barnett and Sam Brasseale have launched Freshfully, an online marketplace that gives Alabamians information about and access to better-for-you foods. The site offers an online grocery store, local food guides, and healthful recipes for preparing fresh foods. Check it out here.

 

LOCAL: A Documentary

With the rise of farmer’s markets and more and more chefs sourcing their ingredients from local farms, consumers are now able to meet and talk to the people who are growing their food.

LOCAL discusses the rise of the local food movement, the challenges of sourcing locally, and how it’s become a growing part of the Austin, Texas food scene.
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