This episode is from the end of ‘05 but we wanted to let our new blog audience have a sampling of our podcasting flavor. Featured is an interview with the Seva foundation as well as a review of the film “The Corporation”.

More to come soon, we promise.

[display_podcast]

No Comments »

Consumer Perception is that Healthy Ingredients Equal Eco-Friendly; Green Logo Increases Environmental Feel

According to their website, a new study conducted by branding firm Landor Associates, shows that fifty-eight percent of the general population surveyed considers itself “Not Green Interested.” These self-proclaimed “non-green” individuals do not care about environmentally friendly practices, including recycling, corporate social responsibility, or natural and/or organic ingredients.
The study, which was conducted among 510 males and females ages 18 and over, identifies that twenty-five percent of the respondents consider themselves “Green Interested,” meaning that while this group is concerned about the environment, it is not active in its defense. The remaining seventeen percent surveyed are, in fact, “Green Motivated,” meaning that they feel it’s very important for a company to be Green. The Green Motivated individuals do base purchase decisions on whether or not a brand reflects Green behavior in its packaging, ingredients and corporate actions.
“While we clearly still have a ways to go on building awareness for Green issues among consumers, any company that embraces Green as part of its brand needs to do it holistically,” said Allen Adamson, Managing Director, Landor, New York. “Green-friendly practices are becoming a priority; in order to truly differentiate your brand or company from the masses, not only must you be ‘green,’ it’s important to offer innovative products and prove why your efforts at ‘green’ are more significant than your competitors.”
The Landor study also revealed that while 2 out of 3 consumers can not name a brand they consider to be Green, there are differences between perception and reality on what companies are Green. To consumers, a Green brand uses technology that is environmentally friendly and uses natural and organic ingredients in its products. Brands placing emphasis on supporting environmentally responsible organizations or donating money to environmental causes, however, did not receive recognition as being “Green.”
The results of the survey indicate that Whole Foods is the brand considered to be the “Greenest of the Green” among consumers. Fast food chain Subway, which place a strong emphasis on healthy and natural ingredients, made the top 10 list coming in as 9th as a “Green” brand winner. The study also found that brands with green logos and/or natural packaging, such as Origins, The Body Shop and Kiehls’s, rose to the top in the green rankings.
In categories not typically synonymous with Green, such as Automotive and Petroleum, consumers did identify companies they consider more positively aligned with the environment. Toyota was favored over both BMW and GM as a more Green car brand, and BP was identified as more Green than Exxon.
Among the results, a few key trends stand out:
Consumers don’t understand “Green” when it comes to companies & brands – Consumer may be interested in Green, but can’t identify it. Sixty-six percent of the American population can not identify the steps a company can take to make itself more Green.
Does the packaging make the brand Green? Only fourteen percent of “Green Motivated” say producing environmentally safe products is what best describes a Green brand. The study also found brands with green logos and/or natural packaging (i.e. Origins, The Body Shop and Kiehl’s) rose to the top in the green rankings.
Green Consumers will buy brands they do not consider Green – In the Fast Food category, the perception of not being Green does not prevent even the “Green Motivated” individuals from purchasing the products. Consumers will also buy in Automotive & Petroleum / Energy industries regardless of brands’ “Non-Green” image.

With such a response to a major brander’s survey, Root takes this as a tremendous opportunity for companies with a proven commitment to sustainability to capitalize on green brand identity. The moment is now, as less than half of the population understands what green can mean. When Subway becomes identified as a “green brand”, there is a long way to go to creating an accurate identity of truly sustainable business. And when 58% of consumer just don’t care, there is an extraordinary opportunity for brands to educate about more than themselves, truly creating opportunities for values to be spread, and brand love to be generated from the “right place”.

No Comments »

Furthering our suggestions on how to curb our carbon addiction, Root arrived at an interesting carbon conscious idea with a few clicks of our mouse. The Carbon Emission Offset Directory provides a number of options to offset our driving impact.

The site offers the opportunity to calculate one’s carbon footprint, in addition they provide links to sites for purchase of carbon emission offsets, a solution offering an immediate and lasting effect on our cumulative impact.

According to the site, a mid-sized 30 mpg car driving 12,000 miles/year will create about 3.55 tons of CO2/year. Using Carbonfund.org’s calculator they figured this would cost only about $19.50 or $1.63/month to be offset. This means that for a very small amount of money you can drive the equivalent of a zero-CO2-emission car. Impressive, indeed.

Athough we may not be eliminating driving for walking or biking (not an option for all), we can lessen our impact with very little cost and increased awareness of our actions.

Click on.

No Comments »

Over the weekend, we saw An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s uber-budget slide show that he has presented globally for a number of years. Although seeing it felt a bit like preaching to the choir - afterall, we do live in west Sonoma County, CA - the subject is especially timely, given the last year’s worth of weather extremes, and the reality that we are all carbon addicted. So what can we, as individuals do? Their website provides 10 things to do to help stop global warming:

Change a light
Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Drive less
Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!

Recycle more
You can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

Check your tires
Keeping your tire inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere

Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).

Avoid products with a lot of packaging
You can save 1200 pounds of of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

Adjust your thermostat
Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer can save about 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.

Plant a tree
A singel tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

Turn off electronic devices
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you are not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Root would like to add a few more things to the list -

Pay attention to the products you buy - Buy locally, act globally - the less products have to travel to market, the less carbon load.

Pay attention to the people we elect - and fight for your vote! Don’t allow corporate interests to override the interest of the planet.

And most importantly,
don’t become jaded. Teach our children how to live with awareness of these truths, and live them ourselves.

See An Inconvenient Truth - and pass it on.

No Comments »

Root Concepts is in production on a series of eight video segments for Traditional Medicinals. The segments will highlight TM’s source stories, introducing their consumers and retail customers to the connections for their herbs around the world. The first of these stories will feature the breadnut of Guatemala.

No Comments »