As I read up on Treehugger's blog I came across a very interesting article about their 2010 most sustainable companies list. Called the Best of Green, this list is the second annual list by them displaying who the top sustainable companies are in various categories including fashion, automotive and culture. The first annual best sustainable companies list was in 2009 and only included input from the editors on Treehugger. This year is different as Treehugger asked the public to come up with the companies who will make the list (of course with added input from Treehugger editors). After selecting a master list of companies they are now asking people to go in and vote to see who truly makes the list. I like this idea of consumer generated lists not only because I recently did a project on a similar idea, but that a listy generated by consumers will be done so in the mind of the consumer. here are so many lists out there that boast top sustainable companies, but they all differ from each other because they re done so with different motives. But what is the real reason these lists are created? For the better knowledge of the consumer. So what better way to make a list that is actually relevant then have it created by the people who it is made for? I believe this list will be one of the more reliable lists to come out because of the manner in which it is created.
I have been hearing a lot about Sun Chip's new biodegradable bag and wanted to look more into it. At first I didn't believe this claim at all, calling BS and green washing the instant I saw their first ad. But as I looked more into it, they might actually be on to something here. Hell, they even have an ad on treehugger's blog, and they wouldn't allow for green washing there. Here is some of the stuff I found on Sun Chip's (possibly) revolutionary bag.
The bag, which is apparently made up of plants, is supposed to completely breakdown in 14 weeks. That is very impressive, at least a hell of a lot better than what we currently got. Now this doesn't mean that a bag tossed on the side of the highway will disappear in 14 weeks. The bag must be placed in a warm, compost pile in order to breakdown in the said time. On their site, Sun Chips has links to a ton of info on how they tested the bag and came up with the idea. Also notable is the plant they make the bags in. Solar powered and filled with Eco-goodness any sustainable follower would enjoy.
The only issue I had withtheir site was the pictures in the background. Each page had some group of twenty-somethings standing on a hill during a sunset. Yeah, I'm an ad major, but it looks a little too cliche, especially for such an interesting twist to an old product. If there is any green washing that I could find it was in these pictures. Lets be real here, it's not like they came up with a way to rid our need of oil or completely reduce their carbon footprint, they just made a bag that will disappear in a few months. But, when all is said and done, Sun Chips is taking some good steps here. Who knows, maybe every company will have to incorporate some form of biodegradability in their bags in the near future. Sure would make for some cleaner highways.
Imagine you wake up tomorrow, quit your job, and go back to school to learn about sustainability. Think that's crazy? Many people think that it might be the smartest move they will make for their career. Today, more than ever, the demand for sustainable knowledge is huge, and soon jobs in this field will boom. To meet this demand, Universities across the country are adding various sustainability to their curriculum. One of these schools is Harvard University who has seen an increase of demand for sustainability by 70% in two years. Also among the Universities noted is U.C. Berkeley in California. Here, students can earn a certificate noting their knowledge and work for sustainability. If a student completes four courses at the university, they will earn this certificate during their graduation. What an interesting way for them to stand apart from other job applicants entering this field of expertise.
As more and more people demand sustainability classes Universities will have to reach this level of demand. Even in spite of the recession, classes like sustainable design and electrical utility are gaining momentum on campuses across the nation. I believe this is due to the fact that people are really starting to catch on to this sustainable movement. What once was simply a concern among few has now become an issue that must be addressed. Another huge impact on the demand for these classes is the vast amount of job opportunities there will be in this field in the near future. I posted earlier this month about the large increase in jobs in the Midwest due to the sustainable movement. It wont be long until the rest of the nation boasts similar prospects. The question is will you be ready to answer and make a difference?
As an excited and eager, soon-to-be audience member of the 2010 Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge, I have been reading up on the upcoming bands and news surrounding the event. As I was reading over the various links and tabs to chose my next destination of informational exploration I came across their "Green" section. Many know that festivals are a great place to promote eco-friendly behavior because most of the participants are well aware of the topic. But what Sasquatch is doing this year is beyond noticable, it's simply amazing.
Esurance, the main sponsor of the event has incorporated sustainable measures in previous years at the festival including a carpool service and awareness booths throughout. But this year they are taking it to the next level. Here are some of the many sustainable things that they are boasting for this year's festival:
- Certified carbon neutral by Carbon Harmony - 100% Wind Powered - 125% of greenhouse gases will be offset by Carbon Harmony
This, among many other thuings like a more active car pool system will actually make the festival improve the planet when all is said and done. This is simply amazing, especially because a festiuval of such magnitude would seemingly be quite harmful for the planet, even with sustainability in mind. I think other events, especially the Olympics which didn't quite do as well sustainability-wise as we hoped, can take advice from the 2010 Sasquatch.
And what does this say about Esurance? After all they are the ones that are pushing this sustainability movement at Sasquatch. I believe they are doing great things even outside of their company's infrastructure to promote sustainability. This is what a truly sustainable motive should be, look for ways outside your company to promote sustainability if you have the means (and money) to do so.
I can't wait to see all this sustainability madness in action this year and hope they can live up to these claims.
As I read Fast Company this morning I came across an interesting article about how social media had been working with the Haiti Earthquake aftermath to provide various tools to help all those interested and involved. With social media no longer used as a quick chat and photo share between friends, its true potential is shining through. As mentioned in the article, An eye-rolling bit of gossip about one of those Kardashian girls can explode through the Web in minutes--and now, news about those in Chile is traveling over the same digital pathways, with the same speed, reaching the same vast amount of people. Its quite fascinating how quickly and seemlessly information can travel across the world, essentially making it possible for someone sitting in the Library in Eugene to speak with someone in Haiti.
So what social tools are being used? The major ones they cover in the article include Google Person Finder, Google Maps layers, Twitter, Facebook, and UStream. All these are fascinating in their own right but I would like to speak more of the ones I had not known about, specifically Google Maps Layers and People Finder.
Google Maps Layers allows for custom made layers showing specific results. For example, say you are looking for a pet store, you can create a custom layer that lists only pet stores in a given area. In Haiti, people are using it as a means to find things and places that are much harder to find after the earthquake. For example, say you want to know what shops are still open, you can m,ake a layer for that. This is a very interesting tool that really connects people with their surroundings.
Google Person Finder is a tool/database where people upload records of when they saw people or what they heard about where they are. The information is not verifiable but with the all of the commotion going on in Haiti it is hard to obtain official records of missing people. This tool allows for people who do not know where their loved ones are to get up-to-date information about them.
Although disaster like this is saddening, it is relieving to see how much social media has united us as a planet. Just because it happened in a distant country doesn't mean we don't care. We live in a world where information is easily accessible throughout and this means we can help each other much easier as well.
We have all heard that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics was supposed to be the most "sustainable Olympics ever." But after the stories of flying in snow and other problems encountered throughout they did not quite reach the level of sustainability they hoped for. That doesn't mean they didn't make a positive step though. After all they did make huge progress in pushing sustainability as a central theme of the Olympics. And I believe London caught on.
The 2012 London Olympics are taking this advice from Vancouver and making their upcoming summer olympics sustainable beyond going green. They hope to incorparte the social, enviornmental and economic aspects that will improve London for years to come, long after the games are over. Here is a brief statement by the Olympic sustainable committee says the games will provide:
The remediation of the site will bring existing land back into public use and create significant improvements in the quantity and quality of green space in east London.
The creation of new infrastructure, sporting facilities and housing in an area currently experiencing high levels of deprivation will help to create neighbourhoods and vibrant places after the Games are over, where people will want to live, work and play. We are reconnecting communities by building more than 30 bridges across the waterways, railways and roads that currently divide the Olympic Park area.
I find it amazing how much change the Olympics will bring to the community in London as well as improve and recreate the parks and bridges that need to be improved. I believe that this is a huge step for London and with the steps they are taking to truly incorporate sustainability into an event that will be seen throughout the World. What better venue to promote this movement and let the rest of the world know that you can make a difference today that will affect those for years to come. Hopefully though, it won't have to take covering the Olympics for a city to change their ways.
I came across a very interesting video today as I was researching sustainability. The ASUO, a Student Government group at the University of Oregon held a sustainability fair last October. This fair brought over 15 campus groups that have ties to sustainability and let them display their ideas to not only each other but the student body as well.
I found this to be very interesting because I am a strong believer that in order for the sustainability movement to truly work we must come together and continue to learn from every aspect of sustainability. The groups involved in the fair ran from Architecture students to the U of O outdoor program. What really stands out for me is that those who attended the fair got to see the diverse implications of sustainability. Sustainability is not a singular idea like improving campus recycling. Instead, it is uniting diverse groups and ideas such as improved architecture design and sustainable law.
What this fair got me thinking about was how can we make this a bigger event? Maybe instead of having it be only one day it could be a week long event that would encourage more student involvement. I for one never knew this was going on and would have loved to visit the fair and been a part of the think tank. Another interesting point that actually came up during a presentation in class today was how the Greek life here at the U of O is starting to begin its journey into better sustainability practices. They could bring not only a fresh perspective but a lot of people as well since around 10% of the student body is in the Greek system here.
This fair is a great steo to promoting sustainability throughout the campus and would love to see it only get bigger as more people gain awareness about this cause.
Healthymagination, a website and social tool created by GE, is asking you to take one small step today to live a better, healthier life. Everyone who has ever considered living a healthier life has witnessed the vast and overwhelming amount of information on the web and in health magazines. With so many differant directions you can go and so many differant sites telling you what the best way to make this chanmge is, it often becomes too large a step for people to take. Healthymagination is a tool for people to use that asks you to take one small step today. They understand that making the change to a healthier life does not happen overnight, and that is what makes this site so appealing.
The website, which is linked here, also knows that this change is hard to make alone. The site is designed to make this change a collaborative effort. When you visit healthymagination.com, there is a list of projects that people are completing everyday. They are called morsels and include small steps like "Lie on your bed, flex your abs, raise one leg up, and release. Repeat, switching legs." It may not sound like much but it is a step nonetheless. A step that many people don't take because they are too overwhelmed in the idea that they must make a radical change to see any result. (Plus they made these morsels accessible for your cellphone.)
Along with the morsels is a tab that lets people share health stories and tips that they use themselves. This changes the website from a tool people can use to a social network connecting like minded people. By making the site a collaborative effort, I believe people will be more involved and ultimately interested in continuing with this healthy change they are trying to make.
What ties the whole experience of this site together is the tab that reads "stories." Here is listed various stories of people doing good in their communities and for themselves. This piece of the site is what I believe is the true essence of healthymagination.com. It is so much more than making healthy steps to a better you, but rather making healthy steps to a better community and society. GE wants to create a better world that promotes bettering oneself and those around them. That is the true sense of sustainability that we need today.
As I read up on the people I am following on Twitter I came across a tweet by Al Gore that boasts 100 million new jobs will be generated in the midwest in a few short years, along with a huge revenue boost to the economy of the most recession-effected part of our country. The report where Gore received this in sight is the "American Innovation: Manufacturing Low Carbon Technologies in the Midwest," which estimates that, "climate and energy policies could create up to 100,000 new jobs in the Midwest, and generate additional market revenues of up to $12 billion, boosting state and local tax revenues by over $800 million by 2015." As a student of green branding I am amazed and excited by this huge increase in jobs, especially during a time that looks quite bleak in the job market. I began to wonder what this meant for the rest of the country. Will this explosion of green jobs be seen throughout the U.S. or is the Midwest going to be the mecca of green jobs? I understand that the reason the Midwest will see this increase in green jobs because it is a prime location for wind turbines and green-technology plants, but will this increase in green jobs in the Midwest spread out to more urban cities like Portland and New York? With graduation and job hunting on the my mind I am very interested in seeing this field become a boost to our recession and poor job market. I believe that as this sustainable movement grows and more people change their daily living habits companies will have to change how they reach them. This will create a vast amount of jobs that will be not only located in the Midwest, but in even the most urban and populated cities. If you are worried about what job the future holds for you, then I strongly recommend looking into green jobs. This explosion of jobs and revenue through green jobs will not be located solely in the Midwest, but in the rest of the U.S. as well.
Who needs outlets when you have the sun? That is what many people are asking look into solar-paneled bags that can recharge your phone. G24 Innovations, a company in Campbell California, is implementing this technology into various bags that will be sold to the public soon.
The technology uses a photosensitive dye to start its energy production, much the way leaves use chlorophyll to begin photosynthesis.
This energy is then converted into a format that allows users to charge anything from an eBook to their cell phones. Although it will work best in full sunlight, the bag will not require a bright sunny day to work.
This innovative idea sparks some thought about the future of such technology. Will this soon be a norm for bags in the future? Will they incorporate this into cars maybe even hats? It appears that they are releasing an eBook cover that will have the technology in it as well. I think there is a lot more to go here with this technology than merely bags. Maybe our cell phones will have solar panels on their backs and won't need an external energy source at all to recharge. I am very excited to see where this is going.
Although the majority of products with this technology are yet to be released, there are some bags you can purchase today including Tonino Lamborghini, a brand licensed and distributed by Mascotte. If you are interested in the technology, I recommend looking into these bags.
Portland looks to keep their Eco-friendly image alive as they build a vertical garden on the fecade of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt federal building in their city. The plants, which will reach 200 feet high, will be more than an aesthetic improvement for city, but will house energy saving plants as well. The vertical garden is part of a $ 330 million renovation in Portland headed by the General Services Administration that will renovate public buildings throughout the city. This specific renovation will be designed by Cutler Anderson Architects.
The building will be one of the largest, more energy efficient high-rises in America and possibly even the world. Here is an excerpt from the New York Times' article on the vertical garden's plans for sustainable success:
The G.S.A. says the building will use 60 percent to 65 percent less energy than comparable buildings and estimates a savings of $280,000 annually in energy costs. Solar panels could provide up to 15 percent of the building’s power needs. The use of rainwater and low-flow plumbing fixtures will reduce potable water consumption by 68 percent. And energy for lighting will be halved.
Another interesting plan for the building is how these plants will be watered. The developers say that they will use the rain water from the roof, along with excess plumbing water called "grey water" to water the plants.
Not a bad renovation for the rose city. Hopefully this renovation series will go beyond public buildings. What we need is for these renovations to go to the private homes of the city's inhabitants. Just think of the possibilities that the city as a whole could have in reducing their carbon footprint, creating new jobs, and saving millions on energy bills. This is the sustainability we need to create, something beyond environmental sustainability, but rather, as Werbach says in his book "Strategy for Sustainability," sustainability for social, economic, cultural AND enviornmental causes. We have the opportunity to get the ball rolling with these innovations and I believe in time we will see what a difference we can make.
But there are some big problems they are facing with the renovation as well. Many believe that the renovation will cost more than what new Eco-friendly and sustainable building are costing. But will it pay off in the end? You must think beyond initial costs when deciding if the renovation is worth the money or not. With the money they will be saving in the future, as well as the positive impact the renovation will have for sustainability, I believe it is a wise investment and will a great role model for other cities.
RecycleBank, a venture-backed company devoted to smarter recycling and living, is asking you to recycle smarter through new video series and rewarding website. Here is one reason you should check them out, "In April, 2009, RecycleBank was designated Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Program. " - recyclebank.com
RecycleBank is a great tool for anyone looking to recycle with higher efficiency, reduce their carbon footprint, and start working towards a greener future. Their site has a vast amount of information on how to be smarter with your recycling, including the best ways to recycle oils and milk cartons, to name a few. But the people at RecycleBank want you to do more than just listen to their great advice, they want you to be a part of their team. The website allows for users to start an account and earn points as they make smarter decisions with their waste and strive to become more sustainable. As you earn more points you begin to win awards for your hard work. (Awards include gift cards to stores from Bed Bath and Beyond to Subway). What a smart idea for a company to make this somewhat difficult transition towards sustainable living smoother with a website that allows for you to interact and work with it all while you are rewarded for your progress.
So what can you do to make this transition? Start by watching the video series, it helps to know what exactly happens in the recycling plants in order to be more efficient in recycling. The series displays the procees from your curb towards the manufacturers who buy the material for their companies. Next, visit RecycleBank's website and see how you can start living more sustainable. Set up an account and start making a difference.
Another interesting add-on to their site is the "trees saved" and "Gallons of Oil Saved" tally. With over a combined 300 million of the two, it is no lie that what they are doing at RecycleBank is working. Now it's your turn to help the cause and see what you can do to make a difference.
As we discuss the numerous green strategies, brand decisions and forward thinking in Green Brand Strategy, I began to wonder how someone interested in becoming a part of this sustainable future like myself can find a job related to this field. As I searched the web for "sustainable jobs" and "green jobs" I came a cross a gold mine job searching site that is not only easy to navigate, but highly informative as well. Green Dream Jobs, a sustainable job search from sustainablebusiness.com is much like our UO job-link, but with a green thumb. The listing include everything from green architecture to solar instalation, even internships for college students and grads. Whats even more amazing then the ease of finding your dream-green job is the vast number of job posting every day. With our economy and job market in a severe slump, one would believe that a narrow and specialized job search engine like this would be a ghost town, but for Green Dream Jobs this is not the case. The Green Dream Jobs listing is only a small part of the parent site, sutainablebusiness.com. The website is a great tool for businesses who are looking to join the sustainable movement and start reducing their corporate footprint while maintaining and exceeding their current revenues. The site provides current news on companies and practices that are working for sustainability today as well as a place for businesses to connect and interact. A must visit for any company ready to take their first step towards sustainability.
I highly recommend any one who is not only looking for a "green job" to check out this site. With the direction our sustainable thinking is going, I can only imagine that there will be more green jobs in the future that will provide more than a paycheck, but the feeling of contribution to our planet as well.
I have read on multiple accounts that the state of Oregon is one of the forefront states taking on the issue of Climate change and sustainability. Being a student at the University of Oregon, I wondered what the university is doing to address this issue. After all, universities are always pushing to be the pinnacle of forward thinking, and being a university in Oregon I believed we must be striving to address this issue as well. In my search I came across the University of Oregon Office of Sustainability.
The Office of Sustainability is a campus organization that, according to their website "coordinates the various efforts on campus to provide an official stance on such an important issue. The goal of the Office of Sustainability is to coordinate the wide range of efforts on campus and to provide interdisciplinary support."
The Office of Sustainabilty offers a wide variety of information, as well as practice, that the university and its visitors can access and use. From information on how students at the university can get involved, to a self-guided tour through the campus covering all the various sustainable aspects the school has to offer. As a student in Green Brand Strategy, I find it to be a very intriguing resource that I plan on looking further into.
One interesting and useful tool their website offers is the Sustainability Database. Here, you can select from a list of campus activities and topics in your search query, and you will be directed to the the many sustainable tools our university has to offer.
I recommend visiting this website to not just the students of Green Brand Strategies, but to all students, staff and visitors alike. Climate change and sustainable practice is a very important issue we are facing, and as a university I believe we can be thought leaders and innovators in this field.
I was browsing over various "green" and "sustainable" ads around the globe to see what messages are being portrayed in the media when I cam across a campaign by Diesel clothing. The campaign is called "Global Warming Ready" and portrays models enjoying themselves in Diesel clothing set in a post-global warming world effected by raised water levels and deserts.
At first, I found the ads to be an amusing, tongue-in-cheek take on climate change, which I know is the purpose of the campaign. But as I thought about the deeper message that these ads provoke, I found it quite disturbing. The ads seem to be saying that this whole climate change issue is gonna happen no matter how hard we try to stop it, so why not sit back and enjoy it in our beautiful and luxurious clothing? I don't see these ads as green washing because they don't make any claims to be eco-friendly, but I do believe that it presents the wrong message on this issue.
NASA is in the works to building what is known as the "NASA Sustainability Base," an innovative building concept that might just be the blueprint for green building in the future. The project, which has recently awarded the contract to Swinerton Inc. of San Francisco, will be built at the Ames Research Center in California, and looks to be a huge step towards sustainable building. Here are a few claims they are projecting for the project:
"Zero net energy consumption" for the building.
Reduce potable water consumption by over 90% when compared to an equivalent size building of conventional design.
Significantly reduce building maintenance costs when compared to an equivalent size building of conventional design.
At their site they go into more detail about what the building will accomplish. What I find to be those most intriguing part of the design is how they will incorporate NASA technology within the the facility that "...will bring NASA technologies down to Earth and connect them with capabilities from the private sector to leverage taxpayer investment and improve the quality of life for everyone." I believe this project has huge potential to create a new way of thinking for people by incorporating these technologies into everyday life. I can't wait to see how this whole project works out.
After discussing the life cycle of green products in class, I have been very interested in looking further into what makes a a product "green." At first I thought it was what the given product was made up of, but as looked into it I saw that it is so much more. One article I came across went in detail as to what really makes up a green product, and what I found is so much more than I would ever think of. The article is called "Seven Steps in the Life Cycle of a Green Product."
A green product is more than what it is made up of, but how it is produced, how it integrates into our lifes, and how it will reduce the carbon footprint of not just the manufacturer, but in its users as well. The article discusses the "seven steps" that go into green products. From innovation and design, to how it will "avoid the landfill." I found each step of the process to be more than just a blueprint on how to make a green product, but a blueprint on how to think differantly in creating products in general. Today, I believe a lot of people are simply creating products with their eye out to the present. "how can we reduce emissions in production?" "How can we make a product with better, reusable materials?" Don't get me wrong, all of these questions are very important to ask and are a very important step to take, but we need to think about how a product will change those who use it. The future isn't a world filled with green products, it's a world filled with green people.
Recently in class we discussed green-washing in advertisements, specifically those on the green-washing index. As we praised the best rated (most authentic) Eco-friendly ads, and tore apart the worst rated (most bogus) ones, I began to think about how someone who isn't studying advertising would react to these ads. As an advertising student, it is easy to analyze every part of the ad from what they claim to what how they cast it. But what about for the average consumer? Some of these ads are ludicrous in their claims, but if you aren't looking beyond the ad (which a lot of people don't) then what makes them seem so ludicrous to present to the public? Yes, on one hand it is your moral responsibility as an advertiser to not lie about your message, but I feel that we place too much emphasis as advertisers on what is greenwashing or not.
For example, we discussed the above listed ad by Chevron that asks people to think twice about when they drive and, like they are trying at their company, try to drive less (or at least smarter like carpooling). Most of the class stamped this ad as severe greenwashing because they are essentially asking the consumer to purchase their product (oil) less which is tough to believe from a business perspective. But if you look at the ad and compare it to the universally accepted definition of greenwashing then they are actually completely legitimate in their claim. They are not lying to the consumer nor are they boasting some unreachable claim. Chevron is actually doing what all those who support anti-greenwashing advertisers desire, a world where people try to make a differance, even if it they are only small steps.
To go back to my original question of whether a the general consumer will be able to pick apart and analyze ads as well as those who are in school studying it? Sometimes those who study a subject such as sustainable advertising forgets the mindset of the general consumer and thinks as they would viewing these ads. My advice to these people is to remember that the world isn't consited of people who think in your mind set, but rather may not be an expert in every field of knowledge. This doesn't mean you should trick the public or lie with your message, but when a company asks people to try and make small changes in their life to make a difference, don't bash them and try to stop their attempt at sustainability simply because you don't believe their message is genuine. After all, how do you know if it is or not unless you dig deeper?
Agencies in the WPP, one of the world's largest communication services groups, released a survey called the "2009 Green Brands Global Survey." The survey, which included the countries of: The US, UK, China, Brazil, India, Germany and France, covers statistical data about its inhabitants and how they see green branding, among many other green-related topics, today and in the near future. I don't know too much about environmental activism in most of the surveyed countries, but in living in the US I found the results of some of the questions very interesting. The most interesting was that consumers in the US reported they would spend significantly less on Eco-friendly products in the following years compared to the countries of Brazil, India and China.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
"Consumers from all seven countries believe that green products cost more than comparable non-green products, and also indicate they plan to spend more money on green products in the coming year. China, India and Brazil showed significant support for additional spend: 73 percent of Chinese consumers say they will spend more, 78 percent of Indians say they'll spend more, and 73 percent of Brazilians plan to increase their green spend. The percentage of respondents who indicate willingness to spend 30 percent or more on green ranges from 8 percent (UK) to 38 percent (Brazil)."
This led me to wonder why the US, a country that I as an average consumer believed to be leading the pack on Eco-friendly attitudes, is not prioritizing green products as much as Brazil, India, and China. Perhaps we as a nation are focused more on appearing green than actually being green. Or maybe these other countries are simply being more active than the US in truly promoting sustainable living. I understand that being sustainable isn't a competition but rather a way of life, so I believe that this survey should be seen as motivation to recognize that even when we feel we are making positive effort on the green front, we should not be satisfied. We should look at what the countries that, according to this survey, are leading the pack and see how as a nation we can improve Eco-friendly attitudes to beyond a fad...which I feel in many cases for some people is what it is.
The U.S. Green Building Council or USGBC, has announced that they, along with the help of the Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief fund and the gracious support of the public, will help rebuild cities in Haiti after the tragic earthquake that struck the country on January 12th. Although the exact plans of the rebuilding process was not displayed, the council has had a lot of experience in this area including green rebuilding efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I feel this is a great opportunity to help Haiti rebuild there cities and in a way that will help with sustainability efforts.
But I don't think we should only rebuild cities to be green after disaster. Lets start with cities around the world that don't need to be rebuild for other reasons. I understand there is a lot being done rebuilding cities to be more green already, but not to a substantial amount that changes more then how the city runs, but how the people within the city act as well. Rebuilding a city is not just converting buildings into solar power and increasing public transportation, it is about the people being suastainable as well. After all, the people are what truly makes a city.
I came across a very interesting (and quite disturbing) article today on The Huffington Post. The article; "Pink Washing, The Dangers of Bottled Water," by Lisa Kaas Boyle, reveals a new form of "washing" that I had never heard of before. Pink washing, or falsely promoting your company through breast cancer awareness and charity, is being used by the company Sparkletts who sells and distributes bottled water. The company displays huge pink ribbons on the sides of their trucks as well as on their website, while also linking their brand with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer charity. The catch? Sparkletts' plastic bottles contains chemicals that actually promote breast cancer growth as well as interfere with chemotherapy. Here is an excerpt:
"Sparkletts' bottles are made with a known hormone disrupter, Bishenol-A (BPA), that is suspected to cause breast cancer and prostate cancer, among other diseases. A recent study -- partially funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure -- even finds that BPA interferes with chemotherapy used to treat breast cancer."
I find it very ironic that a company who promotes cancer awareness sells a product that is suspected to help cause the disease itself. Its bad enough that you sell a product that is that poor for the enviornment and people alike, let alone hide it behind a huge PR stunt that tells the consumer you are taking steps to cure the disease. Much like greenwashing, companies are trying to improve their image through pinkwashing while in reality do very little to help the said cause.
Here is a link to a site called "Think Before You Pink" that goes more in depth about pinkwashing and how individuals can help decide if a company truly supports a cause, or is simply trying to improve their brand image.
Heineken is doing some cool things in being sustainable with their advertisements. You know those huge billboard ads you see in your car as you drive the highway? Have you ever thought about what happens to those ads once they've run their course and must come down? Heineken did, and they believed that putting them in a landfill is just plain wrong. Instead, Heineken is taking their billboard ads and turning them into handbags. What started as an attempt to be green has turned into a fashion statement that has received a lot of attention.
I was skeptical at first, I mean who would want to buy a hand bag made from some worn billboard ad? But what seemed as a dead-end fashion statement has turned into quite the craze. I believe what Heineken is doing is great and hopefully other companies will take advice from their decision. I'm not saying we need a new fashion line of used billboards from every beer company, but just because something might not seem recyclable doesn't mean you cannot create something desirable form it.
While sitting at my laptop and surfing the vast World Wide Web for new and interesting issues relating to green and sustainable topics, I came across a very cool site called Cool Planet.What initially drew me into the site was its promise that found within were cool and innovative Eco-friendly products for the everyday consumer.But, upon entering the site I discovered that Cool Planet was not just a hippie-amazon.com, it was much, much more.The site contains links to numerous topics relating to Eco-friendly issues including conservation, sustainability and how to best “live green,” to name only a few.Why do bamboo? Want to more about what is happening with our water sources? Each link contains info on green lifestyles, science behind green living and technology, and links to blogs that cover everything you could ever dream about in this world of green and sustainability living.
Cool Planet is doing great things to inform the average consumer about green products and information, and does so in a clear and easily navigated manner (not to mention it looks great).Whether you consider yourself an expert on green living, or you think green washing is a new way to clean your clothes, Cool Planet is a must visit site that wont disappoint.
